Sapphire Falls Resort

[princeinc]

Shoot me, but exterior room doors for me in a hotel already makes it a value resort. Even with a lot of amenities and my friend who has his degree in hospitality management agrees that it makes a huge difference. Half of CB has them so yeah it should be on the bottom tier of hotels out there.

 

[Mad Dog]

Shoot me, but exterior room doors for me in a hotel already makes it a value resort. Even with a lot of amenities and my friend who has his degree in hospitality management agrees that it makes a huge difference. Half of CB has them so yeah it should be on the bottom tier of hotels out there.

Tell that to Disney. All of their moderates have outside doors...but, yes, I 've heard that from business travelers that really look down on any hotel with outside doors........Sapphire looks decent, but I like Cabana Bay better. In the future, when I split my stays at Portofino, I think I'll still do Cabana for a couple of days. I'd rather have their suites, though they're smallish, than a room at Sapphire.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

The Premier AP has that for after 4, but i'm not sure if they sell it any other way.

Premier is only once per day IIRC.

 

[Nick]

Premier is only once per day IIRC.

Yeah, that was what I was speaking to. I hold a Premier so I go later in the day fairly often to use the Express and then hit CityWalk.

 

[princeinc]

Yeah, that was what I was speaking to. I hold a Premier so I go later in the day fairly often to use the Express and then hit CityWalk.

Here here

 

[Frank Drackman]

I can see why you'd say that, but RPR is $100 more per night than Saphire, meaning that even accounting for Express, the hotel is still more expensive than RPR. Plus, most of the year, it isn't worth the "Up to $89 value" and can get it cheaper buying it in the parks).

I get this and I can't imagine buying express at the park (we do tend to go at slower times of the year), but I assume most folks staying on site are not staying solo. Also, if you stay only one night, you get Express for two days...so (for my family of three) I tend to value the free Express above $80 when thinking about the cost difference between resorts.

We have loved our stays at Cabanna Bay! I am just glad they keep adding on site options as we used to stay near by on some trips, but since Cabanna opened, we have been able to stay on site for all our visits.

 

[WAJAS]

Behindthethrills is claiming that it won't have boat transportation? Is there any truth to this.

 

[wizwit]

The original concept art shows boat transportation and docks.

 

[Brian G.]

Behindthethrills is claiming that it won't have boat transportation? Is there any truth to this.

:what:



Also from the Press Release:

With value season rates from $119 per night for a seven-night stay or $143 per night for a four-night stay, and summer season rates starting at $176 per night for a seven-night stay or $206 per night for a four-night stay, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort will offer incredible guest benefits, including:
• Early theme park admission
• Complimentary water taxi service and shuttle bus transportation to the theme parks and Universal CityWalk
• Complimentary delivery of merchandise purchased throughout the resort to their hotel
• Resort-wide charging privileges with their room key
• And more!

 

[Skipper Justin]

This is what the Universal website has under "benefits" for Sapphire falls.


HOTEL GUESTS ENJOY EXCLUSIVE THEME PARK BENEFITS, INCLUDING:

• Early Park Admission† to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™, one hour before the theme park opens (valid theme park admission required)
• Complimentary shuttle buses and walking paths to both Universal Orlando® theme parks and Universal CityWalk®
• And More!

However on the breakdown of each resorts it says water taxis and shuttle busses.

 

[JungleSkip]

From the blog post about Meetings at Sapphire Falls:

When your attendees stay at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, they are a complimentary water taxi ride away from our theme parks and Universal CityWalk.

Universal Orlando Close Up | 5 Reasons to Book Your Meeting at Sapphire Falls Resort | Universal Orlando Blog

 

[JungleSkip]

Shoot me, but exterior room doors for me in a hotel already makes it a value resort. Even with a lot of amenities and my friend who has his degree in hospitality management agrees that it makes a huge difference. Half of CB has them so yeah it should be on the bottom tier of hotels out there.

Am I missing something? Where'd they say Sapphire has exterior doors?

 

[fryoj]

Am I missing something? Where'd they say Sapphire has exterior doors?

I think he's referring to CB.

 

[JungleSkip]

I think he's referring to CB.

Ah...not sure where the comment came from then. My bad.

 

[Ercus]

My wife called Universal for who knows the how many times now planning our trip for next year. They said Sapphire Falls will not have express pass but Royal Pacific will still have it.

 

[martymcflyy85]

Maybe the water taxis will be in phase 2 of the opening. Like Cabana Bay did with the lazy river.

 

[maxairmike]

Looks like the NOC for the waterway expansion dropped on Friday. Price of the bond listed on the NOC is a little over $6mil, which sounds about right for that kind of work.

http://or.occompt.com/recorder/eagl....pdf?id=DOC1728S17594.A0&parent=DOC1728S17594

 

[Teebin]

Looks like the NOC for the waterway expansion dropped on Friday. Price of the bond listed on the NOC is a little over $6mil, which sounds about right for that kind of work.

http://or.occompt.com/recorder/eagl....pdf?id=DOC1728S17594.A0&parent=DOC1728S17594

I hope everyone here in central florida will be able to capture a bunch of pics of this construction. Will they use a porta dam system to hold back the existing waterway? How deep will it be? I am so easily entertained sometimes.

 

[UNIrd]

The rooms look quite a bit more plain than I would like but I'll definitely be staying here next year. Even though I knew it wouldn't from the start, it will be a bit confusing for some guests though that two resorts under the same "category" would have differing Express benefits.

 

[Dancapt]

How deep will it be?

From talking to the boat drivers at my last trip, they said the water was 8'-10' deep. I'd assume something similar.