Cabana Bay Beach Resort

Stayed here for a week
PROS
— Early check in
— nice pools and you can get clean towels outside
— Bar by the pool which has the BEST nachos ever!!! I eat nachos at every restaurant I go to and I made sure I had them a second time before we left lol
— The bathroom mirror is separate from the toilet/​shower which was great for sharing a room with two other people
— The bus shuttles because buses came every 5 minutes
— You can have things you purchase from the parks sent right to the front desk
— The staff was really nice
— The dining eating area is huge and very nice!
CONS
— Rooms are like minimum a 10 minute walk from the front door of lobby. I would dread walking to the room after walking miles at the parks all day.
— The drinks are very weak. Ridiculously weak especially for the price. I drink every few months and I had several margaritas/​mixed drinks every night and didn’t even have a buzz. If you wanna drink at the hotel buy your own bottle. That’s to save hundreds of dollars on liquor that didn’t even get you drunk.
— The laundry machines are horrible and seem like they were meant to make you spend more money on them. We had to pay 3 times just for one load of our clothes to be somewhat dry. Other people were complaining as well because it was time consuming and didn’t have dry clothes when they thought they would.
— The gift shop was extremely small for how big that resort is. Would be beneficial to have a bigger gift shop with more variety.
— The pools weren’t deeper than 5 feet
— Everything closes early like the cafeteria, pool, bars etc we wanted to hang by the pool/​bar later on the weekend and were told to leave the area at 10:50 so after 11 there’s absolutely nothing to do but go to your hotel room.
— A simple build your own salad for one was $ 16 yet a pizza that fed 3 was $ 10…
I would recommend this place for sure but I would wanna try some of the other nice park resorts out first before booking a second stay here

Stayed 1÷15−1÷18÷2016. This was a perfect place for spending a long weekend at Universal Studios. Upon our arrival, we stopped in the lobby bar for a quick drink where the waiter even made a chocolate «milkshake» for our son. We think it was crushed ice with chocolate sauce and a dash of cream, but he loved it. As we sat there Bart Simpson and Lucille Ball came strolling through and we were able to get pictures. Lucille even sat with my son and talked with him for a bit. Our rooms were clean and comfortable. The décor is mid-​century modern themed right down to the soaps and shampoo in the room – adorable.
As for the food offerings, there was a cafeteria/​grocery store area where you could find all sorts of cooked to order, grab and go food items, snacks and drinks, including wine and beer. One night after a long day at the parks, we ordered a fresh-​baked pizza, made a large salad from the salad bar, snacks and drinks (which included sodas, Icee’s, alcoholic beverages) and had a great meal in a casual setting. We were then able to visit the hotel game room and just relax.
The only option to the parks is the bus (no water taxis), but we never had to wait, no matter what time we headed to the parks.
This is definitely a great option if you want to save a little on your trip to Universal but still want to stay at one of the park’s themed hotels.

This Resort was very close to Universal Studios. Shuttle Buses to transport from and to the park. The resort is very nice. Several pools, bowling alley, arcade, gym, bar and etc. The cafeteria area is huge. I would definitely recommend this Resort to anyone.
It looks like are building some sort of water park right next to this resort. Not sure if it’s going to be apart of this resort or not.

This hotel is my absolute favorite of all the Universal Studio hotels. The theme and décor are amazing. The staff are generally nice and helpful. The rooms are decorated well and are always clean. The pools are so fun to hang out at and there is even bonfire areas to make s’mores at (the food court sells supplies). The food at the food court is also pretty good. I absolutely recommend you check this place out if you are looking to stay on property.

So close to receiving 5 stars…
Great location, nice rooms, great overall value. Pools are great, two large pools one has a large water slide and the other has about a ¼ mile long lazy river. My only few complaints and reasons for not giving 5 stars is as follows. No bellmen for luggage, really? Be prepared to drag your own luggage from your car to your room. Also note that you might be dragging your luggage a long way since the parking situation at this hotel is poor. Not a lot of dining options in the hotel. There is a diner/​cafeteria area which serves almost any type of food you want but there are no full service restaurants on property.

