Please help me pick a hotel

[connorlevismom]

My husband and I will be staying for a few days in October. We normally do either HRH or one of the signature hotels for the express passes, because the kids are with. This time it is just us and we are looking for a hotel to enjoy without needing those passes. We are looking for something with decent on-site food and a great pool bar area. We love HRH for this, but we don't really want to pay the high prices for it. We will be going to the parks, but we like to just walk around and go on very few rides when it is just the two of us.

Can anyone suggest a good hotel choice for us?

Thanks!

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Sapphire Falls

Beautiful hotel, boat transport, Amatista Cookhouse & Strongwater Tavern both right at the hotel & incredible pool.

 

[Skippyboo]

A second vote for Sapphire Falls. I am staying there for my week at Universal for HHN. Hard Rock is super popular that time of year because of HHN and you can just walk right over to Studios.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Yes! Sapphire falls! If it wasn’t for the lack of express passes we’d stay there every time we do Universal.

 

[schumigirl]

Sapphire Falls

Beautiful hotel, boat transport, Amatista Cookhouse & Strongwater Tavern both right at the hotel & incredible pool.

Can`t say better than this!!!

 

[musika]

If looking for something more budget conscious, we also enjoyed our stay at Cabana Bay. The lazy river is fun!

 

[tony67]

Aventura is also an option - its gives you access to Sapphire Falls at a lower price typically.

Its also more of an adult hotel, similar to a Marriott, and typically less kids.

I've done this several times, but have not really used the pool, but I am pretty sure you can still pool hop.

Some people have said that rooms in Aventura are closer to the SF pool than some of the room in the wings of SF.

 

[utlegaleagle]

Individual tastes being what they are, in the above situation, my options would be:

1) Sapphire Falls
2) Adventura

SF is my go to if I am not at HRH or PB, but Adventura definitely has an “adults only” vibe, so I could see that, too.

All that being said, the wife and I are going down next Friday on our own, and we’re headed to PB (not HRH because of about $125 difference per night). Can’t stay away from those 2 for long.

 

[connorlevismom]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I took a look at SF and it looks great, but I have concerns about the recent posts on here about billing issues and such. I don't want my few days to be ruined by having to chase down management and getting things fixed. I will also take a look at Adventura!

 

[kbelle8995]

I like Adventura and it is very close to SF. So you can always visit or catch the boats from there. I really like Adventura's food court. The breakfast was very good. I would recommend Adventura or Cabana Bay. We had issues with billing in the past with SF (charging us with valet parking when we never used it). And I do not like the quick service option.

SF is a beautiful hotel but CBBR or Aventura is more my wheelhouse.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

I like Adventura and it is very close to SF. So you can always visit or catch the boats from there. I really like Adventura's food court. The breakfast was very good. I would recommend Adventura or Cabana Bay. We had issues with billing in the past with SF (charging us with valet parking when we never used it). And I do not like the quick service option.

SF is a beautiful hotel but CBBR or Aventura is more my wheelhouse.

Completely agree with the SF quick serve place not having much to offer. Our hotel of choice is Cabana Bay - I recommended SF based on what the OP said their priorities were

 

[utlegaleagle]

Yeah, the QS at SF leaves a bunch to be desired unless you are at the pool area. Amatista as a sit down restaurant can be really good, but we have had bad experiences with long waits for food and poor service there (much more so than other Universal restaurants - only real issues we have ever had were at Amatista a few times, Leakey twice, and Toothsome way back when it opened). But when Amatista is good, the food is unique and an overall better experience than anything at CB or Adventura. But it's spotty.

Cabana Bay has unique features like the lazy river and bowling, but the beds are not great (certainly not HRH or PB). My son is staying there next weekend, so hopefully the mattresses have been upgraded recently.