With a wide range of accommodation options at Florida’s Universal Orlando Resort, there’s something suitable for a variety of budgets, but you can be guaranteed that wherever you stay, you’ll find something unique and magical. With the Signature Collection hotels located near the theme parks, there are a number of benefits of staying at the onsite Universal Orlando hotels.
I’m proud to admit that I am something of a theme park geek. Since my teenage years of visiting UK theme parks, I’ve always been an adrenaline junkie and longed to make it to the theme park mecca of Orlando, and Universal in particular. Theme parks and movies combined added to the magic for me. On our most recent visit to Orlando, we opted to stay onsite at Universal for the second week of our two week Florida trip, to spend quality time at the resort.
Having budgeted sensibly during our first week in Orlando, we chose to splash out and enjoy the Loews Royal Pacific Resort hotel for our second week, one of the four Signature Collection hotels (currently) at Universal Orlando Resort. This would provide the opportunity to leave the car parked up for a few days, enjoy the hotel, the parks and CityWalk without having to worry about travelling back and forth each day.
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UNIVERSAL ORLANDO ONSITE HOTELS
Universal offers a range of hotels in varying price brackets, making the Universal Orlando resort experience widely accessible whether guests want to splash out or are working to a tighter budget. With Signature Collection hotels near the main parks, through to Prime Value Hotels and Value Inns and Suites, there are eight different resorts with a further three openings in 2025 to coincide with the opening of Universal Orlando’s fourth park – Epic Universe.
Universal Orlando’s Signature Collection hotels are the closest to the theme parks, comprising Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort and Loews Sapphire Falls Resort.
Universal Aventura Hotel is the resorts only Prime Value Hotel located near the theme parks, with further openings in 2025 near Epic Universe.
Finally there are currently three Value Inns and Suites. Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort is located next to the Volcano Bay water park, whilst Universal Endless Summer Resort Dockside and Surfside Inns and Suites are a short distance away from the parks.
All of the onsite Universal Orlando hotels feature a range of benefits, which vary depending on the chosen accommodation.
A WEEK AT LOEWS ROYAL PACIFIC RESORT
It’s fair to say that our stay at the onsite Universal Orlando hotels didn’t start off well. The day we were due to arrive at the resort, Hurricane Matthew was barrelling towards central Florida and due to make landfall directly east of Orlando later that evening and overnight. We checked out from our hotel in Celebration and set off early to Universal to beat any traffic. Arriving early, we were unable to check-in and the parks had announced their closure for the day.
A curfew was imposed, both theme parks and most of the restaurants in the hotel were closed and all food services were moved into the conference centre of the hotel, for the safety of guests and staff. Thankfully for us, late into the evening news came in that the path of the hurricane had shifted and was heading north. We experienced some heavy winds and rain but with very minimal disruption, the curfew was lifted a day earlier than planned, the parks cleared up and opened again within 48 hours.
Hurricane aside, our stay at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort was impeccable. This tropical paradise hotel themed around the islands of the South Pacific is set in stunning landscaping. featuring an incredible pool area, beautiful interiors and a wide array of restaurants and lounges.
With Standard Rooms, Club Level Rooms and Suites to choose from, we opted for a Standard Water View Room, overlooking the lagoon pool. Beautifully decorated with two queen beds, the room was stylish and spacious with a beautiful Orchid themed mural on the wall. Décor featured subtle grey and purple tones and the large bathroom allowed plenty of space for storage.
EATING, DRINKING AND RELAXING AT LOEWS ROYAL PACIFIC RESORT
From the stunning lobby area, there is access to a number of different restaurants and bars, each offering something different.
Orchid Court Lounge and Sushi Bar | Located on the ground floor of the building adjacent to the lobby, this is a great place to sit and relax after a busy day at the theme parks. Offering sushi, salads and appetisers which can be sampled alongside Japanese whiskeys, sake and beer, it’s a fabulous spot.
Islands Dining Room | Open for breakfast and dinner, the Islands Dining Room is a great spot for quality American breakfast before setting out on your adventures. Located directly underneath the Orchid Court they offer buffet breakfast as well as a full menu. A Pan Asian menu is available for evening dining.
Jake’s American Bar | Our favourite spot during the stay, Jake’s American Bar is themed around the South Seas explorer, Jake McNally who’s seaplane you’ll find next to the hotel in the lagoon. With a great selection of appetisers, grills, seafoods and salads, these can all be washed down with a Jake’s American Red Lager or a variety of other drinks. A great spot to finish a day at the onsite Universal Orlando hotels.
Tuk Tuk Market | For a quick grab and go breakfast or bite to eat, the Tuk Tuk Market in the lobby offers some great options if you’re keen to get out onto the parks.
Bula Bar & Grill | A casual poolside restaurant with some great lunch options including burgers, wraps and salad, the bar also features great cocktails and the perfect location next to the lagoon pool.
On the subject of the swimming pool, the hotel has a fantastic lagoon style pool set in a lush tropical paradise. Surrounded by palm trees with plenty of loungers, it’s a great spot to relax in the sun for a few hours away from the hustle and bustle of the parks. The Royal Bali Ship offers an interactive play area for smaller children and there are also a couple of hot tubs for the adults too. Being able to pop out of the park for a few hours lounging before heading back later in the day is definitely one of the benefits of staying at onsite Universal Orlando hotels.
