We always stay at Royal Pacific, we love it. It is almost always the lowest cost of the 3 premier resorts to get that express pass benefit and close proximity to the parks. The resort itself is beautiful, nice pool, and incredible sushi restaurant.
Royal pacific is my favorite but I've been finding recently its the most expensive. Stayed in portofino bay last time cuz it was $150 cheaper than Pacific
I LOVE Surfside! As a solo traveler, I don't need to stay at a premier resort for EPs since I use single rider line most of the time. The food at Beach Break is great and reasonably priced, friendly employees, very clean and is much more quiet than Dockside. I got my room for $72 a night back in December with my uoap discount and can't beat that!
Cabana Bay is by far my favorite but I’m an adult child and can’t get out of the pool area. We love they give you a new, deflated tube when you leave (if you purchased one there)😂. For Express pass, we have stayed at Royal Pacific and loved it. The worker at Tuk Tuk market gave me a free donut for my kiddo ❤❤
We stayed at the Aventura which is next to Sapphire Falls and we just walked over to the ferry and took it every morning. No one said we couldn't and no one stopped us.
Hard Rock Hotel is my jam. As a solo traveler, I stay at the club level and get my money's worth just on the food they serve daily. And you can't beat that short walk to the parks.
Stayed at Aventura for my first OI event last year, and absolutely loved it. The way the hotel is laid out means you never have a long walk to your room, unlike some of the other resorts. The proximity to the water taxi and walking path through Sapphire Falls is also a great perk. Hoping to do Sapphire Falls for one of my trips this year. I have no idea what that scent is in the lobby, but I would stay for that alone😂
Haha that’s true!! Sometimes you have a long wait for an elevator, but still better than walking 😂 you can ask for the scent and they’ll let you take a picture of the website they get it from and what the “blend” is or whatever 😂🤣
So thankful for this video today! It’s been a stressful couple of weeks. We used to stay at RP, but once we tried Hard Rock we fell in love with that short walk to the park. It’s so nice at the end of the night if you are tired and the water taxi is slammed to know that you are just a short walk to the room.
@@ThePughTwo Thank you. Our dog suddenly got sick. Multiple trips to the vet because he kept getting worse/not responding to meds. They finally think they know what it is. Waiting on labs, and trying a new med.
We love the HardRock and returning for our third visit in August, love everything about the hotel, from the staff to the smell of the hotel. Only just found your Chanel and you guys are killing it with valued information a the fun way you deliver it 👍🏻
Need to comment on this one! What a fantastic and informative video! Honestly, top notch and full of tips I wasn’t aware of! The dedicated path, the 7am check in for express, the pool hopping plus loads more! Keep up the great work!
We were blown away by how great surfside was when we stayed. Price was unbelievable and the staff was seriously great! Felt like staying at a Disney moderate but a small step up. Could not believe how great it was for the price. Now I hope Universal doesn’t read this only because I don’t want them to know I would pay more to stay there than they are currently charging lol
My fiancé and I just booked us a 5 day trip at the hard rock hotel in August. We went for the first time last year and we loved it. We had stayed outside the parks and bought unlimited express passes on the last two days. It was amazing. But it cost way more than what a premier hotel costs us for this coming trip alone. We found your channel about a week or so ago and you two have been invaluable towards our planning and you’ve become a mainstay in our daily lives because we love Universal. Thank you both for all your help and we hope we get to see you both at the parks!
Oh that’s so exciting!! The premier hotels are SO nice, especially with express passes. We really appreciate y’all watching our videos, too! We hope y’all have an amazing time on your upcoming trip, and we hope to see y’all in the parks!
You and your Husband are awesome, watch you guys all the time for advice, My Family an I will be visiting for a 3rd time this comming May for the full week and staying at the HardRock Cafe. The Cabana inn we stayed at last year and was great! but with 2 teen daughters the Hardrock has the two rooms connected which is a great perk.
We love Dockside!! Only ever stayed there since we don’t spend much time at the hotel other than sleeping. The food is always amazing. We’re trying Cabana Bay in a few weeks, excited for bowling and milkshakes!!
I feel like Sapphire Falls was supposed to be a Premier, but they didn't want to do that many Express Passes (there are a LOT of rooms there). But I agree, it's absolutely as nice as most of the Premier's, probably nicer than Royal Pacific.
I stayed at the Hard Rock because of your recommendation !!! It was a fabulous vacation and I like a bouji room but also loved, loved loved the express pass so worth it 🤗
The hard rock hotel is our hotel. We stay there every time love that place. The perks Express passes water taxi. We always have a great experience athat hard rock. Being a man who suffers from really bad sciatica. Staying in the closest hotel with the water taxi is just pure gold for me.
I must say portifino is my favorite. But if i dont need express sapphire. Water taxi. But using water taxi staying at aventura is nice too. Love the views. I will always love cabana though. Brings back so many memories for hhn. Always stayed there when i didn't have must money. Now sapphire and aventura are my go tos.
We have stayed at all 3 premier hotels and we love Hard Rock! It is so close to entry to Studios that you don't need to even ride the water taxis. Vibe at Hard Rock is fabulous! Thanks for this vid. Blessings!
Guys awesome information ... thank you again for that.... I was stayed at Premier because your recommendation and.... was awesome... Thanks again for sharing ... great tips!!! All the Best !!!!
This has so much information! You guys put a smile on my face every time I watch too! Plus you are a great resource when I'm planning my own trips or trips for clients in my travel planning business. Just wanted to say ya'll are awesome and thank you for your videos!
