Universal's Helios Grand Hotel, a Loews Hotel in Orlando, FL

From initial check in through to check out we loved every minute of our stay. We had booked a deluxe park view room. We didn’t ask and never for a minute thought we would get central view but we were right front and centre on the 4th floor. Walking into the room and seeing that view was icing on the cake. Sleeps on those beds and pillows was heaven and just simple things like the tech and lighting in every part of the room were perfect. Only one slight thing that misses the mark. Having that room and view we wanted to maximise and watch the light show from our room. It would have been great to hear the commentary that run along with the show but wasn’t available. We ate on day 1 in the Chinese restaurant in the park, it was excellent. Will review separately. Day 2 we went to the bbq place but didn’t rate it, will review separately. We also ate from the little food market - just snacks but all lovely. Helios don’t ever get rid of those morning tear and share doughnuts they were delicious. We cannot wait to return.

Absolutely loved our stay in the How to Train Your Dragon Suite. What a stunning room and incredible views of the Helios light show at night. Service at the hotel was excellent and it was so easy to get to and from Epic. We would go into Epic in the morning, then grab a nap at Helios during the heat of the day, then head back into the park, which made our trip so much more enjoyable. The only negative aspect to the hotel was the restaurant food which we didn't love; we recommend eating primarily at the parks.

Miguel our bartender was great! Crown and coke and margaritas were good. We are at Helios bar great vibe, spotless, great view from the 10 floor overlooking universal park, modern electronic techno music with astronomical dome.

We decided to finish our stay in Orlando with a weekend at the new Helios Grand. It was so much fun! The hotel is gorgeous and mostly beautifully themed and decorated. Downstairs and rooftop bars are gorgeous, although the lobby cafe gives "hospital waiting room' energy. There's a Universal Store that has a great range of gifts so you can kit yourself out with PowerUp bands and accessories the night before your Epic Day. The rooms are so lovely with comfortable beds and a great bathroom. We felt like we had good value from our stay. We didn't book the Park View Room and we didn't feel like we missed anything, although the view from higher floors would be spectacular at night. If you're planning an EPIC weekend - two nights here are amazing. Things you want to know before you go: The resort is literally INSIDE Epic Universe. It was so close and easy to drop things back to our room. Sometimes the room was actually the closest bathroom. Understandably - the hotel foyer is PACKED between 8 and 8.30am. If you want a morning Starbucks you should send someone down early for your order. Staff in the morning do everything they can to get you into the park as early as possible. They not only understand the anxiety - they do everything they can to alleviate it. During our stay, guests were pre-screened before early entry time so we were waiting inside the park on the walkway before early opening time even started. As soon as the park opened they just smiled and said "Have an Epic Day'. You just need your room key to access the portals in the park that offer early opening. We rode our first ride at 9.02 and had ridden the Werewolf rolloer coaster twice before 9.15 when 'front gate' guests started arriving. You don't get Express Passes with the Hotel. Our experience was that we went mid week without express (but early entry) when we were staying at another resort and went on all but one ride (it was delayed and then the line was too long). On a Saturday we used early entry via Helios Grand and purchased Fast Passes and went on EVERYTHING - even when the wait times were over 120 min we wwere on and off in 30. Amazing. Buy your Fast Pass when you book yor Hotel. You can save a lot. Bar Helios is beautiful and the view of the 10pm light show is jaw dropping from the Hotel. If you are lucky enough to have Manny as your waiter you will have a night to remember. You can use the pool after checkout on your last day if you have a later flight. Pool Bar Staff are great. The pool is lovely, although some of the staff are a little green for a luxury resort. Their inexperience comes off as rudeness, although we were sure it wasn't meant that way. I am sure the young people at the towel hut were not intending to be as unpleasant as they were, but they managed to reduce our experience from 5 stars to 4 as they left a lasting impression.

Just leaving a week’s stay and it was perfect. We had three different room types and all were wonderful. You cannot beat it for convenience on every level.