I’m going to Orlando from October 10th to the 14th. I’m looking for suggestions on where to stay.
I don’t need to stay in a four star hotel but I also want one where if my girlfriend is able to go with me she won’t be skeeved out by it.
The hotel needs to have a shuttle to and from Universal and one for the airport would be great. I don’t want to rent a car.
Also I would be up for meeting dopers during this time.
The Universal Studios Orlando web page has a list of on-site and partner hotels that may be of interest. Additionally, all of the hotels listed on that page include free transportation to and from Universal. As for getting from the airport to the hotel, you can likely ask them and they’ll have a shuttle or cab service that they regularly use.
If you’re planning to spend most of your time at Universal Orlando, you might consider staying onsite at one of their hotels. Royal Pacific is their lower end hotel. Hard Rock Hotel is their mid-price hotel, and Portifino Bay is their high-end hotel. Staying onsite gets you front of the line priveleges at both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. I have stayed at all three hotels and prefer Royal Pacific. All hotels are within walking distance to the parks, but Portifino Bay is the one that has the LONGEST hike.
At this discussion board their are forums dedicated to Universal Orlando. Scroll down pass the Disney stuff and you’ll see the Universal boards. There may be threads discussing discount codes to the hotels. Even if there aren’t there’s plenty of information for someone headed to Universal Studios Florida.
There are some hotels down Kirkman Road that have shuttle service down to Universal. I pass them every day on my way to work.
One thing to consider is that Florida has (along with Nevada) the cheapest car rental rates in America. I understand you not wanting to drive, and Orlando traffic can be horrible but it may be cheaper to rent a car. You may be paying more for a hotel with a shuttle than what you could get for a better class of hotel AND a car rental.
I understand how you’d not want to rent a car, but you might want to check into that.
Thanks for the replies. I’m still trying to determine my budget for the hotel room. I’m just afraid of booking a hotel and finding out it’s in either a bad part of town or run down
Florida may have cheap car rentals but then you have to add in a boatload of rental taxes on top of that. With no income tax Florida is great at taxing tourists.
Well, you’re okay if you stay around most of the big attractions. When you make the reservation you can ask if they offer shuttle service.