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Perhaps you’re wondering, like I was, about the reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific during your upcoming visit to Universal Orlando.

After all, with dozens of other hotel options to choose from (many of which are less expensive!) why pick Loews Royal Pacific?

In this article, we’ll give you the inside scoop on the 9 perks that make staying at Loews Royal Pacific undeniably worth it. We’ll also let you know which amenities are somewhat standard and may leave a bit to be desired.

Find out if our take on the reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific match what you’re looking for!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that we may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. For more info, see disclosure.

Check out the 9 reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando from Top U.S. Travel Blog, Travel With A Plan!
Our standard 2 queen room

9 Reasons to Stay at Loews Royal Pacific

Loews Royal Pacific is one of three Universal Orlando Resort Premier hotels, all of which are located onsite within the Universal Orlando Resort grounds.

The other two Premier hotels are Loews Portofino Bay Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel.

Along with premier service and food and easy access to the theme parks, these three hotels have exclusive benefits available to guests that cannot be found at other Universal hotels.

With nightly room rates ranging from prices ranging from $269 to $474 per night, plus $28 (plus tax) per vehicle per night for self-parking, many wonder if the steep price tag at Loews Royal Pacific is worth it.

Though many of the reasons to stay at Lowes Royal Pacific are similar to the other two Premier hotels, we found Lowes to be the most affordable, and to have the quickest access to the Universal theme parks.

In our opinion, we are so glad that we chose to stay at Loews Royal Pacific. The many perks of staying there by far justified the price.

Check out the 9 reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando from Top U.S. Travel Blog, Travel With A Plan!
Room keys that double as Express Passes

1. Universal Express Pass Unlimited included with your stay.

In our opinion, the #1 reason to stay at Loews Royal Pacific is that Universal Express Passes are included with your stay!

Basically, your Loews Royal Pacific room key doubles as an unlimited Universal Express Pass.

Simply scan your room key (as pictured above) to skip the regular line and enter the express line at each of the rides to significantly reduce your wait time.

As an example, during our last Orlando vacation when we stayed at Loews, which happened to be during spring break, rides time were anywhere from 90-120 minutes long.

When using our Universal Express Passes to enter the express line, we only had to wait 5-15 minutes before boarding the rides.

Not only did these short wait times allow us to maximize both our Universal Studios touring plan and Islands of Adventure 1-day itinerary, but it meant that we never got crabby or restless while having to wait in long lines.

Additional planning tip: Even if your room is not ready on the day of your arrival, you are granted a temporary room key to use as an Express Pass beginning that morning.

You can also use your Express Passes all day on the day of departure despite already having to have checked out of your room.

In other words, your stay at Loews grants Universal Express Pass for the entire day of arrival, the days during your stay, and the entire day of departure.

Additional planning tip: Find out our exact wait times for every ride and why we ultimately think that Universal Express Passes are worth it by reading here!

Check out the 9 reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando from Top U.S. Travel Blog, Travel With A Plan!
The walking path from Loews Royal Pacific

2. Its location…within walking distance to the theme parks!

A pretty close second in terms of the biggest perk of staying at Loews Royal Pacific is the fact that it is an easy 7-minute walk to the theme park entrances.

Staying at Loews allowed us to park our vehicle in the hotel parking lot and never have to drive anywhere else or look for a different parking spot for the entire duration of our stay.

The walking path from Loews Royal Pacific to Universal CityWalk and the Universal theme parks follows a gorgeous waterway and is beautifully landscaped.

It is a straight path with no confusing turns or detours, as well as includes plenty of signage helping direct you where to go.

Being so close to the theme parks allowed us to ride the best ride at Islands of Adventure and Universal in the morning, return to our hotel for an afternoon swim/break, and go back and forth between the theme parks whenever we wanted.

Trust me, this is very convenient!

Check out the 9 reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando from Top U.S. Travel Blog, Travel With A Plan!
Diagon Alley during Early Park Admission

3. Early park admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Staying at Loews Royal Pacific grants you Early Park Admission to select rides at select theme parks, on select days.

Although this sounds confusing, you just check the Universal calendar as to what parks are hosting Early Park Admission during your stay.

Early Park Admission allows entrance to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure 1 hour before schedule opening, and 30-minutes prior to Volcano Bay’s scheduled opening.

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Flight of the Hippogriff, and Ollivander’s are all attractions that frequently host early admission.

The experience of visiting these rides and experiencing both Diagon Alley (at Universal) and Hogsmeade (at Islands of Adventure) before the parks get crowded is an awesome experience.

In fact, heading to Harry Potter World first thing in the morning is one of our top tips for visiting Universal overall!

As you can see from the photo above (taken during Early Park Admission), not only is the sky is still dark, but there are very few people which means shorter lines, and an enhanced, more personal experience.

Additional planning tip: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and Despicable Me Minion Mayhem are two other rides that are known to host Early Park Admission.

4. Automatic entry when parks are at full capacity.

As a means of crowd control in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, Universal Orlando Resort is currently operating at decreased capacity.

Unlike Magic Kingdom and the other Disney theme parks that now require reservations, Universal simply stops permitting entrance to guests once the parks reach maximum capacity.

This means that some guests will have to wait outside of the turnstiles until other visitors leave before they are granted entrance into a park.

When staying at a Universal Premier hotel such as Loews Royal Pacific, however, you are granted immediate access (by showing your room key) to the theme parks, even if they have reached maximum capacity.

This is a huge perk considering that both Universal and Islands of Adventure have been known to reach maximum capacity on weekends and around holidays and school breaks when the parks are busy.

Check out the 9 reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando from Top U.S. Travel Blog, Travel With A Plan!
Universal water taxi

5. Complimentary transportation to the theme parks.

If you’re tired or don’t want to walk the 7-minutes from Loews Royal Pacific to the theme parks, you have two other options for free transportation!

