CABANA BAY BEACH RESORT Thread..........

Just booked our long HHN weekend in Oct. Looking very forward to trying CB again. We'd only done 1 night there back in 2022. Hope it wont' be too noisy. We did the family suite, which I've also never tried, but hoping for better ability to spread out/separate some.
We might do one day at Epic. How have the buses been from CB to Epic? About how long are they taking? Thanks!
 
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Just booked our long HHN weekend in Oct. Looking very forward to trying CB again. We'd only done 1 night there back in 2022. Hope it wont' be too noisy. We did the family suite, which I've also never tried, but hoping for better ability to spread out/separate some.
We might do one day at Epic. How have the buses been from CB to Epic? About how long are they taking? Thanks!
I didn’t notice any noise in our family suite last trip
I think it depends on your neighbours

Busses were awesome to epic it was around a 15 min trip but depends on traffic
We did get held up once and it took about 25 mins due to lots of lights
 
Does Cabana Bay have shampoo and body wash provided in the bathrooms? Either the big bottles in the shower or individual bottles? Trying to not have to pack my shampoo and body wash bars if I don't have to and I know Disney has the big bottles for my one night there.

Also, the ice cream shop. Is it really open 12pm to 12am? Aka, would I be able to plan for a sweet treat coming back from City Walk my first night? I have dinner reservations at 5:30pm (or 5pm I can't remember) and would LOVE an ice cream sundae for dessert.
 
Does Cabana Bay have shampoo and body wash provided in the bathrooms? Either the big bottles in the shower or individual bottles? Trying to not have to pack my shampoo and body wash bars if I don't have to and I know Disney has the big bottles for my one night there.

Also, the ice cream shop. Is it really open 12pm to 12am? Aka, would I be able to plan for a sweet treat coming back from City Walk my first night? I have dinner reservations at 5:30pm (or 5pm I can't remember) and would LOVE an ice cream sundae for dessert.
Yes they have shampoo body wash etc in big bottles it’s retro VO5 but last visit our conditioner was empty and I had to ask twice to have it refilled

Can’t answer about the ice cream sorry
 

Are the standard 2 queen rooms large enough that you can park two ECVs in them, preferably both charging at the same time?
 
i was thinking about this resort, but saw the lazy river charges for tubes and the bowling has a charge as well. now im rethinking it....
 
Enjoyed our Cabana Bay stay. We had an exterior pool view family suite. Comfortable accommodations
Only a few cons: check in was slooooooow. I totally should've checked in online earlier in the day, while we were driving down, but kept waiting, and then had so much rain, was just focused on drive. When I finally did try to checkin online, it wasn't sending me a code to my phone or email to complete it. But anyway, not the biggest issue, but I'd recommend online checkin whenever possible.
Didn't make any room requests. Got Starlight, but at the farther end of the building, away from lobby. If staying again, would request near lobby, but walk wasn't bad,
Parking, so nice. Very close to elevator near our room.
Bayliner Diner-quite good. Ate there 3 times. One highlight was the tuna/rice in the international station. DS said burger was fine, my grilled cheese was pretty good. Mediterranean flatbread good. Omelet for breakfast on checkout day was ok. Got one resort mug, which was also good for Icees, so DD was very happy. Also used it a few times for cokes. and got the frozen yogurt a couple of times. Nothing really fancy in there, but really good options.
Bus service was very good. Even for rope dropping Epic, took until the 3rd bus to get on that morning (and the first was a double bus) but the other 2 were lined up waiting, one after another.
Buses back from parks, HHN, and Epic, were shared w Aventura. Buses going to HHN (about 6PM) and Epic (AM) were NOT shared. Until the early evening bus back to Epic. I went back to Epic about 7PM, and it did swing by Aventura , nobody got on there. Queen of the bus!
Noise from pool-yes there was, 2 days, due to music, and some kids playing. It stopped that night by bedtime, and the other 2 days, I guess the rain kept the music off? idk, but either way, there was a bit of noisiness w that room, but not an imposition.
Coffee maker.....NOT a Keurig. I took a picture, but thank the maker, I brought my travel Keurig and my own coffee, so didn't have to depend on that hotel swill.
Bathroom-really liked the layout. Sink straight ahead from beds (although using the light there could be annoying to those sleeping,) separate toilet in its own little room w door, and then separate tub (I loved having a tub, love a tub over just a shower,) and then another sink the room with the tub.
Comfortable beds.
TVs-brought our Roku stick, could not figure out how to hook up to the TV in the bedroom, but did hook it up fairly easily to the TV in the living room.
DD used the sofa to sleep on, never opened it up. Nice to have that third bed/surface, and she got some privacy. I didn't realize there was sliding, screen-type door to separate the areas. THat was nice. Light from outside did bother her some, but not a lot. plus I was in the kitchenette making my coffee in the AM, using microwave. oooh, nice to have a microwave, and mini-fridge was a good size.
Theming is just SO fun there.
I still think it's the vibe of like Pop Century/Art of Animation at WDW, but with more WDW moderate amenities.
Very busy lobby a lot of the time.
No issues w getting picked up w uber, or our food delivery.
I'd stay again for sure in a suite if choosing non-express at Universal.
I'll try and attach some pictures.
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price aside, is cabana bay still in good shape? i saw another blog/website recently, and said its starting to show its age, things not in the best shape, etc...

how does it look recently?

thank you!
 
