Which Hotel?

[MouseFan Down Under]

Hi there!

I am really unsure about which hotel to stay at when at Universal next year. It seems the more I research the more conflicted I get! I will be travelling solo, and will be there for 4 nights in early Fall 2018.

Options are:

• Aventura Hotel
• Cabana Bay
• Sapphire Falls
• Double Tree @ Entrance to Universal

Aventura & Cabana Bay are the same price ($865), while for Sapphire Falls it would be $1065, and I have some Hilton points, so could stay at the Double Tree for around $200 - but would then need to buy park tickets.

I plan on doing the parks, as well as some shopping, so will potentially have a rental car as well. (Will be coming from Disney and going back there after my 4 days).

I have previously stayed at the Double Tree (2011) - but that was before all the new hotels were built... I was comfortable with the walk from there to the parks.

When at Disney I am comfortable at Pop. I really only use the room to shower & sleep.

Thoughts and opinions gratefully accepted!

Many Thanks

 

[macraven]

Early fall?
If your trip is October, weekends will be crowded so staying onsite is advisable

Adventura hotel will be open but just a basic place to stay
If you are looking for cheap rates, it would be the lowest cost onsite

Read about that hotel on the UO site

For the other UO hotels, check out their stickies

No idea about the double tree as I have never stayed there

 

[MouseFan Down Under]

Early Fall = mid September; and I will be there Monday through Friday - so weekends not an issue.

Are Adventura & Cabana Bay walkable distance to the main entrance? Is Sapphire Falls worth the extra $200.00?

 

[macraven]

Bus more convenient and faster

If you have littles, the bus might be best

Cbay peeps vary on which they use

Adventura hotel would be a longer walk than Cbay

Is $200 more worth it?
Half will say yes and the rest will say no

 

[cfoxga]

The prices you quote seem a bit high. Are you looking at the SMSM rate or the basic Seasonal rate? Cabana Bay looks like $115/night for a standard room in mid Sept and Sapphire Falls Is $159. The good news is that kids are back in school, so the crowds should be lower during the week.

Keep in mind that the prices will change, and APH rates should open up 2-3 months before your arrival. So it might be cheaper to buy an Annual Pass instead of 4 day tickets, when you consider the savings on the room.

SF has direct ferry access to City Walk and the parks vs the bus for CB. I've only stayed at CB and it was fine as a room. We took the very long walk to SF to use the ferry and decided that our second trip would not be to CB. We really enjoyed the ferry rides on the couple of occasions we took it, vs standing in a parking garage waiting for a bus. But the price difference was only $15-25 when we were looking.

 

[wookiebeck]

The prices you list look like a package 'deal'. Try pricing out the rooms and tix separately. That might help you with apples to apples to apples comparison. And you might save over the package at the same time.

 

[MouseFan Down Under]

Thanks everyone!! Really appreciate your thoughts and advice!

 

[GoldmanTrust]

We stayed at Cabana Bay this fall and are planning our next trip. That will be our fourth year in a row going to Florida in September/October (flying in from Scandinavia).

CBBR is nice. I would like to try out all the hotels, but for me (and my family: my wife and our 8 year old daughter, along with my in laws) the biggest draw to CBBR is the proximity to Volcano Bay. In September that park is awesome. We loved doing early entry there. It was 300-400 steps from our hotel room and into Volcano Bay. So even with the express passes and etc at the other places, I would probably choose CBBR again.

Aventura is also close to VB, and cheap. It looks nice and the rooftop bar is something I really want to try out.

If you plan on starting the day at VB, I would do either of those two hotels and if you need an express pass - I would just buy one for one day (but honestly - having gone so often in September over the previous years I cannot almost say with 100% certainty that you will not need one. And hey you are alone so Hellooo single rider line!)

If Universal Studios and Islands are the parks you plan on visiting the most - I would check out a hotel a little bit closer, unless you enjoy walking. If I was alone I would look at Royal Pacific, seems like a great hotel. I would think Hard Rock is a little bit noisy for me.

Anyways, have a lot of fun!