I've read some poor reports on Royal Pacific, good ones on Hard Rock, and not much on Portofino Bay. Where have you stayed and how was it?

You will find good and bad reports on any hotel in the world. I have stayed at the Hard Rock and the Royal Pacific. I ahve visited the Portofino. They are all Loews Hotels and are all at least four stars. The Hard Rock is closer to Universal Studios--five minute walk- a bit further to Islands of Adventure. Royal Pacific has an island feel to it. It's about an 8 minute walk to City Walk and then a couple more minutes to IOA. It's a bit further to US. Portofino is a longer walk. Most people use the water taxi service. All three hotels have water taxi service to City Walk and also have shuttle buses.
The Hard Rock has a slide at their pool and underwater music! The Royal Pacific has a water play area for the children. The Portofino has three pools. We enjoyed the Hard Rock and the Royal Pacific, but found the more laid back atmosphere at the Royal Pacific more enjoyable and relaxing. Go to www.usoinfo.com for much information.

We stayed at the Portofino Bay about 3 years ago and loved it. The water taxi is so handy and runs constantly. We also walked to Universal and that wasn't bad either. It has nice restaurants and one of the pools also has a slide and a sandy beach effect which was fun. The rooms were very nice and we'd definitely go back again.

We've stayed at Royal Pacific and Hard Rock Hotel in the past year, concierge floor at both. We had a huge corner room at the Hard Rock and loved having so much space. I wouldn't pay extra again to be on the concierge floor there though because I didn't feel it was worth the money -- very crowded just about all the time and not very good snack offerings. We did like the restaurant (The Kitchen) and ate there a number of times, plus they had Starbucks on site as well. The pool area was wonderful - very large and a fun environment.

At Royal Pacific, the rooms were a bit smaller but very nicely decorated and furnished. The staff here seemed much friendlier than at Hard Rock for some reason. I loved the concierge floor here as it was much larger and therefore more relaxing -- it didn't have that crazy, crowded feel of Hard Rock. We ate at the Asian restaurant (not Tchoup Tchoup) - can't remember the name but I thought it was kind of pricey and didn't stand out in my mind as worth what we paid, although the food certainly was good. It did have a wonderful children's buffet area set off to the side if that's important to you. Those without kids could have a quiet meal while families were seated separately. The pool area at Royal Pacific was also very large and had a fun play area for the kids.

I agree with schmerl that the Royal Pacific had a more subdued environment than the rock and roll flair of Hard Rock, as you would expect from the themes. We really did have a very positive experience at both and like the convenience of being able to walk to the parks from either one...something we wouldn't have been able to do easily from the more distant Portofino Bay.

Whatever you choose, sign up for the Loews First program (free on their website - www.loews-first.com ). Being a member has resulted in some great free upgrades for my family.

We have stayed at the Royal Pacific and the Portofino. Our pick is Portofino, the rooms and the grounds are nicer. Portofino is our pick in Orlando after the Ritz Carlon and JW Marriott.

Had looked at the JW and the Ritz recently and I'd really much rather stay at one of them if I am going to pay nearly $300 per night!

JW and the Ritz don't give you fast passes to the park rides.

All three are very nice hotels and I'd rank them nicer than the JW and as nice as the RC.

I agree with Eliza about Hard Rock. Our room on concierge was nothing special, and the concierge was not worth it. Also felt service was poor. When we went to check out in the morning, the bell service took over 45 min to come to our room and we had a car service waiting.
But I definitely would stay at one of the three onsite hotels because of the front of the line perk. Next time it will be Portofino for us.

Staying at one of the on site hotels at Universal is worth it's weight in gold since you get the automatic express entry for the attractions. Just show your room key and go right in the express entrance.

Have been to all 3 over the years, have also stayed conc and non conc in all hotels. I have also been to all 3 less than a year ago - my pick would be a standard room in the west wing of the Portofino Bay Hotel. Here's why: Close to the pool areas and the water taxi, great views of the bay or the pool. Easy access to the square too, lots of fun at night to have a gelato outside at the patio tables and people watch. I would recommend staying in any Universal hotel over a non universal hotel for the front of the line access.
My personal picks for Universal hotels would be 1- Portofino Bay 2-Royal Pacific 3-Hard Rock

None of the concierge levels are worth the extra money, just to let you know you are not missing anything with that.

I have always found the staff at Portofino to go above and beyond to make you happy, espically a woman named Pat at reception. She is excellent and very sweet, the word no is not in her vocabulary and if she cann ot amke it happen, no one can. I have also found the rooms at Portofino to be large, clean, and very comfortable. Actually it is one f my favorite hotels. For a treat, you can rent a pool cabanna for the day or half a day...very nice after a day in the park to come back to your own private space by the pool. Actually with the FOTL access you will be able to see the parks in half the time and have more time to enjoy the hotel, whichever your choice.

Just an FYI about Universal. When there is a lightning storm on the way, the boats do not run(they also shut down the coasters). They stop about 15 min before the storm hits. If you see a storm on the way and wish to get to your hotel, go directly to the boats. If you want to stay int the parks for a while, find a place to sit down to eat or drink before the rain starts or you will be very unhappy. There are busses that run but they are not direct, you have to sit/stand on an over crowded bus with very soggy people for at least 20 min.

Also go to the Mummy ride first thing, as it breaks down often due to all the special effects - I don't know if this situation has improved, but on my last 2 visits that was going on.

WOW! Thanks for all of the phenominal replies! After reading many excellent replies on my "Disney at Easter" post, we are going to tough it out and go on Easter break as opposed to July (our only other choice), and are going to stay on-site at Universal. We are also staying on-site at Disney for the days we are there. Thanks again-Fodorites are the BEST!!

At Universal, you will hardly notice the Easter crowds due to the FOTL access. If you have never been, there is a seperate line for on site guests, you just have to show your room key. Disney will be a bit different crowds wise, but with some planing in knowing where the crowds will be, just do the opposite.....and there is always fast pass. You also made a much better choice by going over Easter, the weather will be beautiful.....July is just too darn hot!

Have a wonderful time!

You can get a lot of WDW crowd info at www.disboards.com. It will help you plan what parks to go to on what time of day and which park is better on a given day.