What are the advantages of staying at a Universal Resort?

[ck2d]

I'm used to Disney parks, where the difference between staying on property and off is night and day. It doesn't seem like that's the case at Universal. What are the advantages of staying on property in a Universal resort?

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Early Entry one hour before regular park opening & ease of transportation/ getting to & from the parks are big perks to us.

 

[barb969]

If you stay at one their deluxe hotels you get a free express pass. You can go the front of every line except Hagrids.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

The UO resorts are walkable to the parks with varying ease (except Endless Summer), though a few very nearby off-site hotels are too.

I understand right now you can also book virtual line passes (when in use) from anywhere onsite, resorts included. So you could book a Hagrids time from bed.

Room key charging.

Delivery of merchandise to your room. (Are they still doing this during Covid?)

 

[andieb0602]

Ease of transportation, definitely. If you stay at one of the premier hotels you are less than a 10 minute walk to the parks. When we stayed at Cabana Bay we only waited for a bus once during the week we were there (leaving the park in the middle of the day) and even then the wait was less than 5 minutes. Also, once you park your car you truly don't have to move it again until you leave thanks to the close proximity of the other resorts and Citywalk. It's really nice to go back to your room midday and then head back into the parks or into Citywalk for dinner in the evening or to hit the parks in the morning then head to Volcano Bay in the afternoon and not have your transportation take multiple transfers or an hour of your time.

I feel like Universal is a laid-back vacation and staying on-site contributes to that feeling.

We stopped staying on site at Disney because we found that we could actually get out of the parks and back to our off site hotel *faster* than using Disney transportation to get back to one of their hotels.

 

[Hettie]

An additional benefit for guests at Premier resorts (HRH, RPH, PBH) is preferred seating at most of the full-service restaurants in the parks and at City Walk.

 

[GoingSince1990]

The short stroll from the Hard Rock Hotel to Universal Studios and Citywalk is a joy; it's just like walking from the Beach Club to Epcot. The included Express Pass is great, of course. I wouldn't get too excited about the preferred restaurant seating though, being a resort guest has never seemed to help us very much.

 

[frank808]

The short stroll from the Hard Rock Hotel to Universal Studios and Citywalk is a joy; it's just like walking from the Beach Club to Epcot. The included Express Pass is great, of course. I wouldn't get too excited about the preferred restaurant seating though, being a resort guest has never seemed to help us very much.

Has never made a difference for me. This was pre covid so it might help now?

 

[JPTexan82]

Just left RPR after a 6 night stay.
Right now during Covid. Proximity to the parks, charging to the rooms resort wide, early entry to US 1 hour early, and 30 minutes to VB, package shipment back to the Bell Stand at the hotel, pool. Express pass included at RPR, HR, and PB, transportation via boat or bus. Boat transportation has limited seats.

what they are not doing during Covid, No valet parking, no baggage assistance (will hold bags at bell stand), no servicing of the rooms, Limited restaurant hours and menu, No games at the pools, No Priority Restaurant access at city walk, no night clubs at City Walk, no live entertainment at the hotels. No pool hoping.

 

[macraven]

I appreciate you posting to share with us.
It’s good to have current info here



what you said will help our readers

and in return, hope others can share their experiences to help guide others in what to expect

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

Just left RPR after a 6 night stay.
Right now during Covid. Proximity to the parks, charging to the rooms resort wide, early entry to US 1 hour early, and 30 minutes to VB, package shipment back to the Bell Stand at the hotel, pool. Express pass included at RPR, HR, and PB, transportation via boat or bus. Boat transportation has limited seats.

what they are not doing during Covid, No valet parking, no baggage assistance (will hold bags at bell stand), no servicing of the rooms, Limited restaurant hours and menu, No games at the pools, No Priority Restaurant access at city walk, no night clubs at City Walk, no live entertainment at the hotels. No pool hoping.

No servicing of rooms? So your room wasn’t cleaned for 6 days?

 

[macraven]

Policies change quickly

When the hotels first opened up during covid, rooms were not serviced daily but you could still get limited service

believe you were informed when you checked in, information given to all to text them for anything you needed and it would be left at your door

( linens, towels. Soap, shampoo (toiletries)

No idea if this has changed or will be changed in the future months.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

No servicing of rooms? So your room wasn’t cleaned for 6 days?

Just back from a 5 night stay at Sapphire Falls.

No, the rooms are not entered for cleaning at all (which we far prefer anyway, especially at this time.)

Just text them for additional supplies &/or you need towels/trash picked up. It was just the 2 of us so we didn't need towels picked up & took out our own trash. They delivered additional supplies in 7 minutes when we did requested them in the middle of our stay.

 

[JPTexan82]

No servicing of rooms? So your room wasn’t cleaned for 6 days?

That is correct. You can text or call for more towels and soap.