This would be our second time staying here. Once when it first opened in 2014 and then this year. The kids love the pool and lots of activities here to keep them occupied. The parks are close by but we prefer walking than taking the shuttle. The service was great from check in to check out.

Universal Studios
Cabana Resort.
Pros:
Great Service
Moderately priced
Room layout is nice.
Cons:
No vents in the toilet rooms
Vinyl trim along the floor.
The lobby is missing something. Not sure how to explain it. Perhaps better lighting.
They have a lazy river but you have to purchase a tube to use it.
Parking at the hotel is not included in the rate.
They need a closer entrance for the guest to enter the theme park. I believe they have one for the Hard Rock hotel.

This would have easily been a four star review if we hadn’t been placed in steerage during our stay.
The hotel itself was nice and new with a cool retro design. The rooms were a bit on the small side but plenty of space for two people. I had requested a king room but received two queens. Not a huge deal but a bit annoying. When I checked in the girl at the front desk was friendly enough but was preoccupied by talking to her friend working next to her.
Our room was in the Americana building, and if you are staying in this building I highly suggest you valet your vehicle so you can walk through the lobby to get to your room. We chose to self-​park (at $ 12/​night), and the parking area for this building is behind the Continental building. It is right across from Americana, but you can’t simply walk across to it. You have to walk all the way around the pool and Continental building, resulting in a ¼ mile walk from your vehicle to your room. Sure, a quarter mile isn’t that far, until you take into account all the luggage that you need to tote combined with several miles of walking while at Universal Studios. It seemed like an eternity getting back to our room after a long day at the park. We got back very late from Disney one night and got the very last parking space in the garage.
You can either take a shuttle or walk to Universal, and we walked the 1.2 miles through the Universal Garden Walk. The walk was fine and the foliage was really pretty. We did not take advantage of the hour-​early admission to Islands of Adventure, but it’s nice to know that is an advantage. There is a Starbucks on site, but every time I tried to go there were approximately thirty people in line. No thanks!
I wouldn’t mind staying again, but I’d request a closer building next time.

I just LOVE the retro design of this resort! Mid-​century décor is everywhere! So cool!
Both times I’ve stayed here with girlfriends, we’ve been in a suite in the Thunderbird building. This mod room features a separate living room with a sleeper sofa, plus an efficiency kitchen including a small fridge (no freezer), microwave, coffee maker & sink. In the bedroom, we had two super-​comfy queen size beds with lots of pillows. The bathroom layout was perfect for multiple people, with a large vanity & sink in the center, flanked by a water-​closet (toilet) on one side and a tub & sink room on the other side. The lighting is fairly decent for a hotel room, too. A closet is tucked into the back corner of the bedroom, and is large enough to stash lots of luggage.
The lobby building sits between two pool areas. The pool on the courtyard side features a large slide and a sandy beach with many chaise lounges. The pool area on the opposite side has a fantastic lazy river, and also a larger covered bar area for poolside drinks & dining. Inside the lobby building, the large Bayliner Diner offers a huge variety of food for each meal, plus a large Starbucks is right down the corridor. Upstairs is the fitness center & a bowling alley with its own bar & dining menu.
All the staff we encountered were friendly & helpful, and the maid service was quite thorough. Parking is plentiful, too. Since I’ve been twice with my girlfriends, I can’t wait to bring my family.

Great value hotel in a wonderful location. We have stayed here three times now and love it more each visit. We love the pools, the spacious rooms, the gym, and the price!
Room: the family suites can sleep 6 though the pull out sofa is not the most comfortable option for sleep. The bathrooms are set up nicely so that people can get ready at the same time. Mimi kitchens have a mini fridge, sink and microwave with a bar to sit at. Good for storing snacks and having breakfast in the room.
Pools: two pools, splash pad, slide and lazy river. Cabana rentals are worth the extra money if you have an entire day to spend at the pool. $ 100 for weekday, $ 150 for weekends. 10a-​10pm. Has nice shade, TV, wifi, outlets, mini-​fridge filled with water, table with 4 chairs, and 2 – 4 lounge chairs.
Food: there is a food court style cafeteria with several offerings from pizza, burgers, sandwiches and a salad bar. There is an Icee machine, frozen yogurt and premade refrigerated food. Three bars+ bowling alley bar. The lazy river pool bar serves a limited food menu but the burgers were fabulous. And a full service Starbucks off the side of the lobby!
There is a nice gym that is open 5am– midnight. Nice free weights, some weight machines and a lot of cardio machines. For entertainment there’s a bowling alley and an arcade.
You can walk to the parks on a safe walkway or take the bus to Citywalk.
We love it and will continue to visit it each year for our Glorida staycations.