Loews offers both a free shuttle bus and free water taxi ride that will bring you to Universal CityWalk in order to access the theme parks.

Though we did not ride the shuttle bus, we frequently rode the water taxi. It was a unique experience, as well as a scenic and relaxing ride down the man-made waterway.

In addition, the ride itself only takes 5-minutes once you are aboard.

6. Amazing room service via texting the front desk.

Another health and safety measure that Loews Royal Pacific has instituted in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic is the ability to text, versus call, the front desk for room service or help.

Upon check-in, your are given a phone number to use to text the front desk if you have any issues or are in need of anything during your stay.

For instance, we texted that we were in need of an extra blanket for our room. A guests services rep immediately responded to our text, and the blanket was delivered within 10 minutes.

We found the customer service and their attentiveness to our needs to be exceptional at Loews Royal Pacific!

Check out the 9 reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando from Top U.S. Travel Blog, Travel With A Plan!
Ollivander’s Wand Shop purchase

7. Complimentary merchandise delivery.

There are several rides at both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure that do not allow any personal items, including backpacks and souvenirs, to be brought onto the rides.

Not only is it important to limit what to bring into Universal Studios, but it is useful to have a plan for what to do with any souveniers or items that you may purchase while there.

We loved that Loews Royal Pacific offers free merchandise delivery from any of the theme parks and shops, directly to your hotel room.

For instance, we purchased Harry Potter’s wands from Ollivander’s Wand Shop for our 3 kids. Though the kids wanted to carry the wands around the park, we did not want to have to worry about carrying or storing the boxes that they came in.

As a perk of staying onsite at Loews, we simply had the wand boxes delivered from Ollivanders back to our room at Loews Royal Pacific.

This saved us from having to utilize and pay for lockers at Universal or carry around extra belongings.

8. Resort-wide charging privileges with a room key.

Another awesome perk of staying at a Universal Premier hotel is the ability to use your room key to charge purchases made within CityWalk and the Universal theme parks.

For instance, when visiting our favorite restaurants in Citywalk, we were able to charge our meals directly from our room key!

Be sure to check with the hotel as to what credit card they have on file for you if you are particular about where the charges end up.

Check out the 9 reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando from Top U.S. Travel Blog, Travel With A Plan!
Loews Royal Pacific reflection pool

9. Tropical landscaping and beautiful atmosphere.

The biggest difference between the three Universal Premier hotels is the theming and atmosphere that each of them provide.

Loews Royal Pacific is an island-themed resort, specifically that of the South Seas. With large palm trees, luscious green landscaping, and hundreds of tropical plants, you really do feel as if you’re in the South Pacific (think Tahiti and Fiji) when visiting Loews.

Loews offers both a family-friendly, yet luxury experience. They accomplish this by having both exceptional service and a beautiful ambiance, along with a laid back and tropical vibe.

We loved having our morning coffee in the hotel courtyard, as pictured above. The elephants, statues, and gorgeous reflection pool made us feel like we were in paradise.

Check out the 9 reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando from Top U.S. Travel Blog, Travel With A Plan!
Standard queen bathroom

Average Amenities at Loews Royal Pacific

Yes, there are truly some amazing reasons to stay at Loew Royal Pacific and we definitely do not regret staying there!

There are some amenities, however, that we felt were very nice but were a bit more standard versus that of a premium experience.

In order to compare your options and prepare you for your stay, we think it’d be helpful to share the following:

The pool. The Loews Royal Pacific pool is heated and has plenty of lounge chairs with chair service provided by awesome wait staff. The pool itself is only an average-sized pool, however, with somewhat of an awkward kids splash area. In addition, the hot tub was closed during our visit related to COVID-19 which is something you may want to check on beforehand.

The guest rooms. The Loews Royal Pacific guest rooms are clean and tastefully decorated. They are truly just a standard-size hotel room, however, and the size was a bit snug for our family of 5. (Tip: Rollaway beds are $35/night + tax. We brought along our own single air mattress to avoid this additional cost.)

The bathrooms. The guest room bathrooms at Loews Royal Pacific do include a separate vanity area apart from the shower and stool area. The bathrooms are just a standard size however and have very little counter-top space.

The restaurants. There are so many amazing dining experiences at both the Universal theme parks and Universal CityWalk. With those options being so close and within walking distance to the resort, we did not get too excited or even find time to utilize the restaurants at Loews Royal Pacific.

Additional planning tip: Here are the other Universal Resort Hotels to choose from (in order of Budget to Premier):

If you liked reading about our stay at Loews Royal Pacific, continue planning your Universal Orlando vacation here:

Universal Orlando Touring Plans:

Universal Orlando Tips:

Universal Orlando Rides:

What are you most excited about in staying at Loews Royal Pacific? Have you ever stayed there before?

Jen

*Before leaving, be sure to check our Travel Resources Page to find exclusive travel discounts and to book hotels, rental cars, and guided tours.*

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Check out the 9 reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando from Top U.S. Travel Blog, Travel With A Plan!
Check out the 9 reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando from Top U.S. Travel Blog, Travel With A Plan!
Check out the 9 reasons to stay at Loews Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando from Top U.S. Travel Blog, Travel With A Plan!

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4 Comments

  1. Being within walking distance of the park is a clutch for me! We used to have Universal passes when we lived in California but haven’t been to the Florida location yet. I had no idea that the Universal Express Pass was included but that is a HUGE added value. Thanks for sharing!

  2. I loved my stay at Loew’s Royal Pacific! I loved the ability to text in and they were so helpful. IMO this is the best place to stay because of the Express Pass, and the proximity. So easy to go back and forth.