UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORTS

All of the Universal hotels are owned and operated by Lowes. This means you can POOL HOP (for all guests except those staying at Surfside Inn). Forgive our enthusiasm but we often wish this was an option at Disney. We love checking out different pools, especially because each one offers something different, like a waterslide or lazy river. Another reason to stay on property is that guests also receive access to one park one hour before regular guests. Currently Volcano Bay and Universal Studios open early. But periodically Islands of Adventures is open early instead. If you can make it there for 8am you can be sure to walk right on a few rides before the crowds increase (although not the really popular rides like Hagrid’s). Another great feature at the Lowes resorts are the vacation planners at each hotel’s reception area who can print your park tickets when you check-in, make dining reservations for you or just answer your questions

​Surfside Inn & Suites is the new “Value” resort. It is farther away from the parks and its price reflects this but it has family suite options that sleep six! Each suite has a room with 2 queen beds and a second room with 1 queen bed plus an eating area with a sink, fridge and microwave. This resort doesn’t have its own sit-down restaurant, just quick service options and it doesn’t have the same wow factor as Cabana Bay when it comes to décor. But it does have a dedicated bus and it is a fantastic option for those larger families. With surf boards throughout and beach décor you can pretend you are by the seaside.

Surfside Pool

​We really enjoy the 1950’s theming and décor of Cabana Bay Resort. Its proximity to Volcano Bay was fantastic, but it's also not very far away from the parks. Cabana Bay is considered a “Prime Value” hotel, which means it costs a bit more than Surfside but less than Sapphire Falls. It has a bowling alley, arcade, and a lazy river of its own. It has regular and suite style room options. When we visit Universal again we will likely choose Cabana Bay, however, it is a much bigger resort so it would require a big walk to your hotel, which is always hard after a long day at the parks.

Cabana Bay Cafe

Cabana Bay room - view of Volcano Bay

Aventura Pool

​Aventura Hotel has everything you could need in a resort – clean rooms, a great pool with a splash fountain, a pool bar and poolside movies. You can walk right to Volcano Bay underneath the road, which felt super exclusive. There is a great market-style food court, lots of elevators so there is no long waits to get to your room, a shop to get your Harry Potter gear and even a fun lobby Robot to play with. The bar is on the 17th floor and has a fantastic view - we could see all the way to Epcot. The rooms were a bit bland in their modern décor but a reasonable size with a coffee maker and fridge. The staff was very helpful and friendly; it was no problem to leave a day early because of the hurricane, to store our bags for the day or to get extra towels to go over to Volcano Bay before the pool opened.
Aventura Bay and Cabana Bay share a bus. These hotels are in the Prime Value category but are very nice options and comparable to Disney’s Art of Animation.

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​Sapphire Falls is a beautiful resort with a very relaxed feel. It’s a great resort for those looking for a Caribbean feel near the parks. It is right next to Aventura Bay and is a “Preferred” hotel. This means the price is comparable to a moderate resort at Disney. Unfortunately, it doesn't include the Express pass in your package and it is a higher price point but it is certainly a nicer resort, plus it is dog friendly. The breezy Caribbean feel, view of waterfalls right outside the window and boat to the parks also makes it a higher-end experience. We loved the “sand bar” in the middle of the pool and thought this would be great for little ones. Our bigger kids loved the water slide.

Sapphire Pool

Sapphire Lobby

View of Royal from Sapphire

​Lowes Portofino Bay Resort, Royal Pacific Resort and Hard Rock Cafe Resort are the “Premier” level hotels or what Disney would call the deluxe options. Staying at one of these three resorts grants you the Express pass for each day of your trip including on your check in day and your check out day. This can be a value of $130 per day per person! Premier hotels are all walking distance to the parks and have their own sit down restaurants. Portofino is based on the city of Portofino in Italy and gives you a European flavor. Royal Pacific Resort has a Polynesian feel with dark wood and orchids and you can take a boat to the parks from it. Hard Rock gives you an edgy rock & roll feel, its architecture is themed off the hotel California.

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Royal Pacific Pool

Royal Pacific entrance

Obviously the price to stay on property varies depending on the season. Low season is August to September and January. High seasons are Christmas, October, Easter, May, July and around the Memorial Day weekend (last Monday of May). However, when you are choosing your time to travel don’t just think about price. The weather needs to be taken into consideration too. Can your kids handle some heat? Our kids were hot at 7:30am. And the August heat certainly limited how long we could stay at the park or how many rides we could walk to. What saved us was going back to our hotel for a swim and rest in the heat of the day. 

Bonus: Insta-cart is an option to order food to your room. We tried it out and ordered granola bars, cereal, milk, fruit and yoghurt. The prices were reasonable and the process of ordering and delivery were very slick. Normally we order from Green Grocer but it doesn't deliver to Universal. With Insta-cart we submitted our mobile order and then met the delivery person in the hotel lobby. We were even able to order our favourite sunscreen so we didn't have to worry about liquids in our carry on. Because we only brought personal items on the plan we were able to save as much as $80 per bag for checked luggage.