Cabana Bay Beach Resort

[neoshinok]

Only issues I had there were some items being left in the fridge from the previous guests, and the food court staff were terrible. More interested in finishing their conversations than taking your order. Other than that I had a great time and will return :wave:

 

[MrRoamer]

I think those types of issues can and do happen in many other major travel destinations, heck I read an article a few years back about the Poly having an issue with bed bugs.

Part of the issues I referred to was either not having someone sympathetic to the problem or hearing your issues and saying they will be resolved with no follow through. I've had some pretty great experiences there so far, hopefully just a couple unfortunate souls.

 

[UNC2014]

I'm a little nervous about my upcoming trip now after reading HTF's timeline and the comments on here...

 

[MrRoamer]

I'm a little nervous about my upcoming trip now after reading HTF's timeline and the comments on here...

I'm definitely not looking to make you nervous, I'm staying there again on Saturday. It just looks like some growing pains that they need to work through.

 

[UK-Trigg]

I'm definitely not looking to make you nervous, I'm staying there again on Saturday. It just looks like some growing pains that they need to work through.

Be sure to report back :thumbs:

 

[Miketheboss]

If what happened to HTF happened to me, I wouldve flipped and been on the news. This hasn't been an isolated incident. I feel like Universal hired garbage, ghetto employees to run the hotel. Lack of customer service. Check out this review, it left me stunned...

"Left my sunglasses on a wall outside of the pool entrance after checking out the pool when we arrived, walked away from the wall for a minute to help my wife, realized that I forgot my sunglasses on the wall after helping my wife, glasses gone but groundsperson was standing further down the wall (didn't see him while I was standing there) went up to him to ask if he had seen the glasses, before I could ask, I noticed him leaning forward on the wall cradeling my sunglasses inside his folded arms. Really...$15.00 glasses. Took them out of his folded arms and asked him if it was really worth it, gave me the "what are you talking about" look, and walked away".

 

[Teebin]

If what happened to HTF happened to me, I wouldve flipped and been on the news. This hasn't been an isolated incident. I feel like Universal hired garbage, ghetto employees to run the hotel. Lack of customer service. Check out this review, it left me stunned...

"Left my sunglasses on a wall outside of the pool entrance after checking out the pool when we arrived, walked away from the wall for a minute to help my wife, realized that I forgot my sunglasses on the wall after helping my wife, glasses gone but groundsperson was standing further down the wall (didn't see him while I was standing there) went up to him to ask if he had seen the glasses, before I could ask, I noticed him leaning forward on the wall cradeling my sunglasses inside his folded arms. Really...$15.00 glasses. Took them out of his folded arms and asked him if it was really worth it, gave me the "what are you talking about" look, and walked away".

Where was this full review from?

 

[Miketheboss]

Where was this full review from?

Trip Advisor. I've read other reviews saying things were missing from the room.

Here is the full review.

Had a nice room facing the pool. Room was nothing special. very small. dont think it was worth the upgrade charge for a room overlooking the pool. Dont leave change on the tables. Had a little over $2.00 in change laying on the table, room service took it and left a note thanking me for the tip. Don't know if she was trying to be smart or what. I left a note back to her hoping she enjoyed the $2.00, because she just blew a $40.00 tip (I usually leave $10.00 per day at the end of my stay if the housekeeping was good.) Besides what gives her the right to assume it was a tip. Like I said I think I was made to take a hint. Also beware of the grounds staff. I almost had my sunglasses lifted by one of them. Guy was dressed in Cabana Bay dress. Left my sunglasses on a wall outside of the pool entrance after checking out the pool when we arrived, walked away from the wall for a minute to help my wife, realized that I forgot my sunglasses on the wall after helping my wife, glasses gone but groundsperson was standing further down the wall (didn't see him while I was standing there) went up to him to ask if he had seen the glasses, before I could ask, I noticed him leaning forward on the wall cradeling my sunglasses inside his folded arms. Really...$15.00 glasses. Took them out of his folded arms and asked him if it was really worth it, gave me the "what are you talking about" look, and walked away.

On the other hand, outside pool service was great. Pools were very clean, snack and beverage areas very friendly, but way over priced. $10.00 a day charge to park your vehicle on their lot is absolutely rediculous.

 

[natespf]

Had a nice room facing the pool. Room was nothing special. very small. dont think it was worth the upgrade charge for a room overlooking the pool. Dont leave change on the tables. Had a little over $2.00 in change laying on the table, room service took it and left a note thanking me for the tip. Don't know if she was trying to be smart or what. I left a note back to her hoping she enjoyed the $2.00, because she just blew a $40.00 tip (I usually leave $10.00 per day at the end of my stay if the housekeeping was good.) Besides what gives her the right to assume it was a tip. Like I said I think I was made to take a hint. Also beware of the grounds staff. I almost had my sunglasses lifted by one of them. Guy was dressed in Cabana Bay dress. Left my sunglasses on a wall outside of the pool entrance after checking out the pool when we arrived, walked away from the wall for a minute to help my wife, realized that I forgot my sunglasses on the wall after helping my wife, glasses gone but groundsperson was standing further down the wall (didn't see him while I was standing there) went up to him to ask if he had seen the glasses, before I could ask, I noticed him leaning forward on the wall cradeling my sunglasses inside his folded arms. Really...$15.00 glasses. Took them out of his folded arms and asked him if it was really worth it, gave me the "what are you talking about" look, and walked away.

