Comparing Cabana Bay and Sapphire Falls?

[Planogirl]

We are looking into a trip this October. We have decided against the deluxe hotels since we will be there for several days. We LOVE Cabana Bay but then it might be fun to try a new place.

Is Sapphire Falls worth the higher cost? What else does it have extra besides a boat dock? We aren’t really interested in the water park so that being close to the resorts is irrelevant. Thoughts?

 

[AaronRif]

It depends on what you want out of the hotel. If Sapphire is $75-100 more/night, it may be worth it. I haven't stayed at Cabana since I value walking or taking the water taxi to the parks and will choose Aventura if I want to save $$. From my perspective, Sapphire's pros include:

• Water taxi/walk to the park
• Strong Water Tavern, their bar, is usually fantastic (I had an awful experience last time I was there but may give it another try)
• Arguably best pool on property, although Cabana has the lazy river
• Everything is connected, and while there are three towers, you can walk through interior corridors to get to everything versus the more sprawling layout of Cabana
• Amatista, their sit-down restaurant, is above average
• Larger standard rooms compared to Cabana, but no family suites (there are suites at Sapphire, but they cost significantly more)

Honestly it will come down to what you value from the hotel. I don't have kids and prefer the closer location on property, but I can see how families value the extra space and lazy river at Cabana. Sapphire "feels" more upscale and more like a four star hotel too.

 

[georgina]

We are looking into a trip this October. We have decided against the deluxe hotels since we will be there for several days. We LOVE Cabana Bay but then it might be fun to try a new place.

Is Sapphire Falls worth the higher cost? What else does it have extra besides a boat dock? We aren’t really interested in the water park so that being close to the resorts is irrelevant. Thoughts?

I've never stayed at Sapphire Falls. I have pool hopped from Aventura, it is a nice pool. I have used the water taxi back from the parks to SF when staying both at Cabana Bay and at Aventura (and it is possible to walk from cabana Bay to the parks, just a longer walk!)

My impression of SF is that it is similar to RPR without the express pass (and fewer restaurants). I love RPR but am a bit of a cheapskate. Having stayed at Cabana Bay many times, I now prefer Aventura for the same price. Personally I have not found it worth it to pay more for SF rooms, all the amenities are available to me as an Aventura guest, it is a short walk between them.

 

[lisam70]

It depends what your priorities in a resort are and what exactly is the cost difference.
Biggest plus at SF is the water taxi and not having to go thru Citywalk security. For me that's about it. Yes the rooms are beautiful and so is the pool but I wouldn't pay more just for that. The sit down restaurants are good but where SF is really lacking IMO is their quick serve foods. The market is limited and always seems under staffed. I hate that there is only one line to stand in no matter what you are getting whether it be a coffee, food or something grab and go. Food court at CB is way better so it depends what your food preferences are-if you don't eat breakfast at the resort or are never in a hurry than SF is fine.
Personally I probably won't stay there again for these reasons. I usually do a split stay RP then to Aventura since its right next to SF I can take the boat if I want.

 

[georgina]

I do like Urban Pantry at Aventura for breakfast, plus the Starbucks in the lobby had a much shorter line than the Cabana Bay Starbucks!

 

[Planogirl]

Thanks for the thoughts. There’s a lot to think about!

Yes, you can walk to parks from Cabana Bay but it can seem endless. We tend to wander from park to park and that only adds more walking.

I haven’t really looked at Aventura yet. I guess I should…

 

[lisam70]

Thanks for the thoughts. There’s a lot to think about!

Yes, you can walk to parks from Cabana Bay but it can seem endless. We tend to wander from park to park and that only adds more walking.

I haven’t really looked at Aventura yet. I guess I should…

To compare Aventura and CB
To me the aesthetic at aventura is very sterile and honestly I really don’t like it. CB is fun and vibrant BUT it’s also way more crowded. Aventura does have a food court but options at CB are better/more variety. The pool at Aventura isn’t great so if you want a pool day it’s best to go to SF or CB. Aventura is very compact and easy to navigate. CB now has an ice cream shop and it’s yummy!
I think CB is a better resort in general but I will choose Aventura if the price is right and for shorter stays. For longer stay I choose CB family suite even if it’s just me and hubby because I love the extra room.
There are many people who absolutely love SF go to hotel sticky and get more opinions there.

