I’m curious to those who go to Universal, and don’t stay at a deluxe hotel, would you stay at one of these? We usually stay at Cabana Bay whenever we go, but would consider staying at one of these because they’re newer, and they’re themed.
Has anyone stayed here yet? Or, would you ever consider staying here? I completely understand that most stay at the deluxe resorts because of the EPs, but we’ve gone when it isn’t as busy, so it wasn’t really necessary for us (but would do it for a night if it was a busy time).
I have not stayed at Endless Summer yet, but would consider staying there particularly if we were a group of 5 (which we often are). The family suite would work well for us. 3 queen beds and even a table.
We’ve stayed at both Portofino and Cabana Bay and liked both of those. CB was last May when it wasn’t crowded plus my mother and I were planning on spending a lot of time at Volcano Bay.
I went to Cabana Bay twice last year. This January, we will be a group of five, ages 33, 28, 14, 12 and 11. We are staying at Endless Summer Resort in a two bedroom suite this time. I am looking forward to seeing how it works out.
I would do cabana bay again but its too small to really hold the 5 of us.
Following up on this thread. We booked rooms here for our replacement August trip.
I am curious if anyone else has actually stayed, and I’d you think using the shuttle to get to the parks was worth it…or should we just drive? How frequent/fast are the shuttles?
This is a bit off-topic for this thread, but still relevant for those who are learning about UOR hotels.
In terms of non-deluxe UOR hotels, my father loved Sapphire Falls. He stayed at SF in Oct 2019 with my sister. He was really impressed by SF and picked it for our planned trip this May (which has been re-scheduled to mid-August). We had stayed at Royal Pacific, Portofino and Cabana Bay before he stayed at SF. At WDW, favorites include Coronado Springs, Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge and Old Key West.
I’ve stayed at Endless Summer Surfside twice: HHN in October and this past January for a long weekend.
I have never had an issue with the bus service and found it as quick if not quicker than driving. Unlike driving, the bus drops you off under the rotunda where security is. every time I went to and from the parks I was back at the resort in under 10 minutes (including waiting for the bus, waiting to leave, and driving). Now, one of my friends also stayed at Endless and said they had a slow dispatch and sat for much longer.
Personally, it depends on when you want to leave the parks if you should drive or not. If you’re leaving with a crowd there will be enough busses to accommodate for that, if not and you want to head back to the resort at random times a car might be better.
Thanks for the info! Question, not bus-wise, how do you compare it to Cabana Bay in terms of theming? When you’re there does it feel like theming is all around you, do you feel like you’re at a Universal resort, or does it feel like you’re anywhere else in a nice hotel? I’m asking because I’ve been to CB many times, and every time I think maybe I’ll switch to try another one…CB pulls me back in, lol!
CBBR is very much a resort while Endless is more a hotel. You won’t find the same level of theming at Endless (though it’s still very nice). I prefer the rooms at Endless (minus the pillows and towels) but the amenities are significantly better at CBBR.