On the other hand, outside pool service was great. Pools were very clean, snack and beverage areas very friendly, but way over priced. $10.00 a day charge to park your vehicle on their lot is absolutely rediculous.

Is it just me that this sounds like they left money where people usually leave a tip and the housekeeping thought it was a tip and even left a thank you note. Generally speaking you should leave a smaller tip each day instead of a bigger tip at the end of the stay, as you do not know the housekeeping schedule or if you'll have the same housekeeper each day.

Also a good groundskeeper would pick up unattended items, it is a matter of what is done with the items. For example if they were taken to the lost and found. But again I don't know what could have happened in this situation, but it is good he got his glasses back.

 

[Teebin]

Is it just me that this sounds like they left money where people usually leave a tip and the housekeeping thought it was a tip and even left a thank you note. Generally speaking you should leave a smaller tip each day instead of a bigger tip at the end of the stay, as you do not know the housekeeping schedule or if you'll have the same housekeeper each day.

Also a good groundskeeper would pick up unattended items, it is a matter of what is done with the items. For example if they were taken to the lost and found. But again I don't know what could have happened in this situation, but it is good he got his glasses back.

This is logical too. I wonder if race-related assumptions might be happening here. Perhaps just a teensy weensy bit?

 

[Teebin]

What happened?

Nvm. I just saw. Wow, horrible. I've stayed there 3 times already and never had less than a perfect stay.

Where is HTF's review?

 

[Frogki]

Where is HTF's review?

It's in multiple tweets on his account. The gist of it is the busses weren't running very well and made them wait quite a bit at the pick up spot, the first room he had had a pretty bad ant problem, by the time they got to the hotel the restaurant there was closed, so he had to go out to get food, and the crib for their second room never came, he went back to the first room cleaned off that crib and brought it back, and no one really got to sleep until after one in the morning... Overall, sounds like a pretty unpleasant time for him.

 

[neoshinok]

I feel like Universal hired garbage, ghetto employees to run the hotel. Lack of customer service.

Agree with this. The food court employees in particular all had an "ex-con" kind of vibe to them. Surprised Loewe's hasn't done better.

 

[Disneyhead]

With as many new TMs that Universal has hired recently I am not surprised that some bad eggs have gotten in. They will be weeded out.

Unfortunately, at the pay grade that both Disney and Universal pay their frontline CMs/TMs, they have about exhausted the pool of quality talent in the market.

Now if they could offer better pay and better career prospects they may attract a higher quality employee. Otherwise you are looking at the Orlando equivalent to seasonal Cedar Point staff (no offense maxairmike).

 

[Shucker]

When we stayed, we walked into our room and it had not been cleaned from the last guests. We were exhausted and didnt feel like moving everything. Called the front desk and they apologized and said a cleaning crew would be there ASAP. We went down to the pool and five mins later I went back up and they were cleaning the room. Very apologetic, but a very rookie mistake. I dont mind mistakes as long as they work to get it fixed asap, and they did. I just chalked it up to being brand new.

 

[Shucker]

With as many new TMs that Universal has hired recently I am not surprised that some bad eggs have gotten in. They will be weeded out.

Unfortunately, at the pay grade that both Disney and Universal pay their frontline CMs/TMs, they have about exhausted the pool of quality talent in the market.

Now if they could offer better pay and better career prospects they may attract a higher quality employee. Otherwise you are looking at the Orlando equivalent to seasonal Cedar Point staff (no offense maxairmike).

Disney has the best scam in the world, the Disney College Program. I was on it and loved it (actually its where I met my wife). But here is the thing, they get college educated kids to come in and work for minimum wage. They make them stay in a condo Disney provides, and charge them for it. I lived with 5 other guys and we all paid $250 ($1500 total) a month for a 3 bedroom condo. Plus they get a tax right off for each student because it is a college program. So you have employees that are so excited to be there, and by the time they are burned out, they get a new batch to come on in (I think they turn over 3 times a year). Plus since so many college kids want to do it, they can pick the best of crop for each session. I dont know if Universal has something like this, but it is genius. Maybe since they are expanding, and have more hotel positions, they could look into this as well. Disney has so many hotels and parks, its easy for them to do this.

 

[neoshinok]

It's in multiple tweets on his account. The gist of it is the busses weren't running very well and made them wait quite a bit at the pick up spot, the first room he had had a pretty bad ant problem, by the time they got to the hotel the restaurant there was closed, so he had to go out to get food, and the crib for their second room never came, he went back to the first room cleaned off that crib and brought it back, and no one really got to sleep until after one in the morning... Overall, sounds like a pretty unpleasant time for him.

Very surprised to see his wait times for the bus, posted 45 min at one point. Maybe I was just lucky, but we didn't wait a single time for a bus Fri-Sat. They were back to back all day.

