For the long Labor Day weekend this year we decided to do a little staycation and try out Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort. This blog post is going to cover everything you need to know about the resort including the rooms, pools, dining, and more!
The hotel gives off an old fashioned, retro vibe. It features neon signs and old-fashioned cars out front. The lobby is full of windows to make the whole room brighter, and even has trees in the middle of the room. Tiled mosaics decorate some of the walls, adding a splash of color. The whole room is not overdone, but instead gives off an open and clean feeling.
On one side of the lobby there is a bar area called Swizzle Lounge for your evening drinks. There is also a Starbucks and a gift shop right around the corner.
Cabana Bay is in Universal’s value hotel category. This means that it is a little bit more of an affordable option. There are a few different room options including ones that offer either inside or outside entrances. From what I noticed, it seemed the standard room options were the ones that had an outside entrance. We chose a room with a pool view, so the walk to our room was inside.
The resort also features two towers closer to Volcano Bay water park. Cabana Bay is right next to Volcano Bay, so some of the rooms offer incredible views of the park. When I booked, none of these rooms were still available. I was a little bummed at first, but when we got to our room, we were met with a huge surprise…. We could see the volcano! Sure, it wasn’t a full water park view, but we could see the volcano behind our Cabana Bay pool.
I would say definitely ask at check in if there are any of these rooms available. We are pretty sure we received some extra birthday trip surprises with this room from our front desk team member. We were placed on the top floor with an absolutely perfect view. Giant floor to ceiling windows really make the view a real highlight of the room.
Apart from the views, the rooms were also nice. Similar to the lobby, the walls had some color, but the place had a clean and open feeling. Not too many details were included because it is a value resort, but it is still a pretty nice place to stay. (We did notice that our room did not have all the colorful bedding shown in photos of the hotel. Since this also happened at our last Universal resort stay a few months ago, I am wondering if this is a current health and safety modification.)
Our only complaint with the room is that the walls did seem to be a little thin. We chose to sleep in, but our neighbors were up at 7 to get ready for the parks. We could hear them talking, their TV, and even someone’s electric toothbrush. Now, we also heard their hotel phone ring, so we think someone called in a noise complaint to the front desk. Maybe we just had some noisy neighbors. However, I do think that sound just travels a little easily between rooms. This to me isn’t a deal breaker, but maybe it is something to think about if you are traveling with very young children.
We did not go to the parks this trip, so we spent most of our time at the resort. There is plenty to do here for a fun filled day. The resort features two large pools. Each pool has a big seating area surrounding it, with choices of chairs over cement or sand. They also both have a bar and grill, so you can stay out there all afternoon!
The first pool is off of the lobby and features a slide and zero-depth entry. The restaurant here is called the Atomic Grill and offers sandwiches, pizza and salads. The Atomic Tonic serves up all your poolside adult beverages. Since there is no glass poolside, Cabana Bay serves their cocktails in reusable mugs. The first drink you get you are also paying for the cup so it’s about $14.50, but after that refills are only $11. This cup works at both pool bars, so you don’t have to worry about buying a new one if you switch.
The second pool also offers zero-depth entry and has a small lazy river next to it. There is a shack where you can rent tubes for the day, but we chose just to swim around in it.
The dining area here is called the Hideaway Bar and Grill, as it is a cool cove kind of in the ground. We did not eat here, but I did see that the menu looked to be a bit smaller and included options such as hotdogs. The bar featured a fun drink list similar to that at the other bar, just with some different options.
The main dining area of the resort is the Bayliner Diner. This restaurant is quick service style and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We ate breakfast here and were pleased with the amount of options they offered. Different counters offered different options from omelets to waffles. For other meals it looks like the food is pretty basic and comforting for picky eaters, but I did see that one of the counters was listed as an international station. To go with the theme of the resort, you enjoy your food at a table underneath a few giant movie screens.
Something fun about this resort is that there is a bowling alley upstairs called Galaxy Bowl. We did not check this out ourselves, but it certainly could be a fun option if you are staying here for a few days and need a fun night without going to the parks.
A bus is required to get to Universal Citywalk and the theme parks, but it is a very short and easy ride. We found that each time we went for the bus there was already one waiting with another one right behind it.
Overall, Cabana Bay Beach Resort is a perfect place to stay for a more affordable family fun vacation at Universal Orlando Resort. There is plenty to do here if you want to have a fun day away from the parks!
