Around here, we love to hop on a plane down to Orlando and spend the weekend at the parks. It’s been a little while since Stephen was able to make a trip with me, so we decided to stay at one of the on-site hotels at Universal! We quickly settled on Universal’s Aventura Hotel since it opened pretty recently and we agreed that it sounded like a pretty great location for us.
We landed in Orlando just before midnight on a Thursday night and made it to the hotel just after midnight. Once we checked in, it was up to the room and off to bed so that we’d be ready bright & early for the parks. (If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw that stunning night view of the parks from our hotel room when we checked in!)
Two Days at Universal’s Aventura Hotel
On Friday we changed our tune and slept in a little bit after getting in so late. I mean, those beds are REALLY comfy. Stephen made the quick run down to Urban Pantry and brought back snacks and iced coffee the size of my face. We visited Urban Pantry more than once a day. Then we spent a little time sipping our coffee and enjoying the view before we got ready to spend the day at Universal.
As for getting to the parks, there are shuttles that run directly from the front of the hotel over to the parks. We chose to walk across the street to Sapphire Falls and take the water taxi. (Here’s a little tip for you: if you take the water taxi, you don’t have to stand in the security lines when you get to CityWalk!)
Since we’re Universal annual passholders, there was an event on Friday night that allowed us to stay in Universal Studios until after midnight. So, we rode all of our favorite rides…way too many times. We didn’t break our record of riding The Mummy eleven times in one weekend. But there’s always next time! After all the walking and ALL the rides, we definitely didn’t make it to the end of the event. We didn’t even make it to midnight! So we hopped on the water taxi, got back to the Universal’s Aventura hotel around 11:30, and ordered a little midnight room service (ok, it was a pizza and beer…but it was delicious!)
A Little About the Universal’s Aventura Hotel
One of the coolest features of the rooms at Aventura is that you control everything in the room from a tablet. Use it to control the lights and the tv, adjust the temperature, order food and drinks…I could go on. Being a little bit of a tech lover, this was a really fun feature for me!
While we spent most of our time in the parks during our short trip, we definitely plan to come back to Universal’s Aventura hotel for a longer stay. There are so many things to do in the hotel itself! It was too chilly during our visit, but I’d definitely be spending some time at Bar Sol during the warmer seasons. And Bar 17 Bistro serves up food and cocktails and STUNNING views of the area. Honestly, next time I visit, I think you’ll find me there. They also offer a fantastic food hall and for the gamers, there’s a Virtual Reality Game Room. Personally, I can’t stomach VR, but it sounds so cool! And honestly, what a unique experience for a hotel to offer. Don’t you think?
Our Saturday went pretty much the same way, except we met a local friend for dinner in CityWalk, and instead of taking the water taxi back we decided to walk the path back to Aventura hotel. After one of those quick Florida rains, the weather was pleasant and the walking paths were empty. I want to say that the walk is about a mile on the path, but we may or may not have taken the wrong turn at one point. (I probably wouldn’t walk back on a hot summer day, but in early February it sure was pleasant.)
I’ll Be Back at Universal’s Aventura Hotel!
As a fairly frequent visitor to Universal, staying on site is always a great experience. We really enjoyed the Aventura Hotel–I mean, can you beat those stunning views? I’ll definitely be back…and hopefully sometime soon!