 

[nouvellefleur]

We are looking into a trip this October. We have decided against the deluxe hotels since we will be there for several days. We LOVE Cabana Bay but then it might be fun to try a new place.

Is Sapphire Falls worth the higher cost? What else does it have extra besides a boat dock? We aren’t really interested in the water park so that being close to the resorts is irrelevant. Thoughts?

We've decided to stay at Sapphire Falls in November partly because we'd like easier access to restaurants we've never tried before. The price difference for our dates wasn't that significant and it's milestone birthday trip, so we decided it was the right time to try a different hotel.

We've previously only stayed at Cabana Bay, which I really love. We had a Volcano view room last time (looooved) and it was a very narrow decision between SF and CBBR. If the price difference had been greater or I hadn't heard so many good reviews of Strong Water, or if the pool weren't so pretty, we might have gone back to CBBR.

 

[Planogirl]

We've decided to stay at Sapphire Falls in November partly because we'd like easier access to restaurants we've never tried before. The price difference for our dates wasn't that significant and it's milestone birthday trip, so we decided it was the right time to try a different hotel.

We've previously only stayed at Cabana Bay, which I really love. We had a Volcano view room last time (looooved) and it was a very narrow decision between SF and CBBR. If the price difference had been greater or I hadn't heard so many good reviews of Strong Water, or if the pool weren't so pretty, we might have gone back to CBBR.

We’re staying for six nights and so far I’m finding a 60 to 70 dollar difference per night. I’m not sure that’s worth it. Strangely, Aventura appears to be about 30-40 dollars per night more than CB on the Universal website. Aventura does look a bit like an office building to me.

It looks like CB will likely be the one again.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Strangely, Aventura appears to be about 30-40 dollars per night more than CB on the Universal website.

Most likely standard room types are sold out at Aventura. I've always seen the base standard room price the same between the two.

 

[lisam70]

We’re staying for six nights and so far I’m finding a 60 to 70 dollar difference per night. I’m not sure that’s worth it. Strangely, Aventura appears to be about 30-40 dollars per night more than CB on the Universal website. Aventura does look a bit like an office building to me.

It looks like CB will likely be the one again.

I don’t think I’d pay that much more for Aventura.
If you really wanted to check out SF you could do a split stay 2 nights at Sapphire at 4 at Cabana Bay

 

[Sue M]

We love Sapphire! It’s more like a deluxe resort but without express pass. We are there 2 weeks so we split our stays, 1 week Sapphire and 1 week Portofino. CB is fun, I like their food court. I’ve only had 1 night stays there when airlines changed my flights to come in at midnight and didn’t feel like paying $$$ at Hardrock for that first night.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

It depends what your priorities in a resort are and what exactly is the cost difference.
Biggest plus at SF is the water taxi and not having to go thru Citywalk security. For me that's about it. Yes the rooms are beautiful and so is the pool but I wouldn't pay more just for that. The sit down restaurants are good but where SF is really lacking IMO is their quick serve foods. The market is limited and always seems under staffed. I hate that there is only one line to stand in no matter what you are getting whether it be a coffee, food or something grab and go. Food court at CB is way better so it depends what your food preferences are-if you don't eat breakfast at the resort or are never in a hurry than SF is fine.
Personally I probably won't stay there again for these reasons. I usually do a split stay RP then to Aventura since its right next to SF I can take the boat if I want.

We were looking at switching from Cabana Bay to SF but I have a picky eater, so the CB food court made more sense. Plus we are too spoiled with the family suites to go anywhere other than CB (until my son gets taller and we need express pass).

 

[kbelle8995]

I've been to both. They are both Beautiful hotels. I think Cabana Bay has better food options Sapphire falls does have the boat and it is close to Royal Pacific. (Well sort of Close) I am More of a Cabana Bay fan. I just love the vintage look and the vibes. And it does have a lazy river.