Hotels in Universal Orlando

There are eight hotels on Universal property, all operated by the Loews hotel group, totaling 9,000 rooms, and for the first time, some of them come cheaper than comparable hotels just blocks away. Even its higher-priced ones come with strong advantages. First, most hotels are within 15 minutes’ walk of the parks, and three are connected by a free boat that runs continuously into the wee hours.

Guests can use their room keys to make charges throughout the resort, they get into Harry Potter an hour early, and at three hotels, they can join the Express line at the two parks’ best attractions—that perk has the effect of freeing up a vacation schedule.

Guests can also drink and dine all night at CityWalk next door without having to drive or wait for a bus. Use the hotels’ website to find Hot Deals, which grants discounts of 20 to 30 percent on specified nights; the website also posts floor plans of all room types.

The Universal property is hemmed in by lots of real-world restaurants where prices are realistic, and free shuttles to SeaWorld are provided once a day. So unlike cloistered Disney, when you’re at Universal, you’re linked to the real Orlando, and there’s more food flexibility. At Easter and during the December holidays, rates are, of course, higher. But there are no resort fees.