Universal Studios Orlando Stay in the new Sapphire Falls
This was my second time staying in a Universal Hotel as I had previously stayed in Cabana Bay hotel.
Arriving at the hotel we got a lovely warm welcome and very speedy check in. I thought arriving peak dates just before Christmas I would have to expect a queue at check in but to our surprise we were checked in straight away, the hotel is gorgeous it was new last summer an ideal time to stay here. Everywhere has that new smell of carpets and it felt like the hotel doors had opened for us. There were no signs it had even opened to anyone as everything as you would imagine looked brand new.
When entering the hotel the lobby is very grand with a gorgeous light display and very open and relaxing and at the back window, you see the largest Christmas tree. I don't think I have ever seen a bigger Christmas tree indoors, very impressive and festive.
We arrived tea time so after check in we headed to the room which was equally impressive very clean and stunning décor very beach focused. Huge TV's we almost did not want to leave our room as we had an amazing suite which was ridiculously big I think I counted 19 chairs to sit at. We headed to the bar/restaurant area in the hotel to unwind and the staff offered us the same great service as from the check in and we decided to chill and ordered tapas which was delicious the food and drinks choice is excellent. Plenty of TV screens to watch all the sports in the bar area.
The hotel also has a huge universal shop and the universal desk to collect any express passes paid for. The hotel doesn't provide express pass included in the price but we added them to enhance the holiday. We took use of the early park access but you only have a couple of rides open so the express ticket saved loads of time as we managed to do both parks in the same day. When I have been previously non-peak dates I don't think I have done 1 park in a day so really impressed as the extra time was spent in Citywalk.
The main benefit for us on this holiday was the close distance to Citywalk/universal studios and islands of adventures. If you plan to visit universal and islands of adventure staying in a universal hotel is excellent value and a really memorable experience and I would recommend doing this.
The water taxi's from the hotel was a lovely way to travel citywalk/universal studios and islands of adventures. They were also very regular this was a really good part of the trip. You could walk in about 20 minutes very leisurely but we enjoyed the free water taxi's to get around.
So many highlights in Universal/Islands theme parks. Harry Potter is brilliant my favourite ride is the forbidden journey and in islands, I would have to say the new enhancements to Hulk is superb you do not need a map to find a way to the ride you can hear it a mile off.
The Macy's parade in universal was really good. Lots of Christmas music everywhere it was a lot more Christmassy than I thought and this time of year is a superb time to visit.
Weather was generally good the odd cooler day but an ideal time of year to visit out of hurricane season and nice temperatures for walking around.
The cinematic spectacular for universals 100 years of movies was the best nighttime show we saw truly magical. If you are planning a stay please speak to me for advise on which universal hotel is the best one for you.