BOOK YOUR STAY AT LOEWS ROYAL PACIFIC ON BOOKING.COM
FURTHER BENEFITS OF STAYING AT ONSITE UNIVERSAL ORLANDO HOTELS
The benefits of staying on resort at Universal Orlando make the costs a worthwhile investment. Not only do you get to stay in a beautiful location, you also get to enjoy some benefits not offered to other park guests. The Loews Royal Pacific offers the following perks:
Universal Express Unlimited | Skip the regular lines on participating attractions at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure for the duration of your stay, including some of the rides within The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. A valid theme park admission ticket is required, purchased separately.
Early Park Admission | Admission into one of the theme parks up to an hour before it opens to the public is a real benefit of the Early Park Admission if you’re an early bird. This is even more enticing if your favourite ride isn’t included in the Universal Express ticket, meaning you can beat the queues.
Transportation | Guests of Universal Hotels get inclusive transportation from the hotel to City Walk and the theme parks via the resorts water taxis from the Signature Collection hotels which each have their own port. Despite it only being a ten minute walk to CityWalk form the Loews Royal Pacific Resort, taking the water taxi offers a different viewpoint and experience. There is also a complimentary dining shuttle to the other resort hotels. Non Signature Collection hotels offers a shuttle bus service to and from the parks.
Priority Seating at On-Site Restaurants | Another perk for the Signature Collection hotels, we found this very useful during our stay. We used this most evenings for restaurants at CityWalk, and at other resort hotels including the fabulous Bice Ristorante at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, a fantastic Italian Restaurant which was well worth a visit.
Shopping | At certain resort hotels, your room key card allows you to make purchases across Universal Orlando Resort, with the option of delivering your shopping directly to the hotel in some instances.
ENJOYING THE BARS, RESTAURANTS AND STORES OF UNIVERSAL CITYWALK
CityWalk is the entertainment hub of the resort. Packed with restaurants, bars, retail, shows and a movie theatre all based around a lake, it’s the perfect setting to enjoy the evenings when the theme parks have closed. The area is located between the main parking lots and the theme parks, ideal for maximum footfall but somehow never feeling too crowded.
We spent a lot of time at CityWalk during our stay – dinners in the evening, taking a break from the theme parks for lunch or just a wander around the shops. One of our group even chose to have a tattoo at Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company while we were there.
We had some great meals at the CityWalk during our stay, some of our favourites are listed below.
Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food | A great Mexican restaurant set in a colourful and vibrant building with fantastic Mexican food and drink to the sounds of a Mariachi band playing.
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville – You may have guessed that this place does a fantastic range of Margaritas, make sure you try one. A fun and lively restaurant with three bars including the Volcano Bar which includes a volcano that erupts margaritas at certain intervals! You can have drinks out on the Porch of Indecision or across the way at the Lone Pine Airport bar.
The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium | A new addition during our last visit (it had actually only just soft opened to the public), this restaurant was a feast for the eyes and the stomach. A steampunk inspired exterior with towering smokestacks and a stylish interior, there is a full dining menu and some of the most amazing desserts based around, yep you’ve guessed it, chocolate. What’s not to love!
With so many more restaurants and bars on offer at CityWalk, it’s a real benefit of staying at the onsite Universal Orlando hotels to be able to head freely into CityWalk to sample a number of these in the evenings.
USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT
GETTING THERE | Our flight operator of choice from the UK is Virgin Atlantic who offer flights from both London and Manchester. Universal Orlando Resort package holidays can also be booked via Virgin Holidays, along with tailor made options including car hire options which are useful if you are planning on visiting Walt Disney World, Busch Gardens, Sea World and Kennedy Space Center.
TICKETS | One thing to note when staying at onsite Universal Orlando hotels is that park tickets are not included within the price and need to be purchased separately. Whilst these can be purchased directly through Universal Orlando Resort, we have always purchased Florida theme park tickets through Attraction Tickets, who do a number of Combo-ticket deals which give access to all the parks for 14 consecutive days. This is a great was to plan and budget. Individual park tickets are also available.
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I love this post! I have just come back from Orlando a few weeks back! 🙂 Check out my blog http://www.tmdancer.com! Travel posts on Orlando to come in the next few weeks!
Thanks tmdancer. I like the look of your blog and look forward to hearing of your travels!
Cant wait to go to Orlando in january!
You’ll have a great time. Have you been before?
Exciting. Hope to hear about your adventures. I’m hoping to have a blog posted about the parks themselves before then so stay tuned!
I will most definitely post about the parks. We are thinking about spending a week on Cuba as well. Have you ever been there?
I have been to Cuba.
Havana was a really interesting city and the beaches are beautiful. We stayed on one of the Cayo’s, which I think have taken some damage from the recent hurricane
[…] here we are, back at Universal Orlando Resort. Part One covered the resort hotels and CityWalk but the chances are if you are in Florida and visiting […]
[…] here we are, back at Universal Orlando Resort. We’ve already covered the resort hotels and CityWalk but the chances are if you are in Florida and visiting Universal, you are there for the rides? Is […]
This is a great resource. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the comment, appreciated.