This year 2019, Universal Orlando Opens it’s seventh Hotel; Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites. There are four grades of Hotel – premier, preferred, prime value and value, ensuring a choice for any budget.

For a few years we stayed in hotels on International Drive and though we were happy with the rooms and facilities we found we were spending most of our time at Universal Orlando. We had seen the boats pulling up at City walk and wasn’t too sure if they were only for an elite class of guest. So i did some investigating prior to arranging our next holiday,

We had always hired a car so that involved paying for parking at Universal and arriving at the central hub with everyone else, going through queues at security, taking the moving walkways into city walk then continuing on to either Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure. We were getting exhausted at our age before we’d even hit the parks and then had to spend time queuing for the rides in the Florida heat. We decided to opt for the Royal Pacific as it was in our budget, close enough to the parks to walk there and knew we could get the boat back at any time of day. This convenience meant we could return mid day for a swim or a nap and hit the parks again later. After booking and doing some more research I found the best perk of all was the free unlimited express pass which almost eliminated any queuing ; plus making us feel like royalty every time we used it.

There are parking charges to pay at the Hotels which were $22 a night at the Royal Pacific at our last stay but we would have had to pay to park at the central Universal parking garage any way. Hint – I plucked up courage to ask if there was any discount on parking when we stayed at Cabana Bay last year for eleven days and the kind gentleman on the front desk knocked me fifty percent off. Worth a try.

Premier Hotels

• Loews Portofino Bay Hotel
• Hard Rock Hotel
• Loews Royal Pacific Resort

Preferred Hotels

• Loews Sapphire Falls resort

Prime Value Hotels

• Universal’s Aventura Hotel
• Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach resort

Value Hotel

• Universal’s Endless Summer Resort- Surfside inn and Suites

14 perks to staying at a Universal Orlando Resort Hotel

• Close to Universal City Walk, Islands of Adventure and Universal studios. Many rooms have views of the parks.
• Within walking distance along landscaped paths except Universals Endless Summer Resort which has a free shuttle bus.
• Free regular shuttle buses to and from City walk where you will go through security.
• Free boat ride from all hotels except Cabana Bay, Universal’s Endless Summer Resort and Aventura hotel. You will go through security prior to boarding. Each hotel has its own boats which run approximately every 15 to 20 minutes from one hour before early opening time until 2am. Hint- For those staying at Cabana Bay and Aventura Hotel just walk the path to Sapphire Falls and catch the boat from there.
• The walking paths connect all hotels except Universal’s Endless Summer Resort. It’s not uncommon to come across joggers keeping fit. The paths are abundant with tropical plants and types of bamboo. We’ve come across wildlife such as snakes , rabbits, squirrels, ducks and tiny lizards. Also fish and turtles in the waterways and lakes.
• One hours early entrance to either Hogsmeade in Universal’s Islands of Adventure or Diagon Alley in Universal Studios whichever has early opening that particular day, before the general public.
• Staying at one hotel allows you to use the facilities and pools at Universal’s other hotels on production of your room card.
• The best perk of all for those staying at a Universal Premier Hotel – free Unlimited Express pass for Universal Islands of adventure and Universal Studios. Most rides have an Express queue including Escape from Gringotts and Harry potter and the forbidden Journey. The pass is now incorporated into your room card. This gives a saving of up to $89 a day each. This is a better alternative to staying in a cheaper hotel and then paying for an Express Pass for each person. Staying for one night gives you 2 days Express Pass.
• All rooms, public areas and all parks have free WiFi.
• Purchases made in the parks can be charged to your hotel room card.
• Free delivery to your room of items bought in the theme parks.
• Free entry to select Universal City Walk Clubs by showing your room card.
• Priority seating at certain restaurants in the parks and City Walk.
• One hour early entry to Volcano Bay. Guests at Cabana Bay also have their own short cut path and entrance. It’s literally next door.

Can you think of any other advantages to staying at a Universal Resort Hotel ? I’d love to read your comments or try to answer any questions you may have .