Great video, guys! Hubby and I will be there for four nights at the beginning of Mardi Gras and we are hopping between Cabana Bay, Portofino, and Aventura. A kid-free trip to eat, drink and be merry … and enjoy multiple hotels. 🎉😊🥳
Hey! Great vid as always❤..my fav hotel is Hard Rock as well! My sister and I will be headed down there next month for my bday and staying at Hard Rock🎉 I am def checking to see if the ratehas dropped😅❤
We used to do Cabana Bay for our 3 week HHN trips but Sapphire Falls is our go-to now. That walk back to the buses at 2:00am after HHN were brutal, now we just walk out to the water taxi and all is good, worth the extra few bucks!!. We have gotten lucky in September and crowds tend to be lower so paying extra for Premire hotels just for the express isn't worth it, especially when we're there 3 weeks,we can do it all without express no problem.
Fellow Tennesseans here!!! Thanks for all your great videos! I've saved a ton by using your tips! We came down to universal back in October for horror nights. When i booked our stay i ran into a situation where we needed express for 5 people. We were staying six nights with five days in the parks. It was actually cheaper for us to stay at dockside and do a 5-day ticket+Express than to stay in the premier hotel.
We’re getting ready for our second trip down in a few weeks. We stayed at Aventura last year and loved it. We would do the parks until we got tired or felt like we were done for the day, then come back and hang out at the bar by the pool. Bartender was amazing and took great care of us. After a few drinks, we would hit the food court and head back to the room. Bringing the whole family down this time. It’s getting close and we can hardly wait! Also, another nice thing about Aventura, you can walk over to Saphire to access the water taxi. Makes it nice because you basically go through security before you get on the taxi and can walk right into the park. Really enjoying your videos and it’s getting me pumped for the trip!
this is the most useful guide i've seen so far! i go down to the parks with my family, but we're all adults now. aventura has been our favorite because there aren't nearly as many kids. we get that grown-up feel to the hotel, we can all go to the bar at the end of the night, but it doesn't have the party atmosphere of hard rock or all the kids running around. and we've always been happy with the bus service to save our feet (we get up early enough that security isn't too bad at citywalk). and we always always always buy with a deal! we pay close attention to the website whenever we know we're going to book a trip, and pretty regularly they'll have a "buy x nights get x nights free" deal that we'll use. it saves a lot of money and makes the cost pretty similar to the value tier
Awesome video as always!! I've been watching y'all's videos for a while but don't remember if I have ever commented lol We will be booking our second trip soon for this year and can't wait! Love your videos 🥰
We are staying at Dockside in Sept for the first time. We have previously stayed at Cabana Bay, and we liked it. However, we felt really restricted being on Universal site. So this time, we want the perks of a universal hotel along with the freedom of having everything on I Drive, such as grocery stores, breakfast spots, and so on 😊
I had never stayed at Sapphire Falls until in November and it was amazing. It’s also right next to Cabana Bay so it’s easy access to Cabana Bay pools and 🌋 Bay.
We almost always stay at Cabana. We like the pool at night and lots to do. We usually take the walk to the parks but sometimes walk to Saphire and use the boats. We though Aventura was kind of meh. Pool is small. BUT the room they gave us was crazy cool. It was on the curved side of the building and had a wrap around window. Having parking garage at these places are nice as well to keep the car out of the hot sun. The walkway to the park is actually very nice.
That’s awesome!! I don’t think we’ve ever had a wrapped window there, but the views are always awesome! We love the walkways too. They’re so calm in the mornings!!
Hey…..the SF water taxi is a quick walk from Aventura too. It’s across the parking lot, cut through the SF lobby, and you are at the taxi. I like the path from Aventura to City Walk, myself.
It’s technically not allowed, and they do occasionally check and turn people away who aren’t staying at SF or one of the premier hotels. So just keep that in mind!
Royal Pacific is by far one of my favorite hotels in all of Orlando. when I was a kid it's castaway themed spashpad is one coolest things and I look forward to that way more than even going to the parks.
We loved Royal Pacific - the rooms, the staff, the restaurant, the water taxi. (And we were close enough to Portifino to eat there one night.) Will stay there again, unless we can save up enough for Hard Rock, but that would be a special treat.
Hello. I'm a new subscriber. Thanks for your overview of Universal onsite hotels. My wife and I are quickly overwhelmed when we plan trips especially to theme parks. Your video is excellent and so helpful.
I've now stayed everywhere except Dockside/Surfside and Adventura. I adore the retro fitness facility and the fake chicken stir fry at Cabana, they're the best! But the water taxi is my favorite perk, especially on HHN nights. It's a gamechanger! Oh and you're so right about those pretzels! There were four of us staying at Sapphire Falls last HHN and we would often grab 2-3 of the giant pretzels between us for a quick dinner, they're delicious 🤤 My friend and i are planning a long weekend at Royal Pacific at the end of Feb and I'm already mentally in the hot tub 😅
Haha we love that!! We finally scratched all 8 hotels off our list a few years ago, and they’re all so nice! You can’t go wrong staying anywhere on property.
Great video. Came out at the right time for us, as we are in a pickle for where to stay. We wanted to do hard rock for the ease of location, but then we are thinking about going back to cb! Its all up in the air and makes my head hurt hahaha. Great video, as always. ❤
If you do the hotel jumping thing, will Universal take care of the luggage transfer to the new hotel or do you have to take care of it yourself? Great video. Thanks
This really is the ULTIMATE guide to Universal on-site hotels! Very informative. Great work! We’ve booked Royal Pacific for April. It will be our first time ever at Universal. If, by any chance, we run into you in the Parks, can we go say hi? 😉
I stayed at dockside back in July and it was fun but we did wish there was more to do other than the pool and arcade cause of the rainy days. Other than that they had really good cafeteria food (my personal fav was the Alfredo and the chicken & waffles) We would love to stay again!
