The Universal Studios Orlando Resort is in a period of unprecedented growth, with the opening of the highly anticipated Epic Universe theme park drawing in many first-time visitors and guests who haven’t been in a long time.
One thing that these first-time or lapsed guests may overlook — as I did for the early years I was visiting Universal — is the option of staying on Universal property in one of the resort’s hotels. While the company was “late” to the hotel game compared to Disney, they’ve more than made up for it in recent years.
Currently, Universal has 11 on-property hotels — the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando, the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando, the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, the Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando, Universal’s Aventura Hotel, Universal’s Endless Summer Resort — Surfside Inn and Suites, Universal’s Endless Summer Resort — Dockside Inn and Suites, the Universal Stella Nova Resort, the Universal Terra Luna Resort, and the Universal Helios Grand Hotel.
Our AllEars team has stayed at each and every one of these hotels, and there are some definite benefits that many potential Universal guests may not be aware of!
They include:
- Early Entry: Guests staying at Universal Hotels can enter the resort’s theme parks – Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and Epic Universe – an hour before the park’s scheduled opening and ride select attractions before anyone else.
- Free Express Unlimited Pass: Guests staying at one of Universal’s Signature Collection hotels (the equivalent of Disney’s Deluxe Tier) receive Universal Express Unlimited passes, which allows them to “skip the regular lines at participating rides and attractions in Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure.” Universal’s Signature Collection hotels that offer Express Unlimited passes are the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, the Hard Rock Hotel, and the Loews Royal Pacific Resort.
- Convenient Transportation: Many of Universal’s original site hotels are in walking distance to the original theme parks and CityWalk, while the Helios Grand provides its own entrance directly into Epic Universe. The hotels that aren’t within walking distance feature access to shuttles and watercraft. This interconnection, including between the original Universal property and the Epic Universe property, also allows guests not to worry about parking. In other words, no need to drive, no need to deal with (or pay for) parking, and no worries about over-imbibing at CityWalk.
- Shopping and Dining: Guests of Universal hotels can be “carefree and carry-free when shopping” as select stores in Universal’s theme parks and Universal CityWalk will deliver purchases directly to your hotel, free of charge. (You know, that service Disney used to offer and has yet to bring back…) In addition, the majority of the restaurants on Universal property offer priority seating to Signature Collection guests.
While Universal’s hotel offerings still fly under the radar to some guests visiting the resort, there are a ton of benefits to staying on property! Stay tuned to AllEars for more on the Universal Orlando resort!
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Have you ever stayed at a Universal hotel? Let us know in the comments below.
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