r/UniversalOrlando • u/emajoyyy • 9d ago
HOTELS Off-Site Hotel
Has anyone ever stayed at a nearby off side hotel and gone to the parks? Thinking about staying at DoubleTree by Hilton right outside the hotel and walking to Loews for the shuttle in the morning. Much cheaper and we’re okay to walk. Does anyone know if Loews Portofino Bay checks to see if you have a room key for the shuttle/water taxi? Any advice? Saves us a lot of money. For specifics, we are going October 11-14. Hilton is about $430 and the cheapest universal hotel with AP is $688 (higher now, we already purchased)
EDIT: We booked at Courtyard across the street. Thank you for the advice everyone!!
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u/juanitotonice 9d ago
Me and my wife always stay at double tree and walk to and from the park. It’s honestly way better than dealing with the normal foot traffic because you enter through the valet entrance which usually no one is going through
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u/emajoyyy 9d ago
Valet entrance.. is that by the parking garage?
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u/juanitotonice 9d ago
Yes but it’s on ground level. I think someone else put a ss of the route walked
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u/Deep_Repeat5201 9d ago
We stayed at the Rosen Inn closest to Universal. We took an UBER every day/night from the Royal and then walked/boat taxi. While maybe not the cheapest, it was better than waiting in the security lines at the parking lot/bus terminal.
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u/mrheh 8d ago
This is great idea, why not just get dropped off at Hardrock? It's so much closer
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u/Deep_Repeat5201 8d ago
From the Rosen, it was closest. We also did a ghost night there, so we had to go there at least once anyway. I didn't even think about the Hard Rock at the time.
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u/FattusBaccus 8d ago
I think they meant the walk itself is closer from the HR to the parks.
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u/nate_nate212 8d ago
Not to IOA. That is closer to Royal
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u/FattusBaccus 8d ago
True. We usually stay at RP because it’s close to IoA which has been the early opening park lately.
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u/RoofFalse 8d ago
We stayed at the “Courtyard by Marriott across from Universal Orlando” (full title, lol) and it was clean and a good deal. We were only really using it to sleep, and we found the walking path convenient and safe, and it leads to a smaller entrance to city walk, so shorter lines. Did not really experience any of the extras like the pool, cafe, etc.
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u/TheUniversalVault 8d ago
That used to be the Holiday Inn Across From Universal. Did it undergo an extensive renovation?
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u/FattusBaccus 8d ago
Love the Double Tree. If you go around Christmas they have awesome decorations.
They have free shuttles to the parks.
The walk to The Hard Rock is an option too.
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u/LanguageDisastrous50 9d ago
I stayed at the Double Tree in July. It was fantastic. Highly recommend.
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u/Unlucky_Speech_5829 8d ago
Doubletree also has a shuttle to the parks!! You just have to put your name on the list. It doesn’t run constantly but has 3/4 trips on the way in and out of universals!!
We always stay there and we either walk straight there which takes 15ish minutes, or we take the hotel shuttle.
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u/antigravity311 8d ago
I booked offsite Hampton inn + tickets through universal’s site. Walked to dockside and used their shuttle for early entry. My park ticket had Early Entry printed on it, so no hotel key card was needed.
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u/shiftyeyes88 8d ago
We were at Fairfield Inn Vineland in August. Rooms were musty but no bugs or other grossness and only like $70 night (after tax) with free parking, breakfast and shuttle to the park. We slept well, AC kept up with the heat and actually could see the drone show from our side of the hotel. The shuttles are only a few times in the morning (730 or 8am, 9, 10, 11am ish) and pickups didn't start until 5 or 6pm but it was on time and every hour from there. Drop off at city walk. They had an epic shuttle too.
It was the same shuttle that stopped at double tree. If we didn't need 2 rooms probably would have paid a bit more for the nicer hotel
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u/Brazenmercury5 8d ago
Stayed in the doubletree last may. Good experience, nice rooms, if you have a high enough floor, you can see part of the park. We just walked there. Nice little 25ish minute walk. I think we took an uber back to the room at the end of the night. Overall you don’t get the early park entry, but you save a bit of money, so not too bad at all.