Love this place. Funky 50’s style Resort. Clean with lots of amenities. Shuttle Buses are life savers. Great staff. Would defiantly stay here again. Love the Lazy River.
Stayed in late April 2016 (Thursday ⁴⁄₂₁ — Wednesday ⁴⁄₂₇). Weather was still decent. Only had 1 thunderstorm late afternoon on Friday ⁴⁄₂₂ but other than that, it was pretty dry. Mid 80’s to low 90’s with about 60% humidity. Partly cloudy which actually helps with the strong sun rays and there does tend to be a nice breeze here and there. Nighttime is very pleasant, cool and breezy.
Also, Spring Breakers have pretty much gone back from wenst they came so no worries there. Any later than April and you’re getting into the brutal summer heat.

I’m overall very happy with this resort. For some reason, my travel agent booked for me and not once did I look at how much it costed me. Which is very rare! But with the customer services and how they take care of us. They’re worth it. I pulled up. They valet my car. Yes it’s $ 13.00 per night. But I’m ok with that. One phone call for towels, it was deliver within 15mins.
They offer cafeteria style food. Good like pizza, spaghetti, deli sandwiches to burger, they have an salad/​fruit bar that I look forward too everyday! You can alway find your craving will be met to what they’re offering. And did I mention they have a FULL service Starbucks! Yayy for me!!!
A big arcade area, full bowling alley. And about 2 or 3 huge swimming pools. Nightly movies indoors and outdoors. 3 fireplace for you to roast your marshmallows!

Wifey did an awesome job putting together a 3 night stay at the Cabana Bay Resort including tickets to the Universal Studio parks.
2 great benefits to staying on site, shuttle buses are included and you get to hit the parks an hour earlier than the general public.
Cabana bay is the least costly of the 3 major hotels there. The premium hotelsninclude fast passes, depending on what time of year you go, you may want to choose that option. The upgraded hotels was approx $ 600 more than what we paid. The upgrade at the park is approx $ 100 per day per person… do the math.
The hotel itself is a 50s/​60s theme. Old cars parked out front, bright colors, employees wear cool old-​fashioned uniforms etc.
The hotel service is very good with exception to the parking situation. You must valet, parking is $ 12 a day
To get the car out is at least a 20 minute ordeal. I drive down from NJ and with all the luggage I felt rushed to get everything out of the car and on a luggage cart although the valet was very helpful. I checked in at 11pm after a full day in Disney so as you can imagine I was pretty damn cranky. Check in was easy and you can print your park tickets in the lobby (highly recommended)
The rooms are nice, 2 queen beds, a desk and a large flat screen TV. Bathroom is tremendous and has a separate makeup dresser so someone can shower and change while someone brushes their teeth does their hair etc.
The hotel has a large diner/​cafeteria with many choices, prices are reasonable given you are at a resort. They sell a refillable cup for $ 13 that yoy can use at the resort fornany drinks including slushies… think kids. One gripe, the café doesnt open until 7, I was on the bus by 630 2 mornings.
The hotel has a fully staffed starbucks which opens at 5 am or so. The hotel has a large gift/​necessity shop.
The hotel has 2 large pool areas with bars, sandy «beaches» fire pits, lounge chairs and towels.
They have a lazy river however they do not give you ir rent you tubes you have to buy them… hello money grab.
Service was excellent through and through, asked for extra pillows, had them in 5 minutes. Spoke to a rep about the bill, quickly satisfied.
Highly recommended

