Universal Orlando’s hotels: Overview and rates

Universal Orlando Resort features seven (soon to be eight) hotels, which are split up into four tiers: value, prime value, preferred, and premier. This page includes a quick summary of each category, along with each resort. To learn more about each specific property, click on any of their names. To compare each of their offerings and find out which is right for you, click here.

Universal Orlando’s value hotels – general information

Universal’s value hotels offer the most inexpensive of room rates (starting at just $73 a night, under the right promotions/conditions) but are also located geographically the furthest from the main Universal Orlando campus (where the parks and CityWalk are located) – in fact, they sit on their own 64-acre plot of land that the company refers to as its mid-campus, located some five minutes down the road. Endless Summer Resort is the name of the value hotel complex, with its two individual properties being Surfside Inn and Suites (which opened in 2019) and Dockside Inn and Suites (which will bow in two different phases throughout 2020).

Value hotels offer select Universal benefits, including shuttle buses to the parks and Early Park Admission. However, they do not feature some of the perks that the preferred and premier properties boast: complimentary Express Passes, priority seating at restaurants, pets being allowed, valet parking, 24-hour room service, and water-taxi transportation to the parks.

Learn more about Endless Summer Resort.

Universal Orlando’s prime value hotels – general information

Universal features two hotels in its prime value category: Cabana Bay Beach Resort and Aventura Hotel. As the “prime value” name suggests, these are some of the company’s most economically-friendly venues, with regular rates beginning at $144 and room sizes beginning at 300 square feet. Cabana opened in 2014 and features 2,200 rooms, including over 900 family suites; Aventura, meanwhile, debuted in 2018 and sports 600 rooms.

Prime value hotels offer all the benefits of the value resorts plus one extra perk: a private entranceway to Volcano Bay, Universal’s water theme park (the only venues, in fact, to do so). Once again, many of the privileges that the preferred and premier hotels boast aren’t carried over here.

Learn more about Cabana Bay Beach Resort and Aventura Hotel.

Universal Orlando’s preferred hotel – general information

There is only one venue in the preferred tier (the only classification to have a single occupant): Sapphire Falls Resort. This is Universal’s middle category, offering some benefits above the value and prime value entries. Regular rates for Sapphire Falls begin at $199, room sizes start at 321 square feet, and there are 1,000 rooms available.

As far as what features the sole preferred resort offers, look for 24-hour room service, valet parking, and the allowance of pets.

Learn more about Sapphire Falls Resort.

Universal Orlando’s premier hotels – general information

Topping off Universal’s hotel offerings is its premier echelon, which consists of Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, and Royal Pacific Resort. This level is home to the resort’s highest-priced hotels, which come with matching accommodations and perks. Regular rates for Royal Pacific start at $269 with room sizes beginning at 335 square feet; Hard Rock, meanwhile, comes in at $314 and 375 square feet, respectively; and Portofino Bay brings up the rear with $329 and 450 square feet.

The major difference between the premier and preferred categories is that all of the premier hotels offer complimentary Express Passes and priority seating at select restaurants. There are also some subtle differences between the two classifications, including some extra theming and slightly larger room sizes.

With the differences between the preferred and premier properties being a common question, we reached out to Universal for clarification. “Our goal for the premier guest experience is that it is at the one-of-a-kind level,” a representative said. “Our goal for the preferred guest experience is that it provides a perfect blend of resort-level convenience and amenities.”

Learn more about Royal Pacific Resort, Hard Rock Hotel, and Portofino Bay Hotel.

Universal Orlando’s hotels – rates

For your convenience, we have collected all of the hotels’ rates together into one tidy spot (well, save for the value hotels’). Compare these numbers with our crowd level predictions to find the best time to stay at Universal Orlando. As you’ll see, these rates can fluctuate greatly across the first six venues: Aventura and Cabana Bay vary $100 based on the season; Sapphire Falls, $115; Royal Pacific, $205; Hard Rock, $235; and Portofino Bay, $215.

If you’d like to compare 2018’s rates with the years previous, we have all that info cataloged for you: you can see 2013’s rates here, 2014’s here, 2015’s here, 2016’s here, and 2017’s here.

2018 rates:

To compare each of the hotel’s offerings and find out which hotel is right for you, click here.