Starting to plan for a large trip next year with the new park, do you recommend going though a travel agency or self plan? I found a group on FB but not sure what would be best for guaranteeing a great trip/saving money. Thank you! 💙
It just depends what you’re comfortable with! We have a ton of tips on how to get the most out of your money when visiting the parks, but if you don’t wanna deal with it, the right travel agent could be helpful!
Thanks for bigging up dockside ,yes it’s budget friendly ,pools are great foods good,walls are a bit thin but so what goin for 3rd stay in sept can’t wait,,,, plus it’s 2 minute walk to international drive plenty of pubs and diners there so ya not limited to hotel food 😃😃😃
Couldn't agree more on Sapphire Falls. We've only stayed on site once, mainly due to no FP. Strong water however is one of if not our favorite hotel restaurant. Even gives the City Walk and the park a run for their money.
I used y’all’s wedding info video to convince my fiancee we need to get married at HRH, too! Oct 2024! (Also means I don’t miss HHN due to the wedding 😉)
My family stayed in the Kids Suite at Aventura our last Universal Trip. We had four kids ages 13, 10, 7 & 2. The room was plenty large for us. Our oldest utilized the pullout couch bed, two middles took the two twin beds and our toddler just slept in the king bed with my husband and I. We actually got a conjoined double queen room for my mom and brother to stay in. The pool, while small was heated and they would play movies at night which was pretty cool. Also had a private entrance to Volcano Bay via the pool. We would use the walkway to get to City Walk or walk across the parking lot to Sapphire and use the water taxis. Either one worked great! Our hope is to stay at the Kids Suite @ Sapphire Falls next vacay! Thank you for all the great info to the on property resorts! We love your channel ❤
From Cabana Bay, the Garden Walk is the longest way to go. Walking along Hollywood Way instead saves you about 10 minutes walking, and is completely flat, with no elevation changes, unlike the Garden Walk.
Oh that’s so cool!! Obviously we’ve never had the need for a room that big, but it sounds like it was perfect for y’all! We hope Sapphire is just as nice and that y’all have an amazing trip!
When we came last year we stayed at Surfside the first night because our plane got in at like 10 pm. Then in the morning we took a bus to the main entrance and then another bus to Hard Rock where we checked in for the remainder of our stay. Saved about $200 doing that! However I will say, it was pretty time consuming that first morning to switch hotels so we didn’t get to the park until 12-1 pm. It would have been easier to just wake up in the Hard Rock that first morning lol. So it just comes down to if you want to save the money, or save the hassle. 😊
That’s the perfect way to do it! We just take like a $7 Uber to the other hotel and it shouldn’t take more than about 30 minutes for the whole process! Especially if you take advantage of the mobile check-in option!
@@ThePughTwo yeah we did it the long way with taking the busses and standing in line at the hotel check in rather than doing mobile check in lol. So now I know better for next time!!
Checked in at Aventura for a week. In the elevator, another guest told us we can change what UO picture is on our hotel keycards! We were given The Simpsons and Minions, which we changed to Jurassic Park and Harry Potter. Fun!
Hey, loving you both. We are disney people but recently have been very disappointed with their pricing and the drop in quality of the parks in Orlando. We have been to Universal a few times but this Sept is the first time we are staying on property, Cabana Bay. My husband loves shakes, have you guys every had the shakes there? We saw your video on the shakes at the Toothsome and planning on going there as well but where curious about the ones in the hotel. Thanks, keep making videos, we love them
Another thing I’d like to mention would be you don’t have get tickets for everyday of your stay either. We’ve done a 5 day pass instead of a 14 day (bc that’s their next level up) during our week stay. We hung around the pool for two of the days and spent time in the park the rest. It can save you a few hundred dollars. Just like when Anna said about hotel hoping you may not go to the parks everyday.
@@ThePughTwo yeah we just go down once a year and usually over a year so the pass just doesn’t really make sense. We wish we could move down there we love universal (thanks mainly to you two)
New Pugh Two video. Time to party!. Great breakdown. Universal has some great on-site hotels. But I will say that my wife and I stayed at Portofino Bay in May 2022 & we weren't impressed at all (except for one of the restaurants we went to - food and service there were chef's kiss). But the hotel itself was only ok. It's more difficult to get to your room than other hotels, it's the furthest premier hotel from the parks, we had a very clogged shower drain that they only partially fixed & the response to my one text request all week (outside of the shower drain) wasn't addressed at all. Royal Pacific on the other hand has always been a delight. Hope to stay at Hard Rock one day. But we always just stay at the cheapest of the premier hotels so we get the unlimited Express pass. I doubt Hard Rock is ever the cheapest but we'll see.
We’ve heard a lot of people say that about Portofino! We’ve always enjoyed it, but it’s definitely a big hotel with lots of walking to get around. You’d be surprised with HR too! It’s not that often, but if you look enough you’ll find it as the cheapest premier option!
If your booking a package deal through the Universal website, don't be afraid to change your hotel option. Last year we did that, and it was cheaper to stay at Cabana Bay, than Endless Summer.
I have stayed at Surfside, Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, Aventura and Cabana Bay. Cabana Bay is my least favorite, it is so huge, getting to your room feels like a 2 mile run after a day in a park…. And food lines are super slow. my absolute favorite is Royal Pacific, and for budget travel and meetups - Surfside is great!!!