It needs to be updated and it is showing it's age. While I would go back 100%, the closet door was broken, the headboards were badly scuffed up and even torn in some parts, and the room was just...worn.
 
It needs to be updated and it is showing it's age. While I would go back 100%, the closet door was broken, the headboards were badly scuffed up and even torn in some parts, and the room was just...worn.
i see some prices for early Feb 2026 for ~225 a night. is that a decent deal for a "worn" hotel lol.

what about the common areas? elevators, pools, hallways etc...

thanks
 
price aside, is cabana bay still in good shape? i saw another blog/website recently, and said its starting to show its age, things not in the best shape, etc...

i see some prices for early Feb 2026 for ~225 a night. is that a decent deal for a "worn" hotel lol.

CB is "home" for us so I hate to say this, but yes, it is worn and the rooms need work.

I did four trips last year over six months in 2024-2025, staying at CB each time, and had what I felt were significant issues on each time. One trip the headboard had tears in it. One trip the refrigerator needed maintenance. The wi-fi was constantly cutting out on at two of the trips. One trip the shower broke (we were without a working shower for almost 24 hours due to maintenance saying that it was fixed when it wasn't). The mattresses is the standard rooms were saggy and terrible (strangely, the suites didn't have this issue).

The saddest part was that the hotel management doesn't seem to care. After each trip, I filled out a survey, mentioning the issues that we had and each time I got a form email in response. Thank you for your comments, blah, blah, blah. After my last trip (where we had the issue with the shower), I strongly requested to talk to a manager when we went to check out and "no one was available." The front desk person assured me that she would "pass along my concerns" and of course, I heard nothing.

Is it still a decent hotel? I think so. I love the vibe, the amenities (particularly the lazy river), the food, etc. But I might be willing to overlook some things because it is home for us. We stayed at Terra Luna back in September and, even through it's a newer hotel, found it lacking in comparison to CB. But does it need work? Absolutely! It's a busy, high volume hotel that has been open for over 10 years. I suspect that COVID - and other priorities such as opening the new hotels - has put this hotel on the back burner.
 
Below is the review and hotel response I posted on trip advisor from my late Sept trip. The main reasons we picked them was because I wanted to be able to pool hop at Sapphire Falls and rates were good. Their entire hotel is so nice. Did you know you can rent a cabanna at any of the hotels on property regardless of which hotel you are staying at. Sapphire Falls also has the water taxi.

As a longtime Universal Annual Pass Holder, I have stayed at most of the Value and Prime Valu hotels on site without issue. This was my first time at Cabana Bay. We stayed in an exterior entrance Family Suite, room 1145. The room had many issues which I communicated to the manager at check out. He took my information stating he would see what he could do for us. He did nothing. I wish we would have asked to be moved at check in, but our time was limited. The pool and buses were good.
Issues included the safe not working, stool in kitchen peeling fabric, torn lamp shades, drawers not opening or closing correctly, and the wall outlets being so loose you could not plug a laptop in to charge. I discovered the microwave door was broken and it would not work late one night. If the cleaning staff had cleaned it, they would have known it was broken. I requested a crib and was provided with a pack and play. Instead of providing a fitted sheet for the pad as Disney does, they just gave us a full-size sheet. I would have never used that as the baby could easily suffocate in it. We scrubbed the pad and the baby slept without a sheet. We did not open the pull-out couch, but it did seem the mattress was very thin. I am extremely glad we did not use it to sleep on.
My advice is if you plan to stay in this type of room, ask if any of the rooms are refurbished, the room we were put in should never have been assigned to anyone. One would think the cleaning crew would notice these things. Before getting settled check the safe, microwave, outlets, TVs, toilet and lights.
I completed the review they sent post your stay noting these items and asked for someone to contact me. I received an email back from someone in the front office thanking me and assuring they would forward the information on to their maintenance department. Maybe the next person in 1145 will have a better experience. So much for customer service for the people who had to put up with the issues.


Thank you for your review and for choosing Cabana Bay. We truly regret to learn that your experience did not meet expectations, especially given your loyalty as a Universal Annual Passholder. Please accept our sincerest apologies for the condition of your suite and the inconvenience these issues caused during your visit. We regret the maintenance and housekeeping issues you encountered and the inconvenience they caused during your visit. Your comments regarding the room’s condition, amenities, and follow-up have been shared with our management and maintenance teams to ensure these concerns are addressed promptly. Please know that this is not the level of service we aim to provide, and your feedback will be used to improve both communication and room readiness moving forward. We truly value your loyalty to Universal Orlando Resort and appreciate your honest input. We hope you’ll consider giving us another opportunity in the future to restore your confidence in the Cabana Bay experience. Sincerely, Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort Management
 





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