 

[Andy]

I'll post a full review in a day or two once everything sinks in but in the mean time lets just say unless I'm alone I won't be coming back to Cabana Bay.

 

[MillenniumDragons]

I stayed at the Cabana Bay on July 23/24 and for Universal's first moderate priced resort, it's what you pay for. We got a room on the first floor towards the end of what I believe is the Americana wing of the resort. The room was a mess. It looked like the guests before us just left. The beds were not made, there were cups of water sitting around and it smelled of cigarette smoke. While another member of my group went to the front desk to get a new room, I decided to wait at a table in the Bayliner Diner seating area. Down the hall in a couch/sitting area, dozens of teen Brazilian tourists were loudly chanting for what felt like 10 minutes non stop. Why they do that every where they go in the parks is beyond me. This was by far the lowest point of my trip and just felt like leaving completely.
We got a new room on the 6th floor of Americana with a view of the lazy river complex (more a view of the fire pit actually. It was a standard room, not a suite or anything. Had a mini fridge which I thought was pretty convenient. Incase your not familiar, there are two pool complexes, one with the main pool and slide beyond the lobby and a secondary one with a little lazy river. There are lots of places to sit on the pool deck, so don't worry about that. A major flaw I think there is however, is that there is no way to go from one pool complex to the other without having to go through the cold lobby/ second floor. I guess they expect you to just stay in one area, but something they should of thought out first. Bayliner Diner. This is your usual resort food court set up with several areas to get food. Soups, sandwiches, pizza, burgers, international cuisine, ect. The portions are quite big for a theme park resort. Prices are exceptional as well ranging from $4.99 to $12.50. The portions above average, prices average, and the quality great. Transportation from the resort to the Theme Parks needs lots of improvement. Buses are supposed to run every 20 minutes, but at the resort you have to stand outside in that infamous Florida heat. The Cabana buses don't have an official drop off zone in the City Walk bus area, rather, under the main hub of the parking garage with a "line starts here" type of thing almost as if they just put it there. The line to get on the bus from City Walk was like 75-100 guests and they had 3 buses sitting there in the bus parking lot. Finally, one of the bus drivers decided after 20 minutes that maybe the other Cabana buses were going to be late, so he decided to hop into an empty bus to pick up passengers. Universal definitely is new to bus transport unlike Disney World.
Overall, Cabana Bay Beach Resort is an exceptional resort for it's prices and I think Universal redeemed it self after I first got there to make for an enjoyable experience. Ratings: B, 3 1/2 Stars, 83%. Hope this helps anyone thinking about staying.

 

[Miketheboss]

I stayed at the Cabana Bay on July 23/24 and for Universal's first moderate priced resort, it's what you pay for. We got a room on the first floor towards the end of what I believe is the Americana wing of the resort. The room was a mess. It looked like the guests before us just left. The beds were not made, there were cups of water sitting around and it smelled of cigarette smoke. While another member of my group went to the front desk to get a new room, I decided to wait at a table in the Bayliner Diner seating area. Down the hall in a couch/sitting area, dozens of teen Brazilian tourists were loudly chanting for what felt like 10 minutes non stop. Why they do that every where they go in the parks is beyond me. This was by far the lowest point of my trip and just felt like leaving completely.
We got a new room on the 6th floor of Americana with a view of the lazy river complex (more a view of the fire pit actually. It was a standard room, not a suite or anything. Had a mini fridge which I thought was pretty convenient. Incase your not familiar, there are two pool complexes, one with the main pool and slide beyond the lobby and a secondary one with a little lazy river. There are lots of places to sit on the pool deck, so don't worry about that. A major flaw I think there is however, is that there is no way to go from one pool complex to the other without having to go through the cold lobby/ second floor. I guess they expect you to just stay in one area, but something they should of thought out first. Bayliner Diner. This is your usual resort food court set up with several areas to get food. Soups, sandwiches, pizza, burgers, international cuisine, ect. The portions are quite big for a theme park resort. Prices are exceptional as well ranging from $4.99 to $12.50. The portions above average, prices average, and the quality great. Transportation from the resort to the Theme Parks needs lots of improvement. Buses are supposed to run every 20 minutes, but at the resort you have to stand outside in that infamous Florida heat. The Cabana buses don't have an official drop off zone in the City Walk bus area, rather, under the main hub of the parking garage with a "line starts here" type of thing almost as if they just put it there. The line to get on the bus from City Walk was like 75-100 guests and they had 3 buses sitting there in the bus parking lot. Finally, one of the bus drivers decided after 20 minutes that maybe the other Cabana buses were going to be late, so he decided to hop into an empty bus to pick up passengers. Universal definitely is new to bus transport unlike Disney World.
Overall, Cabana Bay Beach Resort is an exceptional resort for it's prices and I think Universal redeemed it self after I first got there to make for an enjoyable experience. Ratings: B, 3 1/2 Stars, 83%. Hope this helps anyone thinking about staying.

Your making it seem as if it costs $70 to stay at the CB. You go to hotels offsite (30 seconds away) that cost $99 and you get a clean room at least.It cost $108 to stay onsite at disneyworld in their value hotels. Paying $150 shouldn't give you a dirty room. Thats not what you paid for.