Helios Grand Hotel

[Parkscope Joe]

Really happy with how this hotel is priced. Expensive, yes, but not prohibitly or unreasonably (looks at the monorail line hotels).

 

[kristenabelle]

Really happy with how this hotel is priced. Expensive, yes, but not prohibitly or unreasonably (looks at the monorail line hotels).

It's super reasonable, especially by comparison!

I did get confirmation emails but my deposit wasn't charged just yet...that's weird. Usually I get the text alert from Chase right away after the reservation goes through. Will call later this week if I don't see anything on my card come up.

 

[rhino4evr]

It's super reasonable, especially by comparison!

I did get confirmation emails but my deposit wasn't charged just yet...that's weird. Usually I get the text alert from Chase right away after the reservation goes through. Will call later this week if I don't see anything on my card come up.

My card didn’t get charged either , but I did get a confirmation email and number

 

[Stonecoldfreak1]

It's super reasonable, especially by comparison!

I did get confirmation emails but my deposit wasn't charged just yet...that's weird. Usually I get the text alert from Chase right away after the reservation goes through. Will call later this week if I don't see anything on my card come up.

I've never had a Universal hotel try to charge me for the deposit until about 12 hours after getting the confirmation.

 

[kristenabelle]

My card didn’t get charged either , but I did get a confirmation email and number

I've never had a Universal hotel try to charge me for the deposit until about 12 hours after getting the confirmation.

Same on the confirmation. And that's good to know, thanks!

 

[saint.piss]

I’d also encourage to keep checking back. You’re not putting money down to keep these rooms reserved, so I’d venture a guess we’ll see a fair few cancellations between now and opening day.

Got a stay booked for June 15th. Hoping I can reschedule for May 22nd if any availability opens up, but glad I'm getting to go at all. I'm not sure where I'm staying for opening day of EU tho lol

 

[Jake S]

Got a stay booked for June 15th. Hoping I can reschedule for May 22nd if any availability opens up, but glad I'm getting to go at all. I'm not sure where I'm staying for opening day of EU tho lol

I'd probably go for Stella/Terra (it looks like they're still available) but on the other hand, might be nice to stay away from the hustle and bustle and go for Cabana Bay.

 

[Tobias]

Really happy with how this hotel is priced. Expensive, yes, but not prohibitly or unreasonably (looks at the monorail line hotels).

Agreed, I was pleasantly surprised looking at the prices here. Beforehand, I was thinking the regular rooms would be akin to the other deluxe hotels at Universal, with the park view rooms being notably more expensive.

In ways, yes. But the pleasant surprise is park view rooms are not that bad of a price. I would've been plenty happy getting a regular room, but the price of a park view is actually reasonable and completely doable for me! It's not the astronomical price that Disney normally charges for park view at the Contemporary (let alone the other monorail resorts), so that's a major plus right there.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Disney normally charges for park view at the Contemporary

Does that even count as park view if it's nowhere near the park?

 

[Tobias]

Does that even count as park view if it's nowhere near the park?

It certainly does for Disney who'll charge $836 a night for the rooms facing MK. For reference, I looked up a September 3rd - 6th stay and that's what came up. Meanwhile Park View for Helios is around $444 a night, and overall cheaper than any option at the Contemporary which starts around $530+ for those dates.

I won't lie, I don't have qualms saving up and paying for an expensive room. But I do have my limits and generally any of the monorail resorts at Disney are well past that limit. But with the price of a park view room at Helios being comparable to what I paid for my Copper Creek room at Wilderness Lodge this year, that's well within my range and makes getting a park view all the more enticing. Especially since the park in question is RIGHT. THERE, and that's something no other hotel in Orlando is going to offer.

 

[rhino4evr]

Does that even count as park view if it's nowhere near the park?

Yeah, but mainly because you can watch the firework show from your room. I’m assuming you’ll be able to watch the night time show from Helios as well, but not clear if the fountains will be clearly visible or not

 

[HandsomePete]

Yeah, but mainly because you can watch the firework show from your room. I’m assuming you’ll be able to watch the night time show from Helios as well, but not clear if the fountains will be clearly visible or not

Yeah, the two things driving monorail hotel prices are firework view (they just can't call it that because if the fireworks are cancelled you've now failed to deliver on it being a view of fireworks) and not the proximity to MK but the difference between the proximity of the monorail hotels to MK versus all of the other options. If Bay Lake in front of MK was a parking lot, that drastically reduces the value prop of GF/Poly/Contemporary.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Yeah, the two things driving monorail hotel prices are firework view (they just can't call it that because if the fireworks are cancelled you've now failed to deliver on it being a view of fireworks) and not the proximity to MK but the difference between the proximity of the monorail hotels to MK versus all of the other options. If Bay Lake in front of MK was a parking lot, that drastically reduces the value prop of GF/Poly/Contemporary.

