Laughing Lindsay

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Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Room Review

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Last month, my husband and I booked a somewhat last minute trip to explore a historic area of Virginia. We decided to book a Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Room for two nights and were pleasantly surprised by the experience.

Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Room

Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Room

When you visit this historical area, there are several options for lodging. We decided to book a tavern room in a colonial house because it sounded quaint, unique, and close to the attractions. While the room was naturally a bit dated, it was a fun experience that I would love to repeat.

Perks

One of the biggest reasons we booked a tavern room was the location! You can’t choose the house you stay in. However, just booking a colonial property means that you will be very close to the living history museum! We were pleasantly surprised to receive a room in a tavern right in the heart of the town! That made getting around as easy as walking outside! I highly recommend staying at one of the official resorts if you are visiting just for the ease of access!

Another awesome perk of staying with the official resorts is the discounts! For starters, we received length of stay tickets to Colonial Williamsburg! For us, that meant we got to visit all three days of our trip! We also received a coupon booklet with discounts for various restaurants and shops in the area. We used one on our nice dinner of the trip at the King’s Arms Tavern! Also worth mentioning is the discounts for staying here. Since we are Virginia residents, we received a discount on the room! So, take a look at all of the special offers before you book!

Things to Keep in Mind

No room or stay is perfect. So, I wouldn’t say these were complaints, but rather points to be mindful of if you book a Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Room. For starters, keep in mind that these colonial houses are older. While they have modern electricity and plumbing, there aren’t many plug ins or any usb plugins. Additionally, our bathroom was quite dated. The bed was hard and the pillows were flat. If you are wanting a more upscale room and amenities, one of the hotels might be a better fit for you.

Overall, we loved our stay in a tavern room and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay in another one. Have you ever stayed in a tavern room or colonial house?

Loews Sapphire Falls Resort Review

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I made a trip to Universal Orlando Resort in February 2023 with my mom to experience Universal Orlando Mardi Gras again. On that trip, we were lucky enough to stay a few nights at the Loews Sapphire Falls Resort! So, I wanted to share my thoughts on our stay in a standard room.

Loews Sapphire Falls Resort

Sapphire Falls Resort

Sapphire Falls is now considered a Signature Collection Resort. While it does not come with Express Passes, it does have its own boat transportation to the Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and City Walk! It will have bus transportation to Epic Universe.

This resort has a nice sit down restaurant as well as a classier vibe than the Prime Values. Staying here also gets you into the park an hour early, just like the other official resorts. I am very pleased to note that this resort is significantly quieter than Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside or Surfside.

Standard Room

I really like the theming of this resort. From the individual lights outside each room’s door to the lighted mirror vanity in the room, it really is a nice place to stay. We found the room to be more than big enough for the two of us. You can see pictures of our room in this Instagram post.

Our only complaints about staying here involve the bathroom and they are minimal. For starters, the toilet had trouble flushing off and on. I’m not sure what the problem was, but it was struggling. We also had issues getting the toilet paper to stay on the holder as it kept falling down. It was funny the first few times, but then we stopped putting it on the holder to avoid chasing it. Lastly, I feel like the room could use a few more towel hooks, especially if you were going to have four people staying in it.

Food Options

Food is the category where I think you can really tell the difference between this resort and lower priced options, like Universal’s Aventura Hotel. The values and prime values have just quick service restaurants. Sapphire Falls has a quick service restaurant called New Dutch Trading Co. However, it also has a sit down restaurant, Amatista Cookhouse! I love eating dinner here with their tasty bread service and juicy chicken! The breakfast buffet has some great donuts too! Lots of choices here and I recommend eating here if you happen to be staying next door at Aventura.

Is Sapphire Falls worth it?

Overall, we were very pleased with our stay at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort. We got an annual passholder discount on the room, which made it a good deal. Between the boat service to the parks and good dining options, I would definitely stay here again.

Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Review

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On my most recent trip to UO (February 2023) my mom and I were lucky enough to stay one night at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort. This is my review of that experience.

Hard Rock Hotel at Universal

Hard Rock Hotel at Universal

The Hard Rock Hotel at Universal is one of the Signature Collection Hotels at UO. This is the second one I’ve had the pleasure of staying at. You may recall my Universal’s Loews Royal Pacific Resort Review, which is the other one I’ve stayed at. Both of these hotels come with boat transportation to Islands of Adventures and Universal Studios Florida while also being walking distance to those parks. It will provide bus transportation to Epic Universe. Plus, they also come with free Universal Express Passes! The Express Pass allows you to skip the lines at lots of rides in the parks, so it is sometimes worth the room upgrade for the passes alone.

Music Memorabilia

One of my favorite things about staying here is getting to view all of the music memorabilia. All around the lobby and in the gift shop is fabulous pieces of clothing worn by and guitars played by famous musicians! There’s even a set of pajamas worn by Elvis! My mom and I really enjoyed just walking around and looking at everything. You can see some of these items in my Instagram post below.

Standard Room

My mom and I booked a standard garden view room for this trip. We were pleasantly surprised by the room’s size. It’s pretty large for a standard room. I enjoyed the theming in the room. My favorite part was probably the full length mirror that had famous musicians’ height on it. It was neat to stand up next to it see how you compare to famous people!

We only stayed for one night, but were very comfortable here. The beds were easy to sleep in and the room was quiet. Our only complaints about the room involve the bathroom, but they are very minor complaints. There was a very small sink in the bathroom as well as a bigger sink/vanity right outside the bathroom. In my opinion, the small sink was just taking up space. Also, it made for a weird layout/setup.

