Staying at a swanky fun hotel is always a trip, but when you stay at one that has amazing amenities and is proximate to your activities during your stay, it doesn't get any better than that. Enter the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando. I spent three nights at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando and had some of the best nights of sleep in a hotel that I've had in ages—and that is saying a lot since I travel frequently.
You drive up to the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando and the first thing you notice is the fun guitar-art fountain out front. I mean, of course it's going to be music-themed. All Hard Rock locations have a fun rocker music vibe to them. I'd expect nothing less!
The Rooms at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando
The rooms are all decked out, from mirrors that let you see how tall you are compared to your favorite music stars, to drumstick and LP art and musical note-handled bathroom fixtures. Fun throw pillows accentuate the beds and chairs to give a great pop of color. Everything about the room is warm, colorful, and inviting. I actually didn't want to leave my room. I could have spent my whole press trip there. A great little coffee bar and refrigerator provide the necessities to round out your home away from home. The room I had overlooked the pool area and Orlando Studios Florida.
Hard Rock Hotel Pool
The Hard Rock Hotel pool (that I could see from my room) 12,000-square-foot pool complete with a sand beach. There are also two hot tubs, a sand volleyball court, interactive fountains, a play area for the kids, and a 260-foot pool slide.
The Kitchen
The Kitchen, the restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando, has a fantastic breakfast buffet. They offer everything you can imagine to eat, including oatmeal, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, waffles, fresh fruit, cereal, toast, and muffins and pasties. They also offer an omelet station where the chef will cook to order just about any variation of eggs you can imagine, from Eggs Benedict to an egg white omelet. Coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice is included in the buffet.
The Mandara Spa
The Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando has partnered with their neighbors at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel to offer guests access to the luxurious Mandara Spa. I experienced a spa treatment with my friends Mary and Tiffany while we were on our press trip. The Mandara Spa is beautiful, relaxing, stress relieving, luxurious—everything you expect and hope for in a high-quality spa experience.
We were greeted my kind attentive staff and immediately given information about our services. We filled out paperwork and then given a tour of the facility, which in incredible. I've been in many, many spas, and this is by far one of the loveliest I've been in. And because it was shoulder season in the middle of the week, it was extra quiet, which made it that much nicer. It was almost as if Mary, Tiffany, and I had a private spa day.
My massage therapist was very attentive, asked all the right questions, and made sure I had all of the information I needed to have the more positive spa experience possible. I asked for more pressure when I wanted it, she checked to see how I was doing with out being “chatty” (I'm not a fan of chatty therapists). She really gave a superior deep tissue massage and recommended products that complemented the service she gave me.
We didn't have time that day to really explore and enjoy the spa facilities, so we were given a voucher to come back and use the facility another day (which I didn't have a chance to use), but they wanted to ensure we had a chance to use the facilities since they are included with a service.
I loved the Mandara Spa and look forward to the next visit (I'm totally ditching my family the next time we're at Universal Orlando Resort to go get another deep tissue massage at Mandara Spa.)
The Benefits of Staying at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando
Onsite they also have a small store where you can grab snacks, small meals, and essentials. The Rock Shop gift shop was quite diverse, offering lots of Hard Rock logo wear to satisfy your fashion needs.
One of the best parts about staying at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando is that when you visit the Universal Studios Florida or Universal's Islands of Adventure theme parks, you get added benefits of being a hotel guest. I loved these perks and enjoyed being able to use them. Your benefits include:
- Universal Express Unlimited ride access in both theme parks, so you get to skip the regular line
- Early Park Admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter one hour before the theme park opens.
- Complementary water taxis along the waterways
- Complementary ride the shuttle bus directly to both theme parks and Universal CityWalk
- Priority seating at select restaurants throughout both theme parks and first available seating at select Universal Orlando and CityWalk restaurants
- Resort-wide charging privileges with your room key card (use your hotel room key card to charge food and merchandise at Universal Orlando locations where credit cards are accepted)
- Complementary delivery of merchandise purchased throughout the resort to your on-site hotel room.
- Complementary scheduled transportation to nearby Wet ‘n Wild water park, SeaWorld, and Aquatica
- Universal Orlando character dining with some of your favorite theme park characters
- Start your day with a wake-up call from one of your favorite Universal Orlando theme park characters and rock stars
- Golf Universal Orlando program, providing preferred tee times and complimentary transportation to Windermere Country Club or Grand Cypress Golf Club
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