Universal's Aventura Hotel in Orlando, FL

I only stayed at the Aventura for one night when I came down for Halloween Horror Nights, but I had such a wonderful experience and plan to stay again if I come back for the event next year. Every staff member I interacted with was so lovely and kind, I only wish I could remember more of their names (shout out to bartender Tabitha)! My room was so clean and comfortable, and the tablet that controlled all of the lights, TV, etc allowed me to stream content from YouTube. Aventura also has a super convenient shuttle that runs to/from Universal every 10 or so minutes all the way up to like 1AM (pretty sure I caught it to go back to the hotel at 1:10AM). So glad I stayed here and look forward to returning.

Pros: Strikes a nice balance between staying close to the action and not costing as much as other Universal properties; pleasant modern vibe; geared toward adults Cons: Parking costs, ever-increasing room costs, a multitude of room issues made recent stays stressful and frustrating, overall lapse in maintenance Once (not too long ago) one of my favorite places to stay because of its closeness to the Universal parks and affordability, costs continue rising while quality slides, slides, and slides some more. I am questioning whether or not I'll return for future reservations I booked long ago- a decision that will pain me because I love being able to walk across to Sapphire Falls, hop on a water taxi, and be at City Walk in ten minutes. On the plus side, Aventura is aimed at adults, meaning this place is quiet at night. Across many stays, I have never been woken up by doors slamming and children running up and down the halls. However, the small and minimalist rooms force compromises, such as painfully tiny refrigerators and very few drawers for clothing. A couple spending more than a few days here will likely struggle with storage limitations. For the second time in a row, I was given a room with a television that kept shutting off without warning. Unlike last time when I allowed engineering to spend four days attempting to fix the problem, this time I requested a different room. Unfortunately, the new room had an HVAC system that wasn't functioning properly, so I had to change rooms a second time. This got in the way of me going to one of the parks on my first day because I spent three hours dealing with engineering while unpacking, packing, unpacking, packing, and unpacking again. The fact that the property only refunded me $100 for this major inconvenience says much of its desire to provide exceptional customer service. The Aventura really needs to re-think its in-room technology- most of which is controlled by a bedside tablet. The system of controlling the television (when it works) and most of the room's lighting from a touch screen is unnecessarily complicated and fussy (and I am not one who typically struggles with technology). The lack of a customer-focused approach permeates most of the Aventura experience these days, from outrageous parking costs (even Disney hotels no longer change for parking), to engineering calls taking upwards of 30 minutes for a response, to a front desk that is minimally staffed (one person to check in guests), to broken lobby lighting that hasn't been repaired in years, to housekeeping reduced to once every two days. This property is a perfect example of something that used to be special, ruined by an endless desire to make more money by cutting to the bone while still raising prices.

This was the 2nd time we’ve stayed at this resort and both times have been fabulous. I didn’t get a chance to write a review on the conclusion of my first visit but I wanted to write one after this trip. The hotel is beautiful and being an onsite hotel you access to the Universal Transportation for all of the parks including Epic. The Volcano Bay walk way is only a 2 min walk, the distance is very minimal. Check-in was very easy and were given an upgrade to a corner room which is slightly larger than your standard room. The tablet in the room controls everything we loved it! The room had a good view of the parks and wonderful Sapphire Falls resort. Rooms were serviced every other day, which was great for us. Everything was clean and immaculate. The food offerings are great and every time we had something from the Urban Pantry it was very tasty. The robots are a great and novel addition to the overall aesthetic of the resorts. Very pleased we got to stay here a 2nd time. Very nice resort highly recommend!

Great location with shuttle or boat to parks , and app 20mn walk if you prefer We like that pool area which was never too busy and had poolside bar Also the convenient food court with a good selection of food and the addition of a Starbucks was a bonus for us Fabulous view from rooftop bar and reasonable price for drinks and food We were on 11th floor with great views all round

Whilst visiting from the UK on a short solo trip to attend Universal Orlando Resort's Halloween Horror Nights, I enjoyed a week at this prime value hotel. The room was well presented overall, and offered a convenient on-property location. I enjoyed walking to the theme parks, whilst also having the option of a bus to CityWalk and water taxi next door at Sapphire Falls. The availability of dining at the hotel was great for the price and the pool was fantastic. Service from all team members was wonderful, and the tower structure was very much enjoyed for great views over the Orlando area and less walking inside the resort. Some small improvements that I'd love to see though, is a hand towel rail or hook (not having one was surprisingly frustrating, especially given the bi-daily housekeeping), hooks by the door to hang rain jackets, I wasn't a fan of the tablet controlling the TV and lights, and would much prefer a remote and switches. The rooftop bar is lovely, but there's no covered seating that isn't considered 'serviced,' which meant I was asked to either sit in the rain or leave if I wasn't ordering anything. And I think daily housekeeping should be a staple of any on-property hotel, regardless of whether it's considered 'value' or not. Improvements aside, for the price per night, I thought it was a good stay overall and I'd be open to staying here again.