Wow, really? That seems like such a basic benefit to us! I guess they have so many hotels and guests it could backfire if too many wanted to go to the same pool on the same day. We love that perk, though!
Thanks for the video. Loved it. Quick question we were looking at Loews Pacific and it is $564 a night minimum! Way higher. Does this invalidate the unlimited express advice?
sure if we're just missing it but we were wondering if you have ever taken your dogs for a stay in the Loews universal hotels. If so please repost it one day and if not please consider doing a what to expect when staying with your dogs on site. Rules about how long they can stay alone, housekeeping, walking them etc. Thanks for all the fun videos.
We always stay at Royal Pacific, we love it. It is almost always the lowest cost of the 3 premier resorts to get that express pass benefit and close proximity to the parks. The resort itself is beautiful, nice pool, and incredible sushi restaurant.
The sushi is so good! We love RP too, it’s such a calm, relaxing environment!
Royal pacific is my favorite but I've been finding recently its the most expensive. Stayed in portofino bay last time cuz it was $150 cheaper than Pacific
Sushi!!! I’m so excited to hear this.
Does the Royal Pacific have the Luau mentioned on a previous video?
I LOVE Surfside! As a solo traveler, I don't need to stay at a premier resort for EPs since I use single rider line most of the time. The food at Beach Break is great and reasonably priced, friendly employees, very clean and is much more quiet than Dockside. I got my room for $72 a night back in December with my uoap discount and can't beat that!
Yes! The endless summer resorts really are impressive for the price!!
Cabana Bay is by far my favorite but I’m an adult child and can’t get out of the pool area. We love they give you a new, deflated tube when you leave (if you purchased one there)😂. For Express pass, we have stayed at Royal Pacific and loved it. The worker at Tuk Tuk market gave me a free donut for my kiddo ❤❤
Haha the pools at CB are so good!! And that’s so sweet of that worker! We hope you gave him a UO fist bump!
The water taxi are a literal life saver. After my recent trip 5 day I kept telling people I did NOT want to come home, but my feet needed too.😂😂
Right?? It’s a need, not a want after you experience it 😂
We stayed at the Aventura which is next to Sapphire Falls and we just walked over to the ferry and took it every morning. No one said we couldn't and no one stopped us.
Yeah we don’t advertise that cause we’re unsure how Universal actually feels about it, but a lot of people do that lol
I was just gonna ask about that… I had heard that might be an option for Aventura guests
I did this when I stayed at Cabana Bay, nobody asked any questions on what hotel I was staying at.
We did the same when we stayed at Aventura. Super convenient
Hard Rock Hotel is my jam. As a solo traveler, I stay at the club level and get my money's worth just on the food they serve daily. And you can't beat that short walk to the parks.
We’ve never stayed at club level but we need to! We’ve heard it’s great!!
Wow, well done. This is a must view for anyone debating hotel accommodations.
Thank you!!
Stayed at Aventura for my first OI event last year, and absolutely loved it. The way the hotel is laid out means you never have a long walk to your room, unlike some of the other resorts. The proximity to the water taxi and walking path through Sapphire Falls is also a great perk. Hoping to do Sapphire Falls for one of my trips this year. I have no idea what that scent is in the lobby, but I would stay for that alone😂
Haha that’s true!! Sometimes you have a long wait for an elevator, but still better than walking 😂 you can ask for the scent and they’ll let you take a picture of the website they get it from and what the “blend” is or whatever 😂🤣
@@ThePughTwo Nice, I'll have to do that. Thanks for the tip 😄
@@ThePughTwo came here to comment this. Aventura has access to the water taxi via Sapphire.
That smell is part of my universal experience! Love it! And aventura is my absolute favorite and go to every time ! ❤
I’ve been missing your videos! Happy to see you back
Thank you!! We hope you enjoy this one!
This video is an excellent guide for people new to Universal! Great clear information 😊 Awesome job! Love you guys!
Thank you, Alison!!
Can you guys do a video talking about all the onsite resort restaurants?
We’ll keep that in mind, thanks for the suggestion!
So thankful for this video today! It’s been a stressful couple of weeks. We used to stay at RP, but once we tried Hard Rock we fell in love with that short walk to the park. It’s so nice at the end of the night if you are tired and the water taxi is slammed to know that you are just a short walk to the room.
Oh my gosh, right?? It’s such a huge perk! We hope your week gets better! 🫶🏻
@@ThePughTwo Thank you. Our dog suddenly got sick. Multiple trips to the vet because he kept getting worse/not responding to meds. They finally think they know what it is. Waiting on labs, and trying a new med.
This video was PERFECT timing!! Just started planning a Friendiversary trip with my best friend for December 2024 🎉 OI Meetup here we come!
Haha that’s perfect! We hope y’all have an amazing trip!!
We love the HardRock and returning for our third visit in August, love everything about the hotel, from the staff to the smell of the hotel. Only just found your Chanel and you guys are killing it with valued information a the fun way you deliver it 👍🏻
Need to comment on this one! What a fantastic and informative video! Honestly, top notch and full of tips I wasn’t aware of! The dedicated path, the 7am check in for express, the pool hopping plus loads more! Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much! We’re so glad you enjoyed this one and thanks for watching!
Honestly THE BEST Universal hotel review I have watched. Amazing job guys. Thank you so much for making such value added content. 👍
Thank you, Michael! We really appreciate it!
