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

Recently stayed 5 nights at Helios Grand hotel. Rooms were comfortable clean, great mattresses no complaints. The odd thing to me was this hotel has 1 elevator bank so depending on your room location you may have a very long walk to the elevator. Rooftop bar was beautiful spectacular view of Epic Universe although food and drinks were expensive. Main restaurant was nice food was very good but also expensive same for pool bar. Pool itself was beautiful it a very relaxing quiet pool at least during my stay. Private entrance to the park was fantastic great for taking breaks during the day its really convenient. We did enjoy our stay at this hotel. The problem with this hotel it seems is that their seriously understaffed they were very friendly and courteous but overwhelmed . During a typical florida downpour the entry doors flew open and a torrent of rain flooded the lobby it took at least 15 minutes for any of the staff to address it while the guest were trying to keep the doors shut I saw a few staff members just watching. It also shouldn't take the entire day for the maid staff to finish the rooms in a premier hotel. Don't even think about your room being ready earlier than the 4 pm check in. Lobby was packed with people waiting for their rooms. The park itself is absolutely stunning with fantastic attractions but has the same staffing issues in my opinion. This Is a brand new Hotel and theme park so there's sure to be issues but Universal needs to address these issues quickly if they want to be number the number one destination in Florida.

Stayed for 2 nights mid june 2025 with wife and 2 kids. Overall a very nice experience but here is the good and the bad: Good: - The direct access to the park is really nice. With kids who needs a break during the day, it's perfect to have a 4 hour session from morning, and a pause with pool & hotel mid-day, followed by another 4 hour park visit during the night. Also, during night is a very different feel in the park than during day which must be experienced. - Early access to the park, with hotel you get in 09 instead 0f 10 when park opens for the public. However, it was certainly not only the hotel guests that had early entry. A LOT of people came from every direction also with early entry filling the queues up fast. - Pool area really nice. Large pool, not crowded. Lots of lifeguards. - Parking really smooth just next door to the Hotel, don't even need to get the car to the hotel when leaving to load the bags, it's basically 10 meters from hotel entrance. Bad: - The top floor bar needs pre-reservation, was fully booked on our 2 nights. If we had known we would have pre-reserved since its supernice views from the tables. - Everything is very expensive. From entrance to food in the park. For example: A bottle of still water is 6$ in the park. A Kid burger meny 15$ and adult 22$. That makes a lunch be around §100$ alone which is pricy. - Queues in the park. With the early access we could ride the Mario Kart within the first 20 minutes, but when we after that went to the nearby Donkey Kong Mine kart racers, the queue already were 60 minutes(!). Then queue was never shorter than that for the full day, not even the last hour. Not to speak about Harry Potter - almost whole day 2 hours waiting time. Too much in the hot weather.

This hotel is grotesquely overpriced. My daughter and I stayed there on the 22nd. The room was nice, but nothing special. I was surprised to find the curtain was already beginning to fall down. They also did not close completely, leaving about an 8 inch gap between the two panels. I had to grab a hangar with a clip on it to clip the curtains closed for privacy! The pool closed for several hours due to weather, but the pool bar stayed open, (hmmm, okay…). I grabbed a white claw and paid over $15 for a 12 oz. can. The walls seemed very thin and there were noisy kids running up and down the hallway until all hours of the night. Then, the next morning I awoke to strange knocking sounds coming from the door to an adjoining room. It sounded as if, perhaps, the wind was blowing strongly and the building was kind of settling. Since, sleep was no longer an option, I brewed a cup of coffee and went down to check-out as we had a plane to catch. I asked at the little coffee/snack shop if they could give me a refill and was told they do not have any complimentary coffee. Furthermore, my daughter went to refill her coca-cola freestyle cup at the same coffee/snack shop that we purchased in the park, and her cup wasn’t working on the hotel freestyle machine. I was told by staff that her cup would only work in the park and not in the hotel. The park had just closed and we were not able to go back and refill her drink. Seriously, for $1000/night, this place is just disappointing.

All I want is to be charged for 3 pole stating at hotel not 4. I booked six months ago and told them I was not sure but I was encouraged to book a room since selling out. Was an extra 30 a night so five night is a small refund or breakfast voucher. They saying it will cost a 1000 more to remove a person. I’m not changing the nights!!!! ⭐ 1 Star — Run the Other Way. Go to Disney Instead. I am contacting the news and police.. this is stealing money being charged for 4 people. I having been traveling with family and we always change how many people and it’s never a problem. I cannot emphasize this enough: do NOT stay at Grand Helios. If you’re deciding between Universal and Disney — choose Disney. At least Disney gives you a dedicated concierge line once you book, and they treat you with some level of courtesy and flexibility. I booked Grand Helios six months ago and clearly stated at the time that I wasn’t sure if four people would be coming. I was encouraged to go ahead and book for four and assured that changes could be made later. Fast forward to now — only three people are coming, and I simply wanted to remove one person from the reservation. What was their response? They told me I’d have to cancel and rebook at today’s inflated rate, costing over $1,000 more — all because I dared to remove someone who was costing only about $30/day! That’s five nights. The math doesn’t add up, and the logic is even worse. When I asked for a refund, a room credit, or even a breakfast voucher, I was treated like a criminal. The representative was cold, accusatory, and unhelpful. I spent over an hour and a half on the phone being talked down to. It was insulting and exhausting. They also locked me into a 2–3 day park ticket because single-day options weren’t available for out-of-state guests. More price gouging. Here’s my advice: If you do book this place — and I strongly advise against it — book for the minimum number of people even if you know others are coming. You can add people later, but you cannot take them off without being financially penalized. No one tells you that up front. Universal should be ashamed. Grand Helios is overpriced, inflexible, and shockingly poor in customer service. I regret ever booking here. Spend your money where they actually value guests. Never mind I had to pay for express tickets for Universal and islands of adventure when I should’ve just stayed at a different Universal property to get tickets express for free. This is turning into a $6000 vacation and they can’t give me a price adjustment of $30 for five nights. And I cannot cancel now and I’m sad that we chose this property for her 30th birthday and her engagement. My apologies to Disney.

DO NOT recommend this resort in the Summer for families, especially who really enjoy the pool. Disappointing pool. I had a wave runner ball, meant for pools. Lifeguard immediately says no, only inflatable balls are allowed in our pool. Mind you, we’ve stayed at many great Disney and Marriot resorts. Not once did they tell us, that’s not allowed, after they felt it and knew it was a soft ball. Nonetheless, we brought our own inflatable ball the next day, but then the lifeguard told us, we have to use theirs that are inflatable *BY MOUTH*… I talked to pool manager, Erick Rodriguez, explaining we understood the need for safety and we can keep ball close, not throwing it far. The pool was very empty. Though, Erick just says, it’s Loews policy; your ball while inflatable you may not use. I point to sign with pool rules, stating items must be inflatable (“by mouth” is never mentioned) and ask why we cannot use ours. Erick states it doesn’t matter because he says so and nobody is above him. He threathens that he can call for security to escort myself or we can go back and enjoy pool because he is not going to go back and forth... Non-exceptional service. I would stay away from the Lotus Lagoon with families. It seems to cater more to casual adult lounging with its shallow depth and quietness. We will not come back again and stick to our favorite Walt Disney World resorts and Marriotts. Its location at Epic Universe is phenomenal. Lobby is nice. Rooms, however, are smaller than Disney’s Deluxe Resorts and don’t come with double vanity.