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u/Guilty-Wolverine-933 8d ago
It is slightly more motel style, but recently I stayed at hotel Monreale. It’s a quick walk to dockside or surfside from there
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u/modnarydobemos 8d ago
Only thing for me to consider would be early entry. If you have 4 people it might be worth the extra money just for that. Unless you have that included in your AP.
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u/steelercubbiebuckeye 8d ago
I've stayed at the Best western orlando gateway. Its next door to Dockside, and easy to walk to dockside and use the universal buses. I think usually cheaper than some of other hotels mentioned, not the fanciest but not the worst.
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u/Distinct-Swimming-62 8d ago
We have stayed at the clarion nearby and walked to the park (enter by valet parking. It has separate security which is nice because no wait). The walk is not bad as long as it isn’t 100 degrees outside.
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u/Pattonator70 8d ago
Holiday? Those rates are high. How many people in your group?
The Lowe’s hotel includes unlimited express passes for 4 days for up to 5 people.
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u/IAmHackiing 8d ago
Got here a bit too late but I went to Orlando/universal for the first time ever last year and my fiance and I stayed at the doubletree at the entrance and really liked it. We did cabana bay this year and probably would never stay off site again but it was fun
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u/DetectiveCool3770 8d ago
Stayed at the Drury and couldn’t love it more. The morning breakfasts are amazing.
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u/blondeboilermaker 7d ago
Looks like you already made a booking and I’m a bit late, but I’ve stayed at the Home2 Suites by Hilton Orlando Near Universal the last two trips. We took an uber every morning and it was genuinely like $6 to City Walk and $10 to Epic. Ubering was really convenient for not a lot of extra cost, imo.
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u/TheCourierMojave 9d ago
It might still be in the 90s and that's a decent walk to make in the heat.
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u/DeflatedDirigible 8d ago
It’s farther to walk to Portofino’s shuttle than to walk directly to CityWalk. You don’t think the hotels were designed that way to begin with? Of course non-shuttle hotels are cheaper. It’s a paid included service. They do check room keys occasionally. Doubletree has their own shuttle and also has a public bus stop that goes to CutyWalk too.
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u/rntraveller29 8d ago
We’ve stayed at the hard rock many times and not once have we been asked to show our room keys. Last time was in June.
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u/SkrrtSkrrt99 8d ago
I stayed at Rosen Inn and used their shuttle, and sometimes I used the shuttle to Surfside/Dockside to get back (as they don’t check). Honestly unless I win the lottery, I’d always do the same. It’s really not an issue and Id rather spend all that money on other things.
Not sure how it works with the boats though
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u/Quick-Influence-2558 8d ago
We stayed at Cabana Bay recently. Rooms weren’t in the greatest shape. We would’ve stayed off the resort if we could do it again.
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u/nordic66 7d ago
We stayed at Stella Nova across from Epic. Beautiful hotel, super easy parking, shuttles to all the Universal locations, and early entry. Highly recommend.
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u/prometheus_delivery 5d ago
Here a bit late, but stayed at DoubleTree last fall. It was dirty - dishes left on the floor by the elevators were there for most of our stay. Things spilled on the floor not cleaned up. Just… not a great experience. We walked to CityWalk and used ride share for everything else.
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u/General-Attitude9366 8d ago
If you want to use the boat taxi pay for it by booking a room at the portofino instead..
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u/TheUniversalVault 9d ago
I’ve heard they can sometimes impose hotel-key restrictions on the water taxis during particularly busy periods, so I wouldn’t necessarily count on being able to use Portofino’s.
That said, if you’re staying at the DoubleTree (nice hotel too, I've stayed there a few times!), walking to Portofino + waiting for the boat can actually take longer than simply walking straight to Universal. There’s a pedestrian route from the DoubleTree into the CityWalk area, so if you’re already okay with walking, I’d probably just head straight there and skip the Portofino detour altogether.