We were blown away by how great surfside was when we stayed. Price was unbelievable and the staff was seriously great! Felt like staying at a Disney moderate but a small step up. Could not believe how great it was for the price. Now I hope Universal doesn’t read this only because I don’t want them to know I would pay more to stay there than they are currently charging lol
😂😂 we’re always impressed with it, too! Way nicer than you’d expect for the price. Other than the pillows.. but you can pack your own lol
My fiancé and I just booked us a 5 day trip at the hard rock hotel in August. We went for the first time last year and we loved it. We had stayed outside the parks and bought unlimited express passes on the last two days. It was amazing. But it cost way more than what a premier hotel costs us for this coming trip alone.
We found your channel about a week or so ago and you two have been invaluable towards our planning and you’ve become a mainstay in our daily lives because we love Universal. Thank you both for all your help and we hope we get to see you both at the parks!
Oh that’s so exciting!! The premier hotels are SO nice, especially with express passes. We really appreciate y’all watching our videos, too! We hope y’all have an amazing time on your upcoming trip, and we hope to see y’all in the parks!
CBBR is my home away from home. I have stayed there probably 20 times or more and in the exact same room most of the time.
Haha that’s so funny! We love that hotel!
You and your Husband are awesome, watch you guys all the time for advice, My Family an I will be visiting for a 3rd time this comming May for the full week and staying at the HardRock Cafe. The Cabana inn we stayed at last year and was great! but with 2 teen daughters the Hardrock has the two rooms connected which is a great perk.
You’re so sweet, thank you! And yes! The HR is such a great hotel!!
How does the Pugh Two know right when a meeting is about to start and I'd rather watch this video?! Can't wait! Sapphire Falls is in my future!
Right? Me too
Sitting in my car delaying going into my account to fix a machine.
😂😂 we hope your meeting went well!
We love Dockside!! Only ever stayed there since we don’t spend much time at the hotel other than sleeping. The food is always amazing. We’re trying Cabana Bay in a few weeks, excited for bowling and milkshakes!!
Yes!! CB is really similar to endless summer just with a few more extras like bowling and the lazy river. Y’all are gonna love it!
Already booked my hotel for hhn..aventura is my go to. Cant beat the price and location.
And that rooftop bar!! Lol
Although we have visited all of Universal's hotels (pool hopping mostly), our continued first-choice is Royal Pacific. Mostly because of Loew's staff.
I used to think that, but Hard Rock blows RP away.
They really do a great job there!! We love that hotel!
I feel like Sapphire Falls was supposed to be a Premier, but they didn't want to do that many Express Passes (there are a LOT of rooms there). But I agree, it's absolutely as nice as most of the Premier's, probably nicer than Royal Pacific.
Right? That’s exactly what it feels like 😂 it’s the main convention hotel, though, so they get that traffic lol
Aventura also is a short walk to the water taxi from Sapphire Falls
Haha true!
So true
We love love Cabana Bay. The retro theming is great. Especially with family-so good.
Yes!! It’s the perfect family hotel!
Hotel hopping. Such good a advice
I learn so much from you two!! Thanks for sharing!!😊
Thanks for watching!!
I stayed at the Hard Rock because of your recommendation !!! It was a fabulous vacation and I like a bouji room but also loved, loved loved the express pass so worth it 🤗
Omg yes! We love the hard rock!! So glad you enjoyed it!
The hard rock hotel is our hotel. We stay there every time love that place. The perks Express passes water taxi. We always have a great experience athat hard rock. Being a man who suffers from really bad sciatica. Staying in the closest hotel with the water taxi is just pure gold for me.
I must say portifino is my favorite. But if i dont need express sapphire. Water taxi. But using water taxi staying at aventura is nice too. Love the views. I will always love cabana though. Brings back so many memories for hhn. Always stayed there when i didn't have must money. Now sapphire and aventura are my go tos.
We have stayed at all 3 premier hotels and we love Hard Rock! It is so close to entry to Studios that you don't need to even ride the water taxis. Vibe at Hard Rock is fabulous! Thanks for this vid. Blessings!
Right?? It’s literally faster to walk lol we love that hotel! And thanks for watching!!
Brilliant informative video guys
Thank you!!
Guys awesome information ... thank you again for that.... I was stayed at Premier because your recommendation and.... was awesome... Thanks again for sharing ... great tips!!! All the Best !!!!
Thank you, Al!!
I love to pool hop! And the premier hotels and Sapphire Falls are pet friendly too.
Yes! We love it too!
Little mentioned tip... Use Costco travel. We booked a premier club level for half the price of booking it through the universal website directly
We absolutely love Sapphire falls! Such a beautiful place and a great bar!
Yes and yes!! We love that hotel!
This has so much information! You guys put a smile on my face every time I watch too! Plus you are a great resource when I'm planning my own trips or trips for clients in my travel planning business. Just wanted to say ya'll are awesome and thank you for your videos!
You’re so sweet, thank you! We really appreciate you watching and supporting us! 🫶🏻
Glad to see use with a new video guys been to long another great video showing the best hotels for your stay great video guys
Haha yeah we’ve been spending more time on each video and filming a little less, glad you enjoyed this one Dougie!!
@@ThePughTwo loved it pal as always
Yay!! New video. ❤planning our next vacation, thank you guys so much!
Yay!! We hope our videos have been helpful!
Great video, guys! Hubby and I will be there for four nights at the beginning of Mardi Gras and we are hopping between Cabana Bay, Portofino, and Aventura. A kid-free trip to eat, drink and be merry … and enjoy multiple hotels. 🎉😊🥳
That sounds like so much fun! We hope you have an amazing trip and enjoy all the hotels + Mardi Gras!!
Sweet. Jealous. Have fun
Lovvvvve Universals resort collection.
