In December, my mom and I stayed in a standard tower room at Cabana Bay Beach Resort during the Universal Orlando portion of our trip. Today, I’m sharing a review of that experience as well as my thoughts on the resort as a whole.
Cabana Bay Beach Resort
Last year, I reviewed the family suite at this resort. For my third stay here, we booked a standard room. Unfortunately, a regular room wasn’t ready when we checked in. So, they gave us a tower room with a bit of a view of Volcano Bay (the waterpark).
As you may recall, CB is a Value Resort at Universal Orlando. This means it’s in the same category as Universal’s Endless Summer Resorts, which I reviewed previously. Previously, it was considered a Prime Value, but it has been downgraded to a Value with the addition of the Stella Nova and Terra Luna coming in 2025. It offers only bus transportation to the parks and doesn’t come with free express passes. It features a retro 50/60’s vibe with lots of fun little touches.
Standard Room
My mom continues to enjoy the retro vibes of this resort. I think it makes her feel nostalgic. The beds were moderately comfortable. One huge complaint I have about this resort is the water pressure. It’s not enough for the shower or the toilet to work properly. Universal really needs to work on that. Overall, it was a comfortable enough room, considering we got a passholder discount and were there for only two nights.
Bayside Tower
While we had a standard two queen room, it was situated in the Bayside Tower. I have mixed feelings on the tower. While the tower itself seemed quieter than the building, the view of the waterpark made for a loud stay during the day. The drums that beat and the music that plays at the beginning of the day woke me up the one morning that we were sleeping in. Additionally, we could hear music playing during the day when we were napping. The noise is one of the reasons I recommend getting a white noise machine and/or a standard view at hotels. The other problem is the distance from the lobby and transportation. It’s quite the walk with all of your luggage or at the end of a long day.
Food Options
Given that this is a Value resort, there’s only quick service options here. There’s the main Bayliner Diner food court that serves the bulk of you what you can get here. I recommend the half chicken for dinner from here. I like to grab a smoothie and a croissant sandwich from Shakes Malt Shoppe for breakfast. There’s also the Galaxy Bowl Restaurant, Swizzle Lounge, two pool bars, and a Starbucks here. Unfortunately, if you want a nicer sit-down meal, you’ll have to head to the parks or City Walk.
Pros
- Free park transportation – Again, free park transportation is one of the main reasons I tend to stay on property at UO and Disney.
- Early park admission – Hotel guests can enter a certain park 1 hour early.
- More affordable – We got a great passholder deal on this room of around $150/night!
- Pool – CB has the largest pool on property and even has a lazy river!
- Bowling alley – Fitting the retro theme, there’s even a bowling alley at this resort! It would make a great non-park day activity.
- Lots of room options – There’s interior entry rooms in the main buildings as well as the towers. There’s also several exterior entry rooms available as well as family suites.
Cons
- No sit down restaurant – For some families, this may be fine. For others, it may be a disappointment.
- Bus only transportation – It’s not really feasible to walk over to Sapphire Falls to take the boat to the parks here. Although, there is a 20 minute garden walk path over to the parks.
- Low water pressure – In fact, when we moved over to Disney I was actually impressed with their water pressure. That’s how low the pressure is here.
- Can be crowded – Given how large the resort is, it can be a crowded resort. Additionally, sometimes groups or teams may stay here.
- Distance – Given how many rooms this resort has, it’s spread out as far as UO resorts go. Depending on where you are staying, it may be a bit of a hike to the bus and/or lobby.
Should you stay at Cabana Bay Beach Resort?
If you want a good value on the hotel or need a quieter family suite, then this is an excellent resort. In fact, I know lots of people consider this one of their favorite resorts. It’s usually more affordable and has plenty of room options. If you want a classier theme, quieter resort, express passes included, or boat transportation, then you will want to consider a different resort. Have you stayed at Cabana Bay?
Leave a Reply