Favorite HHN Hotel | Inside Universal Forums

Favorite HHN Hotel

  • Signing up for a Premium Membership is a donation to help Inside Universal maintain costs and offers an ad-free experience on the forum. Learn more about it here.
May 8, 2010
1,377
1,216
Portland, OR
Thought this would be an interesting topic. I've stayed offsite, Cabana Bay, Sapphire Falls and Portofino x2. I'd say that my Favorite so far has been Sapphire falls because of the proximity and ease of boat access. Cabana was great but the bus situation was not great after HHN closing. Those walks after a night of HHN and drinking always seem daunting. This year I've now booked Royal Pacific which will be my first time staying here for HHN. What about everyone else?
 
I got a suite at the Hyatt last year around $70 per night. They have shuttle from there but the walk doesn't take much longer if you are someone like me who doesn't mind. Ht breakfast included was good as well. It worked well for HHN.
 
Thought this would be an interesting topic. I've stayed offsite, Cabana Bay, Sapphire Falls and Portofino x2. I'd say that my Favorite so far has been Sapphire falls because of the proximity and ease of boat access. Cabana was great but the bus situation was not great after HHN closing. Those walks after a night of HHN and drinking always seem daunting. This year I've now booked Royal Pacific which will be my first time staying here for HHN. What about everyone else?
I did 6 nights at RPR for 25. It was great. I lucked out and it didn't rain but I was at SF for 26 and it rained one night. A real mess when the boats are not running.
 
I think my order would be. Of course the big price swings of hotels can change this list drastically.
HR - Short walk to the studios with your own entrance not too shabby at all.
RP - Little further of a walk than HR but Tchoup Chop is a pretty good place for brunch. Big downside that only applies to HHN, the boat launch area here floods...
SF - Pretty cheap and its a boat ride away, and I really do like the rooms
CB - Cheap but the bus line is hit and miss and unfortunately can't see how bad it will be till you get there which seems to lead to Universal Blvd Frogger
Portofino - Beautiful hotel but the boat ride is a little long for HHN

Off sites:
Embassy Suites - Spacious rooms, very good prices. Long running happy hour with free apps and drinks (beer and non-top shelf), free breakfast buffet. Only downside is that it is a bit further away.
Double Tree - nice rooms and they have a taxi service that is always there and doesn't gouge you horribly and only like 5 minutes to Security. May not be a big deal now in the day and age of Uber.
 
I have stayed at Hard Rock and while it was great, a little too rich for my blood. I have stayed off site plenty and the cost savings never seem worth it in relation to the convenience of Cabana Bay. I am going to try Sapphire Falls one of the weekends I will be going this year and I am assuming it will rank just below Cabana Bay
 
I have stayed at all except PB. My favorite is RPR, been staying there since 04. except for the last 2 years we could not pass up the deals at CB and then SF.I like CB but don't care for the buses. SF is nice, Strong Water is a big plus at this hotel as the boats. This past march we was at SF and actually spent most of our time at RPR, Bula bar, Jakes, Orchid bar, see where I am going with this? We will be back at RPR for this years HHN and I can't wait to be back "home" again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: snayberry
I always stay at Cabana Bay. I love those three hotels around(cabana Bay, Adventura, and Sapphire) Epically love CB now with the theme HHN room and Bar.
 
Used to be Cabana Bay since it has the best party atmosphere, but they've poop the bed the past few trips. (Rooms being dirty and needing updates, burnt out bulbs, employees coming into our room just to use our microwave, multi-promises to fix things that were ignored). We switched to Sapphire Falls the last two nights in 2021 and enjoyed it so much more. The quality of service, the kept-up-edness of the hotel in general and the fact you can catch a boat and bypass most of CityWalk makes the value a steal. And we didn't even get to check out the rum bar yet.
 
Right?

We had a family suite and my wife stayed back to take a nap before HHN. A few people in housekeeping didn't know she was there and decided to let themselves into our room to heat up their lunch and use our table as a breakroom. They woke my wife up and she was much nicer about it than I was once I found out. We were given 1 Free Meal Pass for each person in our party as compensation.
 
Right?

We had a family suite and my wife stayed back to take a nap before HHN. A few people in housekeeping didn't know she was there and decided to let themselves into our room to heat up their lunch and use our table as a breakroom. They woke my wife up and she was much nicer about it than I was once I found out. We were given 1 Free Meal Pass for each person in our party as compensation.

Bro you could’ve pushed for so much more lol. That’s unacceptable.

ETA: Got distracted by that story (I did an internship at a big hotel and just can’t wrap my mind around it and I saw some CRAZY stuff)

I’d second Hard Rock objectively because of the location, but my favorite HHN weekend ever was actually at Royal Pacific. Something about how calming it was in contrast to the action during the event really did it for me. Sapphire is nice too but it’s pretty far.

My least favorite is Cabana Bay…already dont care for it and the quality of the clientele takes a hit during HHN.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sledge
I’ve only ever stayed at Hard Rock and am looking forward to staying there again, though the bathrooms are dark and awkwardly situated, you can’t beat the convenience of the proximity to Studios at the end of an exhausting night.
 
I’ve only ever stayed at Hard Rock and am looking forward to staying there again, though the bathrooms are dark and awkwardly situated, you can’t beat the convenience of the proximity to Studios at the end of an exhausting night.

Always stayed at HRH except this upcoming trip - first time at RPR, and I'm oddly excited for what looks like more updated bathrooms than HRH?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Allison