Yes!! So many great options!
Hey! Great vid as always❤..my fav hotel is Hard Rock as well! My sister and I will be headed down there next month for my bday and staying at Hard Rock🎉 I am def checking to see if the ratehas dropped😅❤
Oh that’s so fun! Fingers crossed for you, too! Lol
Another great video, yall!
Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed it!
i always pass along your videos to my clients i have booked for universal! Thank y’all!
always helps me learn about universal too!
You’re so sweet, thank you!!
We used to do Cabana Bay for our 3 week HHN trips but Sapphire Falls is our go-to now. That walk back to the buses at 2:00am after HHN were brutal, now we just walk out to the water taxi and all is good, worth the extra few bucks!!. We have gotten lucky in September and crowds tend to be lower so paying extra for Premire hotels just for the express isn't worth it, especially when we're there 3 weeks,we can do it all without express no problem.
Oh my gosh, yes! Sapphire is the best!!
Thank you for all the info. As a foodie family we love your foodie perspectives and suggestions. ❤
Thank you!! We appreciate you watching!
Outfits on point in this one guys!
Haha thank you!!
Hard Walk! Love the distance to walk to the parks!
Yes!! That’s one of our favorite things too
If someday I get to go to the parks, I should get in contact with you guys to finally meet you guys!
Absolutely! The best way to do that is on Instagram!!
Fellow Tennesseans here!!! Thanks for all your great videos! I've saved a ton by using your tips! We came down to universal back in October for horror nights. When i booked our stay i ran into a situation where we needed express for 5 people. We were staying six nights with five days in the parks. It was actually cheaper for us to stay at dockside and do a 5-day ticket+Express than to stay in the premier hotel.
Thanks for watching!! That’s crazy about the express too! It’s always worth checking
Headed to Cabana Bay right now! Can’t go wrong with any but Royal Pacific is our fave!
That’s so exciting! And agreed!! All the hotels at Universal are great.
We’re getting ready for our second trip down in a few weeks. We stayed at Aventura last year and loved it. We would do the parks until we got tired or felt like we were done for the day, then come back and hang out at the bar by the pool. Bartender was amazing and took great care of us. After a few drinks, we would hit the food court and head back to the room. Bringing the whole family down this time. It’s getting close and we can hardly wait! Also, another nice thing about Aventura, you can walk over to Saphire to access the water taxi. Makes it nice because you basically go through security before you get on the taxi and can walk right into the park. Really enjoying your videos and it’s getting me pumped for the trip!
this is the most useful guide i've seen so far! i go down to the parks with my family, but we're all adults now. aventura has been our favorite because there aren't nearly as many kids. we get that grown-up feel to the hotel, we can all go to the bar at the end of the night, but it doesn't have the party atmosphere of hard rock or all the kids running around. and we've always been happy with the bus service to save our feet (we get up early enough that security isn't too bad at citywalk). and we always always always buy with a deal! we pay close attention to the website whenever we know we're going to book a trip, and pretty regularly they'll have a "buy x nights get x nights free" deal that we'll use. it saves a lot of money and makes the cost pretty similar to the value tier
We’re so glad this was helpful! And yes! The promos they run on the website are great. Any $ you can save is worth it lol
Oh snap. Get excited for later. I shall watch this afternoon. Excited. Portifino for life!
Haha we’ll be waiting for your comments!
@@ThePughTwo yeah? Should i leave one big one or many small ones? Always worry about that
Awesome video as always!! I've been watching y'all's videos for a while but don't remember if I have ever commented lol We will be booking our second trip soon for this year and can't wait! Love your videos 🥰
Thank you!! We’re so glad you’ve been enjoying our videos, and we hope you have a wonderful time at the parks!! 🫶🏻
Great video! You both really helped me choose the best hotel for my wife and I when we go in October 2024. Much appreciated, thank you both!!!
We are staying at Dockside in Sept for the first time. We have previously stayed at Cabana Bay, and we liked it. However, we felt really restricted being on Universal site. So this time, we want the perks of a universal hotel along with the freedom of having everything on I Drive, such as grocery stores, breakfast spots, and so on 😊
The endless summer resorts are great!! We hope y’all have a wonderful trip!
Staying at Cabana Bay for a quick birthday weekend in February! We’ve stayed at Dockside twice and are excited for the next experience.
That’s so exciting! Happy early birthday!!
I had never stayed at Sapphire Falls until in November and it was amazing. It’s also right next to Cabana Bay so it’s easy access to Cabana Bay pools and 🌋 Bay.
Exactly!! We love that hotel!
Which week in November did you go? Was the parks crowded? Thx.
I stay at aventura cause when I get back from the parks I just hit the elevator and go to our room opposed to walking all around the resort.
We always enjoy our stays at aventura!
We almost always stay at Cabana. We like the pool at night and lots to do. We usually take the walk to the parks but sometimes walk to Saphire and use the boats. We though Aventura was kind of meh. Pool is small. BUT the room they gave us was crazy cool. It was on the curved side of the building and had a wrap around window. Having parking garage at these places are nice as well to keep the car out of the hot sun. The walkway to the park is actually very nice.
That’s awesome!! I don’t think we’ve ever had a wrapped window there, but the views are always awesome! We love the walkways too. They’re so calm in the mornings!!
Hey…..the SF water taxi is a quick walk from Aventura too. It’s across the parking lot, cut through the SF lobby, and you are at the taxi. I like the path from Aventura to City Walk, myself.
It’s technically not allowed, and they do occasionally check and turn people away who aren’t staying at SF or one of the premier hotels. So just keep that in mind!