Yeah, the two things driving monorail hotel prices are firework view (they just can't call it that because if the fireworks are cancelled you've now failed to deliver on it being a view of fireworks) and not the proximity to MK but the difference between the proximity of the monorail hotels to MK versus all of the other options. If Bay Lake in front of MK was a parking lot, that drastically reduces the value prop of GF/Poly/Contemporary.

Also there’s a “OG hotels” angle for contempo and Polynesian.

 

[fryoj]

Yeah, but mainly because you can watch the firework show from your room. I’m assuming you’ll be able to watch the night time show from Helios as well, but not clear if the fountains will be clearly visible or not

You won't be able to see the fountains and the fireworks from the same room at Helios regardless.

 

[Ahmanet]

Does Helios have convention halls for business conferences?

Just wondering if will have to compete with them for rooms like Sapphire, etc.

 

[Jake S]

Does Helios have convention halls for business conferences?

Just wondering if will have to compete with them for rooms like Sapphire, etc.

it sure does: Orlando Meeting Venues | Meeting + Events | Helios Grand Hotel

 

[Parkscope Joe]

So one of the most common complaints I've see about Helios is the pool size. I think it looks smaller than it actually is, so I went looking for some data to back up a hypothesis that this pool is actually a good size.

Here's some pool sizes at other UOR hotels

• Helios Grand - 8660 sq ft
• Aventura - 4754 sq ft
• Royal Pacific - ~10075 sq ft
• Hard Rock - 12000 sq ft
• Sapphire Falls - 16000 sq ft
• Cabana Bay*
  • Courtyard Pool w/ Slide - 10000 sq ft
  • Quiet Pool - 6000 sq ft
• Portofino Bay
  • Beach Pool - ~9800 sq ft
  • Villa Pool - ~2100 sq ft
  • Hillside Pool - ~1600 sq ft

So my theory is right, the hotel pool just appears to be smaller from the helicopter views. Now, compare the pool size per room (pool size divided by room count) and you'll have a Pool Size Per Room rating:

1. Hard Rock - 18.46 pool sq ft/room
2. Portofino Bay - 18 pool sq ft/room
3. Helios Grand - 17.32 pool sq ft/room
4. Sapphire Falls - 16 pool sq ft/room
5. Stella Nova - 13.33 pool sq ft/room
6. Surfside - 12.13 pool sq ft/room
7. Dockside - 11.95 pool sq ft/room
8. Royal Pacific - ~ 10 pool sq ft/room
9. Aventura - 7.92 pool sq ft/room
10. Cabana Bay - 7.27 pool sq ft/room*
11. Terra Luna - Unknown

This puts the pool on par with Portofino, Sapphire, and Hard Rock. That's nothing to sneeze at! I do think the pool would be better with a slide or water play area to make it more unique.

*Did not factor in the lazy river.
**Did not include any water play areas, slides, or hot tubs.

 

[Jake S]

So my theory is right, the hotel pool just appears to be smaller from the helicopter views. Now, compare the pool size per room...

• Helios Grand - 17.32 pool sq ft/room
• Aventura - 7.92 pool sq ft/room
• Royal Pacific - ~ 10 pool sq ft/room
• Hard Rock - 18.46 pool sq ft/room
• Sapphire Falls - 16 pool sq ft/room
• Cabana Bay - 7.27 pool sq ft/room
• Portofino Bay - 18 pool sq ft/room

Thank you for doing the math on this! This lines up with my perception, which is that the pool is at least status quo when compared on a square foot per-room basis.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Data for Surfside and Dockside since it didn't fit in the last post.

• Surfside - ~9100 sq ft
• Dockside
  • Oasis Pool - ~10500 sq ft
  • Wavemaker Pool - ~1400 sq ft
• Stella Nova - 10000 sq ft
• Terra Luna - Unknown

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Thank you for doing the math on this! This lines up with my perception, which is that the pool is at least status quo when compared on a square foot per-room basis.

One of the things that stuck out the most was Cabana Bay's loooow rating. So I mathed out the lazy river square footage to be around ~9640 sq ft. If you add on the lazy river it bumps the rating up to 11.65.