 

[gharter]

When we go to Universal, staying at a Universal resort is an easy decision. If you stay at the right resorts, you not only get early entry, but have unlimited Express Pass. This makes planning, competely unnecessary. Plus, being in walking distance of Citywalk is really nice. And walking distance to the parks is another benefit.

 

[cschaaf]

I'm used to Disney parks, where the difference between staying on property and off is night and day. It doesn't seem like that's the case at Universal. What are the advantages of staying on property in a Universal resort?

Interesting. The only benefits I've seen for staying on Disney property are extra park hours, earlier access to ADR/FP reservations, park transportation, and airport transportation. We drive and have never done a dining reservation, so those two don't do anything for us (but I am sure are valuable to many). Universal covers the extra park hours and park transportation. I'd be interested to hear what other benefits you feel that you get at Disney properties.

At Universal, we are hooked on Express Pass and it would take some kind of special circumstance where we wouldn't choose to stay at one of the on-site hotels that includes the EP. Those also have the added benefit of being the closest to the parks so it's quick and easy to get to and from. We also are early risers (on vacation, anyway ) so we love the early entry.

We do cheap out on our arrival night and stay somewhere cheap - that used to be at the Fairfield right across the street, but Cabana Bay and Endless Summer rates are usually the same or lower, so we have chosen to stay there on the last 2 trips.

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

I'm used to Disney parks, where the difference between staying on property and off is night and day. It doesn't seem like that's the case at Universal. What are the advantages of staying on property in a Universal resort?

If you are a rider, someone like my family that wants to experience everything and many things multiple times, then the advantages to staying onside at a Universal premier hotel are supremely greater than the advantages to staying onside at Disney. Express pass is worth its weight in gold, and we personally would not go to Universal without it.

 

[nkereina]

We always stay on-site at Universal, and always at one of the premier resorts. For us, they are just as nice (if not nicer) than comparable off-site resorts and we get the unlimited express pass included. The ease of being able to walk or take the boat to and from the parks makes it very easy to take breaks or pop in and out of the park at our leisure. The one hour early entry is also a perk, but we never use it. Never need to get there early with express pass and having virtually no commute.

No servicing of rooms? So your room wasn’t cleaned for 6 days?

This seems to be common across the hotel industry in light of covid. I've stayed at three different hotels here in NY over the last two months, and did not receive housekeeping at any of them. All of them were willing to drop off towels/supplies and take trash (or leave trash outside the door), but there was no cleaning or bed making.

 

[andieb0602]

If you are a rider, someone like my family that wants to experience everything and many things multiple times, then the advantages to staying onside at a Universal premier hotel are supremely greater than the advantages to staying onside at Disney. Express pass is worth its weight in gold, and we personally would not go to Universal without it.

That's a really good point. After our first day in the parks on our first visit, the kids had figured out their favorites and wanted to ride them over and over. (Gringotts five times is a row...) Our last trip we didn't even hit some big rides because they just wanted to ride the same things over and over and over...

If your family likes to ride that way EPs are the best way to do that (even if right now they take you from a 10 minute wait to a walk on). I also feel more comfortable letting my kids go on rides by themselves with EP because I know there will be a TM at the entrance, somewhere in the middle, and at the ride so they can find help quickly if they need it. Not that I would feel uncomfortable sending them through a regular queue but it just gives me another level of assurance. My DD was harassed by an older man in a queue at our local amusement park one time and the kids had to leave the queue to get us to help so I'm a little overprotective in that respect. On that same note the EP hotels are close enough to the parks that I feel comfortable allowing my DD to walk to the park by herself one morning when she was exhausted and didn't want to rope drop.

 

[ck2d]

Interesting. The only benefits I've seen for staying on Disney property are extra park hours, earlier access to ADR/FP reservations, park transportation, and airport transportation. We drive and have never done a dining reservation, so those two don't do anything for us (but I am sure are valuable to many). Universal covers the extra park hours and park transportation. I'd be interested to hear what other benefits you feel that you get at Disney properties.

At Universal, we are hooked on Express Pass and it would take some kind of special circumstance where we wouldn't choose to stay at one of the on-site hotels that includes the EP. Those also have the added benefit of being the closest to the parks so it's quick and easy to get to and from. We also are early risers (on vacation, anyway ) so we love the early entry.

We do cheap out on our arrival night and stay somewhere cheap - that used to be at the Fairfield right across the street, but Cabana Bay and Endless Summer rates are usually the same or lower, so we have chosen to stay there on the last 2 trips.

There really aren't any hotels near WDW so the location and transportation of the resorts makes a huge difference. Additionally the staff is really top notch. Staying in the Disney bubble for the whole vacation really does make a huge difference. Additionally you have the extra magic time park hours, you can have your park purchases sent to the room, and the magic bands make everything so easy. Your park tickets, your room key, and you can use it to charge to the room so paying for everything is super easy. Maybe too easy!