This hotel is absolutely delightful. The décor is an adorable mid-​century modern homage, and boy, are they ever committed to promoting that retro vibe! From the fake wood paneling on the shuttle buses that transport you to the park (a charmingly kitschy touch) to the bars of Zest soap in every hotel room (I didn’t know they still *made* Zest!), I was impressed with the level of detail that went into maintaining Cabana Bay’s retro theme.
I was also impressed by how much there is to *do* at Cabana Bay. Although the majority of guests are staying at the resort to take advantage of Universal’s early theme park admission offer, I think you could easily skip the park for an afternoon and keep yourself entertained at the hotel. Two massive pools, a lazy river, movie nights, fire pits, fitness center, bowling alley – there are a wide variety of ways to stay busy on the hotel grounds. And the food is pretty good too! I see that some have complained about a lack of options, but I ate two meals in the cafeteria and thought the different stations had plenty of interesting dishes to choose from.
My complaints about my stay are fairly limited. For some reason the towels in our room were comically small (Guys, I’ve been to the pool, I know you have bigger towels on-​site. What gives?). Also, due to the gigantic nature of the hotel, it can be quite the hike to your room. After a long day walking around a muggy amusement park I’d rather not have to hoof it for another mile before I can crash in my room. That walk at the end of the evening was always a bummer. But the family-​sized room that we stayed in was clean and comfortable, and I loved that there was a little sliding door that you could use to partition the kitchen/​sofa area from the rest of the room for a bit of added privacy.
I would definitely stay here again, and highly recommend it to anyone looking to stay at a Universal property hotel.

The Cabana Bay Resort at Universal Studios Orlando, Florida is located approximately 25 minutes from Orlando International Airport (MCO) and 5 minutes from the entrance to Universal Studios, Orlando. The retro 50’s themed hotel is great for anyone planning a visit to the park but is perfect for families with kids. From their casual dining options to their activities and entertainment throughout the day, the Cabana Bay Resort is a great place to make your «home base» for your Universal Studios, Orlando vacation.
The hotel is technically not on the grounds of Universal Studios, Orlando but is close enough. Along with the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort and the Hard Rock Hotel, these hotels are the official hotels of Universal Studios, Orlando. Of the four hotels, the Cabana Bay Resort is the most affordable.
The hotel does offer a free shuttle from the hotel to/​from the main entrance of the City Walk/​Islands of Adventure/​Universal Studios, Orlando. The shuttle runs every 15 minutes, starts approximately 2 hours before normal opening hours and ends way after park closing time.
As a guest of the hotel, you do get early entry (one hour) into Universal Studios, Orlando. It may not sound like much but that extra hour before the park opens to the general public is fantastic. On our visit, we were able to do the Harry Potter and Minions rides and see the Shrek show before the park opened. We then took the train (Hogwarts Express) to the Islands of Adventure to hit the other Harry Potter ride right as the park was opening to the general public. It’s a huge benefit and was definitely worth the up charge to stay here.
That alone should be reason enough to stay here but the rooms and amenities aren’t bad either. I booked a standard two-​queen room and was assigned room 5235 upon checking in. I do not have any elite status with Loews Hotels and our room was not upgraded. Room 5235 is located on the second floor of the Americana building. There are five buildings located around the property: Americana, Castaway, Continental, Starlight and Thunderbird. I have no idea which rooms in which buildings are better than the others. They all looked the same to me.
Our room was decent and was furnished with two queen beds, a small desk, dresser, LCD TV, coffee maker, mini-​fridge and in room safe. I would have described this room as hideous but it goes well with the whole 50’s theme. The beds were comfortable and the blackout curtains did a great job keeping the light out.
The bathroom was smart with the sink located outside of the enclosed toilet/​shower-​tub. That way, one person can be showering or taking care of business and the other person can still use the sink or vanity area to get ready. Bathroom amenities were pretty minimal with VO5 branded shampoo and conditioner and Zest body soap.
As a hotel that is focused on families and kids, you can expect a lot of the amenities here to be also. Here, you will find more pools than you can count, numerous water slides, several Jacuzzis, a game room, video game arcade, bowling alley and fitness center. There’s also a Universal Studios desk located inside the lobby to purchase tickets or get help planning out your day.
Dining is convenient with one large dining area that serves a variety of foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There’s a central food court with different food stations. You pick what you want, pay at the central cashier and enjoy. This works well for families with different tastes and diets. You can get anything from burgers and fries to a steak dinner to a «make your own» salad from the salad bar. And at the end, you bus your own tables and trays. Don’t want a full meal and just want a coffee on the go, there’s also a full-​service Starbucks located inside.
But all that happiness and joy aside, I did have one complaint with the property. The bedroom walls are super thin! You will hear kids screaming up and down the hallways at all hours of the night. I would definitely recommend bringing some earplugs or asking for a room away from everyone else if you are not used to being around kids.
Other than that, this was a fantastic hotel and a great stay to start our trip to Universal Studios, Orlando. The early entry program allowed us to hit a lot of the busier attractions before the general public and the free shuttle made the visit convenient and easy. I don’t know why they went with a retro 50’s theme but it’s cute and it worked. The room was comfy and clean and the hotel restaurant was actually tasty.

