Aloha at Loews Royal Pacific

The Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando resort is my favourite of the Premier Universal Hotels having stayed there several times. It has a tropical south sea theme throughout the resort reflected in the lush landscaping and water gardens giving a calm and peaceful ambience. The hotel also borders the extensive waterways connecting to the Universal theme Parks and has its own sand beach. There is also a Games room, Gym, steam room and sauna with locker rooms and lounges which is complimentary for guests.

Loews Royal Pacific is one of Universal’s Premier Hotels and there are many perks to staying there compared to the other Resorts. Please check out my other post from this link – 14 Reasons to stay at a Universal Resort Hotel

Guests are greeted with Aloha on arrival and indeed throughout your stay. Traditional Leis are presented to you at check in and on one occasion we were given wooden back scratchers ( well I think that’s what they were).

The entrance itself is impressive. From the parking lot or vehicle drop off you have to cross a bridge to enter the impressive lobby. The bridge with it’s carved frogs overlooks a representation of tropical terraces and water gardens. You can hear falling water and at first because I couldn’t see any I thought the sound was coming through speakers but after exploring the lower floor of the hotel there are actually waterfalls under the bridge.

The lobby is set round a central courtyard with a large reflective pool surrounded by orchids and fountains. There are two shops in the lobby. Toko Gifts a Universal souvenir gift shop which also sells sundries such as snacks, medicines and stamps and a small shop selling carved ornamental wooden items. Steps lead from the lobby to the pool area which is accessed from a lower floor. Here there is another store; Treasures of Bali selling bathing suits, beach towels and gifts.

Comfortable peaceful rooms

The rooms were upgraded a couple of years ago and are beautiful. The old decor had a colonial touch but now it’s bright and modern with the chests of drawers resembling vintage travelling trunks.

Rooms have a Keurig coffee maker with supplies which are topped up daily. I always take my own teabags and use the coffee maker to provide the hot water. I do find the location of this a little awkward as its situated in the main dresser under the television quite low down on a shelf that slides out, necessitating having the cupboard door opened to use it. There is a decent size small fridge, much bigger than the old mini bar fridge which will take large bottle of soda or milk cartons. This is also hidden in the cupboard.

Rooms vary from standard King or two Queen with garden, pool or water views to the grandest Presidential Suites. There are also Club Level rooms or suites which include breakfast, snacks and beverages throughout the day and dessert in the evenings. The Royal Pacific also takes dogs in certain rooms and has an attractive exercise area in the gardens.

All rooms have iron and ironing board, hairdryer, safe which will hold documents and a small laptop or tablet, numerous electrical outlets and plenty of USB sockets built into the furniture; not forgetting a massive TV. We stayed in a two queen bed room which had a step in shower big enough for two with one fixed and one hand held shower heads. The toilet is in the shower room. The sink and vanity unit are in a separate section enabling one person to shower whilst the other can attend to makeup or shaving. Quality toiletries, hand soap, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and moisturiser/ body lotion are provided along with cotton buds cotton balls and tissues. In my opinion the one thing that lets the rooms down is the translucent glass sliding door into the shower room being frosted glass and not close fitting like a traditional door. It’s not very private.

Getting to City Walk and the Parks

To get to the Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios you can take the free water taxi which drops you off at City Walk. This runs approximately every twenty minutes from one hour prior to early opening until 2am. You will go through security prior to boarding. Take the shuttle bus or choose an 8 minute walk along the landscaped path which brings you to the entrance of Islands of Adventure. Either way there’s no roads to cross. We usually walk there and get the boat back as we’re usually exhausted by the end of the day. We often pass a few joggers on the path as it connects all the hotels except Universal’s Endless Summer Resort.

If you have a car to park it’s quite expensive but bear in mind you would have parking charges to pay at the main parking garages at the parks if you were staying at a non Universal hotel. This year the charges were $28 a night for overnight guests making it very expensive for a 14 night stay. A polite request for a discount was declined. Valet parking is also available. Car parks are accessible with your room key card on entry and exit to lift the barriers. On your first visit press the button to take a ticket and hand it in at the front desk when checking in. There is an overflow car park which is quite a walk from the main entrance but we actually found it was closer to the block our room was in one year and preferred to park there once we had checked in. It is possible to pick up and drop off in front of the hotel to the left prior to parking.

Relax at the Royal pacific Pool

The Royal Pacific has a lovely free form pool with zero entry and attentive lifeguards where you can relax surrounded by exotic palms and plants. Towels are provided on production of you room key card. There is a small pool for toddlers and an interactive water play area for children ( and adults). Poolside movies are shown on certain evenings. Cabanas can be rented for the day. There are two hot tubs and a Volley Ball Court Fruit infused ice water and sunscreen are available with no charge. We usually visit the pool first thing in the morning and play with the inflatable balls for half an hour to limber up for the strenuous day ahead. Often we have the pool to ourselves at that time of day apart from a few ducks.

The Royal Pacific is my favourite mainly due to the relaxing atmosphere and opulent decor. I really feel like I’ve escaped to a South Sea Island. It’s close enough to walk to the parks and come back for an afternoon nap before hitting the parks again in the evening; yet far enough away to escape the hustle and bustle. Though you can just hear the roar of The Hulk in the distance ( It’s so easy to forget the Parks are just across the road.)

I’d love to hear about your favourite Universal Resort or answer any questions if I can. Feel free to leave a comment.