7/9/06 - So So
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 7/12/06
My entire family says that our beds were the most comfortable hotel beds we've ever experienced (soft pillows and down comforters). Having said that, we had a few inconveniences. We paid extra for a view of Universal Studios....well, the "view" was mostly parking lot. We could, however, see the short fireworks display at 10pm. The whirlpool spa was non-existent (being built), and the pool bar was never open during late afternoon, evening hours (we stayed 3 days and 2 nights). I guess I would assume that if you're staying in a hotel at the entrance to Universal, most people would be enjoying the parks during the day and the pool at night. We were told the pool bar usually closed at 3pm. When we finally found a place to get a margarita (the bar inside the hotel), one drink was over $8.00...yikes. We also never saw Starbucks open (apparently mornings only). The "shuttle" had a specific schedule, which didn't operate after 10am. My family likes to go to the park in the morning, return to the hotel for dinner and a refreshing dip in the pool, and return to the park for night activities. If you rely on the shuttle, you cannot return to the park. For convenience, we ended up driving to the parks and paying $10.00 a day(in addition to the ridiculous $5.00 fee to park our car at the hotel). The hotel was clean and the staff was friendly, but the rest left me thinking I probably could have made a better choice.