Since I love mid-​century modern design this place was my interior design/​architecture jam! When you walk into the lobby you really do feel like you have been transported back to the 1960’s. Evan was very friendly at check-​in and gave us a quick explanation of all the services offered at the hotel.
Pros:
Beds are comfy.
Bowling alley is a great spot if you want a break from the park.
Pool is heated (when I went it was 50 degrees and there were a few swimmers out there)
Bus to Universal is quick, we never waited more than five or so minutes.
IPads in the lobby to print your boarding passes.
Cons:
Towels are so thin and seem cheap.
Our pool facing room was right near the up-​lights for the building, it made our room bright all night unless you closed the curtains just right.
No real restaurant on premises. The cafeteria is good for a quick lunch but not really a dinner spot.
No business center or access to a computer with a printer.
No real room service, just pizza.
Unfortunately the weekend we were hear the weather was cold and rainy. We didn’t get to take advantage of the movies on the lawn of the fire pits with s’mores.
Overall I would definitely stay here again! It is a good value and has nice Universal Perks like the bus and getting into Wizarding World (when I went it was Diagon Alley) one hour before regular ticket holders. This is not a luxury hotel for a weekend getaway for two, but it is a good spot for families and couples looking to save a few bucks by skipping certain amenities. I am still waiting on our email receipt which is annoying that it is not sent out immediately after check out.

When we got here super early before the park opened, the front desk checked us in early before 4 pm because it was a quiet day. Super friendly woman at the front desk! I loved her!
Free valet service for those staying at the hotel, which is nice. The staff seemed friendly and when we picked up our car at the end, they went above and beyond helping us put our luggage into the car.
We got 1 night at the hotel and 2 days park tickets, they provided us early entry for both days!
When I went to go pick up our park tickets, the woman there wasn’t as friendly and instead directed me to a computer to print out my tickets.
The bus shuttle to and from the parks are super fast.
The hotel itself is clean, modern, new, but amazing in that the music is all 50’s and oldies. The whole place looks like somewhere Mad Men would’ve filmed in. We did Starbucks every day and they were quick with the service (though second day, they screwed up my coffee).
My only gripe was that the hotel is so large that you walk quite a lot to get to your rooms! We were exhausted from being in the park all day that walking to our rooms seemed daunting.
Bag check crew are also super friendly here. We had to do that the second day since we had to check out and leave our bags with them so we can hit up the parks again. Also, they are where you pick up your purchases from the park. Really awesome perk!
Rooms were clean and comfortable. I loved that the shampoo, soaps, etc. were all in retro 50’s packaging also!
I would definitely return to this hotel especially since the other hotels were way pricier and all I wanted was really the early park entrance. If you want the express pass, then stay at the other two hotels. But this will do for those who want to just focus on HP World (since you can’t get express there).