Now, for a really random gripe. This is the first hotel I’ve stayed at that featured toiletries with a masculine scent. I took the first shower of the night and discovered this as I was using the products. I warned my mom and she refused to use the products after smelling them. She used some stuff she brought from home because she thought she would “smell like a man.” I brought home the little bottle of body wash and gave it to my husband. He likes it, but agreed that it does smell a little masculine. It doesn’t smell bad. In fact, I kind of like it. However, if you prefer a feminine or neutral fragrance, you may want to bring your own toiletries when staying here.

The Kitchen Restaurant

I love that one of the restaurants at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal is called The Kitchen. It’s like going down to the kitchen for a snack as you visit a rockstar! We ate breakfast here both mornings of our stay and were very happy each time. The first morning we tried the breakfast buffet and found there to be plenty of options! It’s easy to get full on this buffet with lots of different things to try. All of it was really good too!

The second morning I got the Elvis French Toast and thought it was divine! However, you must love peanut butter to enjoy this dish. My mom got the Buttermilk Pancake Stack and we were both impressed with the size of her pancakes! We both enjoyed our breakfast that morning too!

HRH at Universal Orlando

Overall, our stay at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando was a very pleasant one. I would definitely stay here again, if the opportunity presented itself. However, I would bring my own toiletries next time. Have you ever stayed here?

Hyatt House Tampa Airport Hotel Review

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Last month when my mom and I attended Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, we stayed at the Hyatt House Tampa Airport/Westshore Hotel. While it had lots of good reviews on Google, I didn’t see many posts about it online. So, I thought I would do a quick review in case someone else is considering staying here.

Hyatt House Tampa Airport

Hyatt House Tampa Airport

Initially, I wanted to book a tickets and room package with Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. However, we nixed that idea when we realized it was cheaper to buy an annual pass as it came with free bring a friend passes and parking. So, then we decided it was a good idea to stay in a hotel near the airport. After reviewing several options, we went with the Hyatt House Tampa Airport/Westshore hotel. It is pretty much next door to the airport! So, if being near the airport is important, I highly recommend considering this hotel.

Den Guestroom – Two Queen Beds

We booked a standard double queen room (also called a Den Guestroom) and were pleased with the accommodations. The beds were quite comfortable and there was amble room to spread out. The little couch was an added bonus place to sit! It was a nice extra that not many hotel rooms provide. The bathroom was sleek and modern. Overall, it was the perfect place to rest our heads at the end of a long day.

Food Options

One of the main reasons we ended up choosing this place over others was the food options. The Hyatt House Tampa Airport/Westshore has a bar on the first floor! This is where we ate dinner two nights! It was just the thing we needed when we were too tired to find dinner elsewhere. Plus, the onion rings with beer cheese was really good!

Another added bonus of staying here is the free breakfast! I liked that they mixed up the options from day to day. On Sunday we had pancakes (frozen, but still edible) and on Monday we had French toast sticks! I preferred the French toast sticks, but that’s personal preference. I wish they had a waffle maker or something besides the frozen mains, but it’s good for a free breakfast buffet. They also had sausage and/or bacon, if you are into that. Ha!

Overall

If you are looking for an affordable (around $200/night) option near the airport with a bar and breakfast, then this may be just the place for you! Plus, I have to say that everyone working here is super nice! They were all very helpful and kind!

Universal’s Loews Royal Pacific Resort Review

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Back in December, my mom and I spent a night at Universal’s Loews Royal Pacific Resort while visiting Universal Orlando Resort. It was our first time staying in a Signature Collection Hotel at UO and it did not disappoint.

Royal Pacific Resort

Royal Pacific Resort

The last night of our stay at Universal Orlando Resort in December, we switched from Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites to Loews Royal Pacific Resort. This was our first time staying at a “Signature Collection Hotel“. It was also our first time getting the Universal Express Unlimited pass since it’s included with a stay here! The price difference this trip was worth it for both of us to skip the lines!

One of the other perks of staying at Royal Pacific Resort is supposed to be the ability to ride the boat over to the theme parks. Unfortunately, the boat dock was being refurbished during our stay and we weren’t notified until we checked in. So, we were disappointed to discover that we couldn’t enjoy this amenity on our trip. We were pleased to discover that there was a walkway to the parks, which is a huge advantage over the values. It is a bit of a hike, but we were told it was quicker than waiting for a bus. So, we walked each time.

Upon entering this hotel, I realized that we were staying somewhere really nice. We loved the island theming as it’s very relaxing. I enjoyed the laid back vibes that counterbalanced the rush of visiting theme parks. We also appreciated that this hotel houses everything indoors, so we didn’t have to worry about walking with luggage in the weather!

Standard Room

Perhaps it’s because we had just spent 3 nights in the value hotels or perhaps this resort is just really nice! Either way, we had a very comfortable stay at the Royal Pacific Resort. The room was much quieter than at Surfside or Dockside. In fact, we both slept great! The beds were comfortable. The shower tile and bathroom vanity took the room up a notch. Even though it’s a standard room, there was more than enough room for the two of us.

Royal Pacific Food

One of my favorite things about traveling is trying new foods. So, I was happy to discover how good the food at Royal Pacific is! I enjoyed the Tuk Tarts from Tuk Tuk Market. I’ve also heard great things about the luau they host on Saturday nights. Unfortunately, we were staying here on a Monday night and didn’t get to experience it.

The standout dining experience of this trip was the Islands Dining Room. We had breakfast here both mornings and enjoyed it each time. The first morning, we got the buffet. The second day I got Hawaiian Pancakes while my mom got Tahitian French Toast. We were very pleased with our meals here! Everything tasted fresh and delicious! You can see the food in my Instagram post below.

Overall Review

I think you can probably tell that I enjoyed my stay at Royal Pacific Resort. In fact, it’s currently my favorite Universal Orlando Resort. I should be staying at two other UO hotels soon, so stay tuned to see if it remains that way. Have you ever stayed here? What did you think?