- Apr 18, 2018
- 1,154
- 4,305
Favorite HHN Hotel
- Thread starter Skipper Justin
- Start date
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I think they ALL have value but for me, it's Sapphire, Aventura, Hard Rock & Portofino.
Sapphire is the best value to money if you're not going to the park in the day. Very easy to hang out in the pool and get drinks at Sapphire, then boom water taxi over to CityWalk. Even though you're not *supposed* to, I do like that Aventura has that level of access as well.
Portofino is just nice. It's great and I think that it is more quiet during HHN and I honestly appreciate that. The vibes and location at Hard Rock are UNMATCHED though. Plus that breakfast buffet is the best in the game. But back to my point about Sapphire, there's is a very comfortable and deserving 2nd place.
I guess if the chips fell I'd book Sapphire pretty fast.
Sapphire is the best value to money if you're not going to the park in the day. Very easy to hang out in the pool and get drinks at Sapphire, then boom water taxi over to CityWalk. Even though you're not *supposed* to, I do like that Aventura has that level of access as well.
Portofino is just nice. It's great and I think that it is more quiet during HHN and I honestly appreciate that. The vibes and location at Hard Rock are UNMATCHED though. Plus that breakfast buffet is the best in the game. But back to my point about Sapphire, there's is a very comfortable and deserving 2nd place.
I guess if the chips fell I'd book Sapphire pretty fast.
- Sep 7, 2015
- 311
- 970
My 2021 stay at Cabana Bay felt off in comparison to '16, '18, and '19. The employees were still friendly, it just feels like the high volume of the resort has caused for it to age a little quicker. And that check-in line was monstrous the entire duration of my stay.
This year I have a split-stay between CBBR, Sapphire, & Aventura (no multi-night availability for any of them at the moment during my HHN trip). Interested to see how they all feel in relation to one another.
- May 24, 2018
- 1,760
- 2,352
I will say that my stay at Hard Rock last year for HHN wasn’t great either.
Cons:
The bus to volcano bay took forever.
Bathroom was cramp and very dated.
Layout made it a long walk to room.
Took a red eye from Portland (9pm-6am). Tried to sleep once I got to the room, but I was woken up by the maid in the room next door slamming the vacuum into the wall over and over.
Pros:
Very close walking distance. Could see my room from the Beetlejuice queue!
Staying at Cabana Bay this year because got a great deal for a family suite. I think the food options are also great.
Cons:
The bus to volcano bay took forever.
Bathroom was cramp and very dated.
Layout made it a long walk to room.
Took a red eye from Portland (9pm-6am). Tried to sleep once I got to the room, but I was woken up by the maid in the room next door slamming the vacuum into the wall over and over.
Pros:
Very close walking distance. Could see my room from the Beetlejuice queue!
Staying at Cabana Bay this year because got a great deal for a family suite. I think the food options are also great.
- May 24, 2018
- 1,760
- 2,352
Food is really good at CB. I have going to Universal and went over to CB just to eat. It’s like a food court in a way. I really recommend the beef churrasco.
Cabana Bay got hit the hardest of all the UO hotels due to Covid - increased/similar level of demand, but lower staffing levels meant lines for just about everything. I was lucky last year that mobile check-in was an option and avoided the 80 minute wait everyone else had.
- Feb 15, 2012
- 17,123
- 47,012
So I think a lot of shine that Cabana had was partially due to it being the first hotel open in the new era of Universal. Now that other options have become available, and Cabana's age is starting to show a bit, it's lost some of that luster.
- Sep 7, 2015
- 311
- 970
Which is a bit of a shame because it has the most amenities to make up the perfect "I just want to hang out at my hotel before HHN" out of all the UOR hotels. 3 bars, bowling alley, lazy river, giant food court, waterslide...
Outside of the Bowling and the Lazy River/Slide, you can get much of that at Endless Summer for a cheaper price.
Or... enjoy the better pool area and bars at Sapphire with water taxi transportation to boot for a little more per night.
- Sep 7, 2015
- 311
- 970
In a few years, when the money is a little better on my end, I think I'll finally dip into that "Sapphire = GOAT" group, but there's $125 variance between my night in a Cabana Suite and Sapphire Standard room right now.
Endless Summer --> Cabana is a $65 jump for my dates, which I can see the value in, as I get to go from a ES Standard to a CBBR Suite, plus have the lazy river. Very justifiable in my opinion. I don't know if I can say the same about Cabana --> Sapphire at the moment. Yes, I get the water taxi, and the quality of the bars go up (although I'm still paying for the drinks at either resort). On the flip side, my room size decreases and I'm stuck sharing a bed after 4-8 hours of booze and greasy food.
Though I guess this is why they created Aventura lol. 30 second walk to the water taxi and Sapphire amenities, but the price point of Cabana. All I have to sacrifice is the room size.
I really hope that Hard Rock ditches the blood mirrors soon. Last time I stayed there, it was our anniversary. They upgraded us to a suite which was super nice, but the mirrors were super distracting.
To make it more annoying, they were hung at the wrong height which I feel kills the entire point of them....
To make it more annoying, they were hung at the wrong height which I feel kills the entire point of them....
The management is pretty awful. I dealt with a couple of managers when our "VB view family suite" was on the ground floor and stared at the back of a building, AC units and a dumpster area. Plus, the room smelt like wet towels and the entire hallway outside the bathroom was soaked (visible water sponging around your feet when you stepped). Our party of 6 was booked for 11-nights and we were pretty disappointed.
The first manager said they would get us an actual VB view room the next day if we could wait a night, so we spent the first night there. We were told to come down after noon the next day so we could be given a better room.
The next afternoon we packed up all of our stuff onto two carts (plus a week's worth of groceries we had already "pre-ordered" from Publix) and hauled it to the lobby to wait for the room we actually paid for. We were told to let them know when we were out of the first room and ready to switch, but the manager there on the second day told us he didn't know why we were promised a different room and he couldn't give it to me even though he acknowledged he had a note about it. We took all our stuff back to the original room and our keys no longer worked and the room was being prepared for another group, so we went back again to the lobby. I expressed to them how frustrating this was until finally the second manager agreed to give us the correct room... it just wasn't ready yet.
Since we had so much stuff and a cart full of groceries that kept wanting to fall all over the place, we decided to wait with the carts instead of checking them into the bell stand. They had already misplaced a package we had mailed to the hotel that arrived the day of our check-in, so I didn't feel comfortable leaving that much stuff with them. Six hours of waiting in the lobby went by and we finally got our room. Our lost package was found three-days later.
- May 24, 2018
- 1,760
- 2,352
I stayed at the Hard Rock for HHN this past week for HHN and it was nice but I still prefer CB. It was very convenient how close it was and seeing r room from the monsters q was fun but I still prefer CB. I keep hearing bad stories about CB but I personally never experience any.
Stayed at Sapphire Falls this past weekend for a HHN-only trip and it was perfect. Reasonably priced, great pool, water taxis and just an overall really nice vibe. Stayed at Royal Pacific last year and did not find anything nicer about it to justify the higher price point (the Express passes were of no value since I didn't go to the parks).
- Apr 4, 2020
- 1,481
- 4,262
Cabana Bay was a great value and perfect location for Volcano Bay (which, as I already noted, was the surprise hero of the trip). But if I were to do a Horror Nights-only trip in the future, I'd probably like to stay closer just to save my feet after a long night of walking.
