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When we visit the Universal Orlando Parks, we ALWAYS stay at one of the Universal Orlando hotels. There are 8 hotels run by Lowes Hotels. These are some of the BEST hotels in Orlando for a family vacation.
If you are visiting Universal Orlando, you must stay at one of these properties. The Universal Orlando Hotels offer a ton of valued added for a Universal vacation. You can watch the video or scroll down below to learn why you should stay at one of the UO hotels.
Reasons YOU Should Stay at a Universal Orlando Hotel
Let’s jump into the reasons why you and your family should book a Universal Orlando hotel for your next vacation. There are so good ones!
Early Park Admission
One of the biggest benefits of staying at a Universal Orlando Hotel is the Early Park Admission. With Early Park Admission, you get into either Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure an hour before the park opens to the general public. You are treated like a VIP! You just show your room key and you get to play an hour before everyone else. We love Early Park Admission!
Package Delivery
The next benefit of staying at a Universal Orlando Hotel is package delivery. As you are exploring the Universal Parks, you may find a souvenir or two. Do you want to carry souvenirs around with you all day? Of course not! You can actually have your purchase delivered to your Universal Orlando Hotel. All free of charge!
That way you can shop and then go play without having to lug around your merchandise all day long. I love this benefit at the Universal Orlando Hotels.
Complimentary Transportation
The next benefit is complimentary transportation. The transportation at Universal Orlando hotels is some of the best transportation I have ever experienced on vacation.
I know I am going to upset a lot of Disney fans, but Universal is better! You can take a bus or water taxi from your Universal Orlando hotel to Universal CityWalk. You can then walk to either Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios.
The transportation runs all day into the late evening, just in case you want to catch a movie or dinner at Universal CityWalk. The best news is the transportation is free! I have never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus or water taxi. The transportation system at Universal is amazing!
Priority Seating at Restaurants
Unlike other Orlando vacations (aka a certain mouse), you do not have to worry about booking all of your dining reservations before your trip. When you stay at the Premier Universal Orlando Hotels (like Portofino Bay, Hard Rock, and Royal Pacific) you can take advantage of priority seating at select Universal Restaurants. You just call an exclusive phone number to book your priority seating reservations.
Close to Universal Orlando Hotels
One of my favorite reasons we stay at the Universal Orlando Hotels is the location. All of the hotels are super close to Universal Orlando. It only takes minutes to get from Universal CityWalk back to your hotel. Even Endless Summer Resorts, which is located on International Drive (outside of Universal) is a quick ride.
This is perfect for families with infants and younger children. You can enjoy the morning at the theme parks and then hop on the transportation to go back to your hotel for an afternoon nap.
We love how close the hotels are to all of the action. The kids and I have hopped on the bus at Endless Summer, just to go to Universal CityWalk for dinner or ice cream.
You are close to all of the adventure!
Charge to Your Room Key
Once you arrive at your room, put your wallet in the safe. You will not need it again! You can charge everything during your Universal Orlando vacation to your room key. Once you check in, you can leave a credit card on file for incidentals. You can then just charge everything to your room key. Super simple!
Great Value
Another big benefit of the Universal Orlando Hotels is the value. All of the hotels have lots of resort amenities. This even includes the value hotels. The least expensive hotels like Dockside and Surfside are some of the cheapest hotels in Orlando. I actually booked a room last week for only $69 per night! That is super cheap for Orlando.
Even with an inexpensive price tag, there are a lot of room and resort amenities. In addition to all of these benefits we are talking about today. When you start adding all of the free benefits up, it is an incredible value.
Bring Your Pets
Did you know you can bring your pets to the Universal Orlando Hotel? All of the Universal Hotels are pet friendly. You can bring your pets along with you.
If you plan on spending time at the parks, you do need to board them in the kennel. You are not able to leave your pet in the room alone. However, we all love our pets and it is fun to bring them on your vacation.
Universal Orlando Merchandise
Another benefit of the Universal Orlando Hotels is the merchandise shops. All of the Universal Orlando Hotels have a merchandise shop. You can get all of the fun souvenirs that you can find at the theme parks at these merchandise shops, including Harry Potter merch. On the last day of our vacation, we always love popping into the merchandise shops for that one last souvenir before heading home.
Cool Themed Rooms for Kids
Do you love Jurassic Park or Minions? You can stay in cool themed rooms at select Universal Orlando Hotels. We love the Jurassic World suites at Royal Pacific and the Minions suite at Portofino Bay Hotel. Your kids will love these fun themes and you will love the extra space for mom and dad.
Universal Express
We saved the best benefit to the end. The very best benefit of staying at select Universal Orlando Hotels is the Universal Express. With Universal Express, you show your room key to gain front of the line access on rides and attractions at both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios.
This can save you up to $600 per day for a family of 4. This benefit is available at the Premier Hotels, including Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, and Royal Pacific Hotel. We love the Universal Express and recommend staying at these Premier Hotels just to access this exclusive benefit.
Are you thinking about a Universal Orlando vacation? Email me at allison AT jonesfamilytravels.com and I can personally assign one of our team to help you plan a magical adventure.