Royal Pacific is by far one of my favorite hotels in all of Orlando. when I was a kid it's castaway themed spashpad is one coolest things and I look forward to that way more than even going to the parks.
Awh, that’s so fun! We love that!!
We loved Royal Pacific - the rooms, the staff, the restaurant, the water taxi. (And we were close enough to Portifino to eat there one night.) Will stay there again, unless we can save up enough for Hard Rock, but that would be a special treat.
Royal Pacific is great!! We’ve definitely seen HR randomly be a few dollars cheaper than RP, so keep an eye on it!
Hello. I'm a new subscriber. Thanks for your overview of Universal onsite hotels. My wife and I are quickly overwhelmed when we plan trips especially to theme parks. Your video is excellent and so helpful.
I've now stayed everywhere except Dockside/Surfside and Adventura. I adore the retro fitness facility and the fake chicken stir fry at Cabana, they're the best! But the water taxi is my favorite perk, especially on HHN nights. It's a gamechanger!
Oh and you're so right about those pretzels! There were four of us staying at Sapphire Falls last HHN and we would often grab 2-3 of the giant pretzels between us for a quick dinner, they're delicious 🤤
My friend and i are planning a long weekend at Royal Pacific at the end of Feb and I'm already mentally in the hot tub 😅
Haha we love that!! We finally scratched all 8 hotels off our list a few years ago, and they’re all so nice! You can’t go wrong staying anywhere on property.
Great video. Came out at the right time for us, as we are in a pickle for where to stay. We wanted to do hard rock for the ease of location, but then we are thinking about going back to cb! Its all up in the air and makes my head hurt hahaha. Great video, as always. ❤
Haha it’s always a hard choice!! We love HR, but the CB price tag is always so tempting. You can’t go wrong, honestly!
@@ThePughTwo we are mostly looking at a chance of scenery and the fact that HR is such a short walk.
If you do the hotel jumping thing, will Universal take care of the luggage transfer to the new hotel or do you have to take care of it yourself? Great video. Thanks
This was super helpful video to get a basic overview of all the hotels! Thanks!
This really is the ULTIMATE guide to Universal on-site hotels! Very informative. Great work! We’ve booked Royal Pacific for April. It will be our first time ever at Universal. If, by any chance, we run into you in the Parks, can we go say hi? 😉
Haha thank you! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, and we hope you have a great time at the parks. And yes!! Please do!
We loved royal pacific and will be back in October. You are going to have a fantastic time!
I stayed at dockside back in July and it was fun but we did wish there was more to do other than the pool and arcade cause of the rainy days. Other than that they had really good cafeteria food (my personal fav was the Alfredo and the chicken & waffles) We would love to stay again!
Starting to plan for a large trip next year with the new park, do you recommend going though a travel agency or self plan? I found a group on FB but not sure what would be best for guaranteeing a great trip/saving money. Thank you! 💙
It just depends what you’re comfortable with! We have a ton of tips on how to get the most out of your money when visiting the parks, but if you don’t wanna deal with it, the right travel agent could be helpful!
Thanks for bigging up dockside ,yes it’s budget friendly ,pools are great foods good,walls are a bit thin but so what goin for 3rd stay in sept can’t wait,,,, plus it’s 2 minute walk to international drive plenty of pubs and diners there so ya not limited to hotel food 😃😃😃
Haha exactly! Plus, if you do the parks right, you’ll be so tired you won’t care how loud it is at night 🤣
Stayed at Dockside last time I was down and was very impressed for the price. Looking to stay at Sapphire Falls next looks amazing.
Yes! It’s a great hotel! You’ll love Sapphire, too.
Couldn't agree more on Sapphire Falls. We've only stayed on site once, mainly due to no FP. Strong water however is one of if not our favorite hotel restaurant. Even gives the City Walk and the park a run for their money.
Agreed!! We love SF!
Staying at endless summer next month, then It’s just portofino bay left to stay at, until the new ones open!
Yes!! We had the same “stay at all of them” challenge that we completed a few years ago lol
@@ThePughTwo rewatched your review of endless summer today, only 12 days left until I’m there!
I used y’all’s wedding info video to convince my fiancee we need to get married at HRH, too! Oct 2024! (Also means I don’t miss HHN due to the wedding 😉)
Omg! That’s so sweet, we love it!! And congrats to you both!
My family stayed in the Kids Suite at Aventura our last Universal Trip. We had four kids ages 13, 10, 7 & 2. The room was plenty large for us. Our oldest utilized the pullout couch bed, two middles took the two twin beds and our toddler just slept in the king bed with my husband and I. We actually got a conjoined double queen room for my mom and brother to stay in. The pool, while small was heated and they would play movies at night which was pretty cool. Also had a private entrance to Volcano Bay via the pool. We would use the walkway to get to City Walk or walk across the parking lot to Sapphire and use the water taxis. Either one worked great! Our hope is to stay at the Kids Suite @ Sapphire Falls next vacay! Thank you for all the great info to the on property resorts! We love your channel ❤
From Cabana Bay, the Garden Walk is the longest way to go. Walking along Hollywood Way instead saves you about 10 minutes walking, and is completely flat, with no elevation changes, unlike the Garden Walk.
Oh that’s so cool!! Obviously we’ve never had the need for a room that big, but it sounds like it was perfect for y’all! We hope Sapphire is just as nice and that y’all have an amazing trip!
