Stay Here! Best location for Universal Studios!
If you are looking to get a lil' bang for your buck, this is the place to stay! First of all, find a room deal & snatch it up. We paid $59/night and booked a room w/view of Universal Studios. The kids loved waking up to that each morning. Get a room in the South Tower, since it is the closest to everything w/in the hotel. It also helps to be a Hilton Honors member since you stand in a different line when checking in & out. The staff was courteous, very helpful and they all greeted you! And they did a great job tidying up our room each day!
We very seldom eat at hotels, but they do have a Starbucks & a deli that was a bit cheaper than Universal, so you can't go wrong with pizza and sandwiches. Didn't care for the ice cream, so have that at Universal since they have Ben & Jerry's and Dipping Dots there.
We did eat at TGI Fridays across the street. It's connected to the Holiday Inn, so we ate there one night & just out of pure exhaustion we did eat at Carnivale, the hotel restaurant. It was not that pricey, pretty average for an entree & the food was excellent! Try their ecofriendly menu, it was superb! We would have spent the same, if we kept our reservation at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant @ Citywalk. And all we did was go through the lobby!
Next, unless you like walking, it's relatively cheap to just get a cab or private car (they are available all day long) to & from Universal Studios, about $5 + tip each way. Beats waiting for the shuttle, since there are three add'l hotel stops before you get there.
If you want to rent a car, AVIS is in the lobby. Also find a deal
beforehand & book your reservation in advance. And they work with you. Luciano really helped us out the day we had inclement weather.
It couldn't get any better than this! Great location, very convenient. Saved tons of money and also as Hilton Grand Vacation owner, I did have an option to stay at one of the two locations in Orlando, but opted for this instead! If ever we go back, you can bet your money that we will stay here again!