Cabana Bay or Holiday Inn nearest U.S.

[ilovetotravel1977]

I'm trying to decide where our group should stay for 4 days at the Universal area.

Has anyone here stayed at the Holiday Inn nearest Universal? Description says it's across the street from Universal and has shuttles. I can get this hotel for $64/night (US$). Or, should we stay onsite at Cabana Bay and pay twice as much? We are going to be there the first week of February 2018.

Do the shuttles/buses for both hotels drop you off at the exact same location?

 

[Seeker615]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn a few years ago. You can walk to the parks but it is a long walk and you have to cross a very busy (and scary) highway.

We walked the first day and then did the shuttles or took a cab after that. Cabs were very reasonable. (Like around $5)

I did not like relying on the shuttle. We had to make a couple of stops at other hotels and also when we wanted to stay in Citywalk we needed to get a cab as the shuttles didn't run late.

The hotel was very nice though. We were upgraded to a suite and it was huge. We had a fridge and microwave, a living room and lots of counter space. There was a nice swimming pool and a restaurant on the premises as well.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Do all of the shuttles/buses drop you off at the same location? Meaning, if we stay onsite, will those buses drop us off closer to the park entrances?

 

[TommyJK]

Is your plan to be in the parks all or most of the days?

You would need to weight the following 2 perks of staying at CB vs. the cost savings of staying at Holiday Inn:

- Early entry (to get to the Harry Potter stuff before everyone else)
- "better" direct transportation to the parks vs what Seeker615 described

edit: To your last question, Bus from CB drops you off at the transportation hub at Citiwalk, BUT you could also cross the street and use Sapphire Falls water Taxi as well.

 

[macraven]

The onsite hotel shuttle bus drop you off at the area before city walk

There is a designated bus section at the beginning of CW

Go thru city walk to reach the parks

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

We will be in the parks all day.

I'm leaning towards staying onsite as we won't be renting a car.

 

[Momto2minniemice]

We stayed at CB and HATED it! It was not worth the money at all! The bus system is at the end of City Walk which is where everyone else is. The walk is so far also.
The Room...... you could see under the door, the linens were not great, oh and the toilet that backed up in the middle of the night that they took for ever to fix!
The resort itself is very spread out and not the greatest if you are wanting to use the pools either. I would save the money and stay off site.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

We stayed at CB and HATED it! It was not worth the money at all! The bus system is at the end of City Walk which is where everyone else is. The walk is so far also.
The Room...... you could see under the door, the linens were not great, oh and the toilet that backed up in the middle of the night that they took for ever to fix!
The resort itself is very spread out and not the greatest if you are wanting to use the pools either. I would save the money and stay off site.

Thank you for your honest opinion...the bus system drop off location is part of my hesitation.

 

[kbelle8995]

I've stayed in CB and Loved it. The bus system is not bad at all. It is one moving sidewalk and bag check away from Citywalk You can also choose to walk or go to Sapphire Falls and take the boat and go through security there.

You get early entry to HP which is a huge help when you don't have express pass.

 

[bchbetha]

I'd opt for onsite. That extra hour is great. We had zero problems with Cabana Bay. It's more on the budget end of things, aka the linens aren't fabulous however you save a good amount by staying there over hotels with nicer appointments.
I'll admit that it's a slog from the bus drop off but it truly wasn't a huge deal. But, in the future I'd plan to:
-just take the garden path walk to the park
-walk to Sapphire Falls and hop on the water taxi
-just stay at Sapphire Falls

 

[damo]

We stayed at Cabana Bay and loved it. We had just come from Art of Animation and found the distance to the bus to be so much closer at Cabana Bay. We loved the family suites and would stay there again in a heart beat. If you don't want to take the bus, just walk next door to Sapphire Falls and take the water taxi which will let you off right outside of Universal Studios. If you walk about 3 minutes, you would be at Islands of Adventure. The kiddos adored the lazy river and the big pool. We enjoyed the food court because we didn't have to wait to get a table like we did at Art of Animation.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I loved Cabana Bay - stayed for 14 nights - but at a really great rate ($84/night). I would stay again in a heart beat - the bus service was excellent. I would also stay at Sapphire Falls for the more convenient water taxi option. Cabana Bay has a lot to offer IMO.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

We stayed at Cabana Bay and loved it. We had just come from Art of Animation and found the distance to the bus to be so much closer at Cabana Bay. We loved the family suites and would stay there again in a heart beat. If you don't want to take the bus, just walk next door to Sapphire Falls and take the water taxi which will let you off right outside of Universal Studios. If you walk about 3 minutes, you would be at Islands of Adventure. The kiddos adored the lazy river and the big pool. We enjoyed the food court because we didn't have to wait to get a table like we did at Art of Animation.

This is helpful.

I think as long as we have another option than the bus (water taxi), we will likely just book there.

 

[damo]

This is helpful.

I think as long as we have another option than the bus (water taxi), we will likely just book there.

The walk from the bus really isn't an issue. Go on google maps and take a look.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

So ALL buses drop off at the same location? Regardless if onsite or offsite hotel?

 

[bchbetha]

The walk from the bus really isn't an issue. Go on google maps and take a look.

I agree. The walk from the bus really isn't a deal breaker. And unlike Disney buses, you won't have a long wait between buses. They just keep coming or are already queued up ready for you.

 

[macraven]

So ALL buses drop off at the same location? Regardless if onsite or offsite hotel?

 

[TommyJK]

I agree. The walk from the bus really isn't a deal breaker. And unlike Disney buses, you won't have a long wait between buses. They just keep coming or are already queued up ready for you.

Ya. I really don't get why people moan so much about the bus from Cabana Bay.

It comes like every 5 minutes, gets you to drop off spot in under 10 minutes, and the walk from the drop of to the main gates (if you measure off google maps) is like 1500 feet.

 

[kbelle8995]

Ya. I really don't get why people moan so much about the bus from Cabana Bay.

It comes like every 5 minutes, gets you to drop off spot in under 10 minutes, and the walk from the drop of to the main gates (if you measure off google maps) is like 1500 feet.

Yeah. I don't think it's that bad either. Certainly not a deal breaker. But always thought that this was a me thing