Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort in Orlando, FL

I had a complaint going on that has only just been acknowledged by Cabana Bay and as thought, they couldn't care less that their hotel is LITERALLY a mess! Issues with trying to transfer a booking which was point blank refused! We asked for our second week to be transferred from Cabana Bay to Aventura as we were already staying there for the first week and there was plenty of availability, and the cost was cheaper. We only asked for a transfer, no refund, and were point blank refused this! Then, we checked into Cabana Bay, lost a day in the parks because we had to wait until the afternoon for our room! We were told to leave our luggage with guests services which we could not do as we had our passports and valuables with us which would void insurance if stolen by other guests. Then, when we finally got in the room it was an absolute mess! Chips all over the furniture, rips all across both headboards, missing parts of the headboard, stains on the mattress EWWW!, a wardrobe door literally hanging and swinging from a ceiling rail (unsafe), door frames warped and broken, stains on the bottoms of the bed, toilet took 3 flushes just to properly flush! At this point, we were so annoyed with all the previous issues that we just went straight to our travel provider and have requested a partial refund for the Cabana Bay stay. This complaint has been ongoing for nearly 2 weeks and the hotel responded saying nothing will be done about this! Mis sold a room, photos online look clean and issue free of the rooms, which is a total lie! I gave them a chance to come back to me with a resolution as this would not be tolerated in the UK with the absolute shambles of our stay! But they've refused to do anything about it. Management just said sorry on the day of check in! Oh, and don't bother telling them your issues because the staff go into the back office and "talk about your reservation" which also really annoyed me! Also! To add salt to the wound whilst we were staying there, we were not allowed to take coffee cups from the bayliner diner to use (even though we purchased a refill cup for other drinks), so had to use the ones from the room if we wanted a coffee! AND! We were literally shouted at by security for walking into the Bayliner Diner one morning because the hotel thought it was acceptable to hold a FULL private event and close half the diner off just for them without any prior notification to other guests. People shouting at other guests and I quote "NO! This is a private event" as soon as we walked into the diner. No communication from the hotel about this, no prior knowledge that we would be classed as not paying guests and not be treated as paying guests at the hotel, loud groups everywhere, buses fully taken over by them, diner fully taken over by them, no where to sit! Absolutely ridiculous that this was not communicated to other guests prior to their stay so peopel could choose to cancel and go elsewhere. I'm so glad that I'm now home, and not having to spend another moment in this horrendous hotel! I gave time for my complaint to be resolved but after 2 weeks to not even try and resolve it is ridiculous. This hotel should not be operational. Aventura was great, how can you literally go across the road to a hotel owned by the same company, to then be met with that????? Well, since we spent almost £2000 on these hotels and tickets, we'll definitely be staying at Disney onsite from now on. 6 years staying onsite at Disney and never one issue, 1st time at Universal onsite, and we're met with all that. I wasn't going to write a bad review but they absolutely do NOT care about you as a guest. Save yourself a LOT of money and don't bother staying there unless you have no standards and want a falling apart room. After also reading other reviews, it seems that this is an ongoing issue for this hotel. What will it take for them to listen??? Funny how Aventura was spotless the whole week. And as usual, I'm expecting a standard response to this review as all bad reviews get on here, so will be ignoring that completely.

It so much fun and so many amazing water rides that I really enjoy! Hoping to be back again. I would highly recommend to visit!

I love Cabana Bay! The theming is awesome and you feel like you have stepped back in time. Beautiful tinsel trees and garlands this time of year. I did not give 5 because had to call 3 times for more soap and towels. The staff are nice.

We stayed here over Thanksgiving break and unfortunately had a rough start. Arrived very late the first night and immediately noticed the room was not properly cleaned. There was a thick layer of dust on multiple pieces of furniture, hair in both the sink and shower, and something genuinely disgusting smeared on the bathroom wall. I called the lobby right away, but was told housekeeping couldn’t assist and that I should DoorDash my own cleaning supplies. They also didn’t offer to move us to a clean room, which was disappointing. Because of the state of the room, we treated it as a place to sleep and shower only. We didn’t unpack any of our clothes for the entire week because we didn’t feel comfortable putting anything away. With all of that said, the employees themselves were very friendly throughout our stay—every interaction we had around the property was positive, and the shuttle was useful. The main areas of the hotel were clean and well-maintained, and the family-friendly activities were highlights. We enjoyed the dining hall in the mornings and spent some time in the arcade and bowling alley. We were hoping to enjoy the lazy river on the one day we had a free day, but it was unfortunately closed for maintenance. The pools looked great, just too cold to use during our stay. The lobby was beautifully decorated for Christmas and created a nice festive atmosphere. Overall, it’s a fine option for budget-friendly travel if you’re mainly using the room to sleep—but the room cleanliness on arrival was unacceptable. The friendly staff and fun amenities helped balance the experience, but a properly cleaned room would have made a huge difference.

A great place to stay. Transfers to the Universal parks ran very well with very little wait. Food and drink here was well priced. Pools were great fun. Clean and plenty of beds. Only gripe is the parking charges which many hotels now charge. Plenty of lifts which is needed for a large hotel.