I just spent Wednesday through Friday nights at Cabana Bay Beach Resort and had a fantastic time! My husband’s parents booked a row of five hotel rooms side-​by-​side for the whole family to stay close together. From the oldest guest (in their early 60’s) to the youngest guests (almost 3 year old twin boys), everyone enjoyed their stay at Cabana Bay.
As Universal’s opening price resort, the value of Cabana Bay is exceptional. The hotel is beautiful, awe-​strikingly large, and sparkling clean from the massive exterior to the grand lobby and expansive outside areas. Just know that the pictures online do not do the resort justice. Every morning began at the resort’s Starbucks getting out morning caffeine fix. We enjoyed the lazy river, hot tub, and fire pit on Friday afternoon and evening all while drinking a variety of tasty cocktails from the Hideaway.
We all stayed in the suite rooms, and I really enjoyed the separate living and kitchenette space. The kitchenette came with a good sized refrigerator — probably 3−4x larger than the average hotel room fridge — and paper plates, bowls, and plastic ware. The size of the refrigerator allowed us to easily store dinner leftovers, yogurts for breakfast, and fruit for snacks with plenty of room to spare.
Only two components of the resort were less-​than-​awesome. My husband and I didn’t like the layout of the bathroom. Though I understand the benefit of having the toilet and the shower in separate rooms for the sake of a family getting ready, the toilet room was very small and hard to maneuver in and out of. Also, I did not personally try the resort’s food, but my in-​laws said that the food was barely edible. Thankfully, we generally ran out to dinner or picked up take out while staying at the resort. (I highly recommend going to nearby Anthony’s Coal Fired and Lime Fresh Mexican.)

We just stayed in Cabana Bay for two weeks and really enjoyed our stay. The hotel has a quirky décor and ambiance. The room we stayed in (standard room) was always kept clean and it was quite spacious. It also had a small fridge which was very handy. The air con in the room was lovely after a long day walking around the parks in the heat. We didn’t spend a massive amount of time in the hotel as we were usually out all day, however the room was perfect for us. If you think you would spend a lot of time in the room you could go for a larger room with a small living room and little kitchen included, however unless you really need this then the standard room is fine.
The hotel had many facilities, like pools, jacuzzis, a lazy river, a slide, a games room, bowling, bars and various options for food. The food was okay but not the best ever, it is more of a canteen style though it is cheap which is good. I would recommend the pizzas, cheesecake and frozen yogurt from Bayliner Diner if you do try it out.
The reasons I really liked this hotel were firstly because of the early entry into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Islands of Adventure, which can get you on the rides early before the crowds of people arrive. The other reason the hotel is great is because of the shuttle bus that takes you to Universal (both parks and also Citywalk). The buses arrive all the time and so you never have to wait long, even if one is too full you just wait a short while for the next. The buses are air conditioned which feels great after a day in the heat walking around the parks.
I would recommend this hotel if you plan on spending much time in Universal parks or Citywalk. However, please note that this hotel does not offer express passes and so you may wish to stay in one of the other Universal hotels if you would like this.

My family and I stayed here recently when we came down to Orlando to go to Universal Studios. I absolutely loved this hotel as it accommodated all of our needs for our stay.
The main thing I loved about this hotel was the fact that it is a Universal Studios hotel so they offer both a shuttle and access to a walking path to the park. Along with our travel package, they offered us early access to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter which was amazing because that was why we where there to begin with. I had an absolute blast getting to go into the park an hour before it open to the public and I would highly recommend staying at this hotel if that is something of interest to you.
I also really enjoyed the theme of this hotel. The décor and structure of it made you feel as if you were transported into a scene from Mad Men. They also had music from earlier decades playing in the lobby as well as music from today playing in the courtyard area which also housed the pool and lazy river.
In the lobby, they had a Universal gift shop which offered a lot of the merchandise found in the park. This was very useful as it allowed for you to get souvenirs at the hotel without worrying about getting it while you are in the park. In addition to this, if you did buy anything at the park, there was an option to have it sent to your hotel room so you didn’t have to carry it around all day.
The room we stayed in was very relaxing and comfortable. They had the air conditioning on full force when we got our keys which was much appreciated after being in the Florida heat. There were two TV’s in the room, one in the living room and one in the bedroom. I really liked how they divided up the bathroom. There was a sink counter and mirror right off of the bedroom and two doors on either side, one door leading to the toilet and the other to the shower. This layout came in handy in the mornings when everyone was getting ready.
Overall this hotel is definitely worth a shot and I will definitely book a room the next time I go to Universal Studios.