When we came last year we stayed at Surfside the first night because our plane got in at like 10 pm. Then in the morning we took a bus to the main entrance and then another bus to Hard Rock where we checked in for the remainder of our stay. Saved about $200 doing that! However I will say, it was pretty time consuming that first morning to switch hotels so we didn’t get to the park until 12-1 pm. It would have been easier to just wake up in the Hard Rock that first morning lol. So it just comes down to if you want to save the money, or save the hassle. 😊
That’s the perfect way to do it! We just take like a $7 Uber to the other hotel and it shouldn’t take more than about 30 minutes for the whole process! Especially if you take advantage of the mobile check-in option!
@@ThePughTwo yeah we did it the long way with taking the busses and standing in line at the hotel check in rather than doing mobile check in lol. So now I know better for next time!!
Checked in at Aventura for a week. In the elevator, another guest told us we can change what UO picture is on our hotel keycards! We were given The Simpsons and Minions, which we changed to Jurassic Park and Harry Potter. Fun!
Haha that’s awesome! That doesn’t surprise us they’d accommodate that, we’ve just never asked!
Good to know that you can change the picture on your room key
How is the Wi-Fi at dockside. ?
Not great, but not terrible. Typical hotel WiFi.
Two weeks until my trip! Staying at RP and also doing Ride n Dine on Fat Tuesday. I can't wait!
Omg! We hope you have a great time on your trip!!
Hey, loving you both. We are disney people but recently have been very disappointed with their pricing and the drop in quality of the parks in Orlando. We have been to Universal a few times but this Sept is the first time we are staying on property, Cabana Bay. My husband loves shakes, have you guys every had the shakes there? We saw your video on the shakes at the Toothsome and planning on going there as well but where curious about the ones in the hotel. Thanks, keep making videos, we love them
We haven’t had every shake at CB, but the ones we’ve had have been great! Highly recommend. We hope y’all have a great trip!
Can’t wait to be back at the Hard Rock in May!!!
We love that hotel!!
Another thing I’d like to mention would be you don’t have get tickets for everyday of your stay either. We’ve done a 5 day pass instead of a 14 day (bc that’s their next level up) during our week stay. We hung around the pool for two of the days and spent time in the park the rest. It can save you a few hundred dollars. Just like when Anna said about hotel hoping you may not go to the parks everyday.
That’s a great point! A lot of the time an annual pass is cheaper than a 14 day ticket or even a 5 day ticket, so that’s always an option too!
@@ThePughTwo yeah we just go down once a year and usually over a year so the pass just doesn’t really make sense. We wish we could move down there we love universal (thanks mainly to you two)
New Pugh Two video. Time to party!. Great breakdown. Universal has some great on-site hotels. But I will say that my wife and I stayed at Portofino Bay in May 2022 & we weren't impressed at all (except for one of the restaurants we went to - food and service there were chef's kiss). But the hotel itself was only ok. It's more difficult to get to your room than other hotels, it's the furthest premier hotel from the parks, we had a very clogged shower drain that they only partially fixed & the response to my one text request all week (outside of the shower drain) wasn't addressed at all. Royal Pacific on the other hand has always been a delight. Hope to stay at Hard Rock one day. But we always just stay at the cheapest of the premier hotels so we get the unlimited Express pass. I doubt Hard Rock is ever the cheapest but we'll see.
We’ve heard a lot of people say that about Portofino! We’ve always enjoyed it, but it’s definitely a big hotel with lots of walking to get around. You’d be surprised with HR too! It’s not that often, but if you look enough you’ll find it as the cheapest premier option!
Ive gotten lost there too the first few times.
Awesome information as always!
Thank you!!
We stayed at the Aventura hotel and we loved it. We plan on staying at the Terra Luna on our next trip.
If your booking a package deal through the Universal website, don't be afraid to change your hotel option. Last year we did that, and it was cheaper to stay at Cabana Bay, than Endless Summer.
That’s a great point!
I have stayed at Surfside, Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, Aventura and Cabana Bay. Cabana Bay is my least favorite, it is so huge, getting to your room feels like a 2 mile run after a day in a park…. And food lines are super slow. my absolute favorite is Royal Pacific, and for budget travel and meetups - Surfside is great!!!
You can’t go wrong anywhere on site!!
Just stayed at Safire Falls and loved it!
We love Sapphire!!
Aventura is my favorite and this comes from someone who has stayed at 8 of the Disney World deluxe resorts. Disney doesn't even allow pool hopping.
Wow, really? That seems like such a basic benefit to us! I guess they have so many hotels and guests it could backfire if too many wanted to go to the same pool on the same day. We love that perk, though!
Great video but I needed Tyler to slap some mattresses though...
Oh don’t worry, we have one coming 😂
@@ThePughTwo oh lord.. lol
Just booked a room at sapphire falls for the second time. I’ve stayed at all of them except portofino
That’s so exciting! Portofino’s being refurbished right now so you can knock it off your list and get a discount! lol
Thanks for the video. Loved it. Quick question we were looking at Loews Pacific and it is $564 a night minimum! Way higher. Does this invalidate the unlimited express advice?
sure if we're just missing it but we were wondering if you have ever taken your dogs for a stay in the Loews universal hotels. If so please repost it one day and if not please consider doing a what to expect when staying with your dogs on site. Rules about how long they can stay alone, housekeeping, walking them etc. Thanks for all the fun videos.
We haven’t! We plan to soon, though!
Awesome!!! We'll be looking for it.
So romantic sharing about where you got married.
💝
You guys are adorable
My kid likes you ❤
Awh, thank you!! 🫶🏻
I never knew you could rent a guitar at hard rock… that’s sweet
Yes!! They put a big hold on your account, but as long as you return it in one piece it’s free! 😂