I think they could have done more with the themes. Where are the race riots? Maybe randomly assigning guests a "special immersive experience" of being black at this time or maybe as part of the water park they could have included a dog and fire hose experience. I mean this all in jest, as slightly dark humor.
Shortly before my mom passed away with cancer. She took my young niece and nephew to Universal Studio. Knowing my mom's time was short, I tagged along. We stayed here. Nice hotel & cool theme, reminds me of Fallout. I mom loved it.
True, I felt like I was in one of the Fallout games because the theming is meant to mimic the Atomic Age. Universal hired architects who knew what they were doing. Am glad I stayed there and would love to go back some day.
We stayed at the Royal Pacific when we went to Universal and were shocked at how nice the resort was for the price we paid. It was quite a few years ago, but I want to say it was it was about $250/night but felt like a far more premium hotel. The value Universal hotels offer was a big part of what flipped me from a Disney fan to all in on Universal.
@2744ducksdm what i do is stay at one of the cheaper universal hotels and rent one "throwaway" room at the Pacific loews just to get the free Express passes on both check-in and checkout day.
The soap felt cheap because it probably was. I actually loved the extra charm of using vintage era brands like Zest and VO5, but if I go, I'll probably remember to pack my own.
Totally agree with your review. This is our place we stay when visiting Orlando. We've always have had a great time, the staff is very knowledgeable and nice and the rooms are very clean. We book a Volcano view room each time and have gotten lucky with the view! One small price to pay with the volcano view is that the start testing the wave pool alarm pretty early in the day. The walk to Islands of Adventure and USF is about 10-15 min, and is landscaped very well the whole way.
My wife and I stayed here when we visited USO for our honeymoon. Watching this was nostaligc! I’ll point out that if you don’t mind walking (and running across a few roads) you can take the boats at the hotel across the street to get to the parks. Ince we discovered that, it was the only way we traveled to and from our hotel.
I stayed at the Cabana Bay's sister hotel, the Aventura, last year. The lobby was fantastic, but the room was really small and its iPad-centric controls were cumbersome and annoying. After watching this video, I thought since both hotels were around the same price-point, I thought I would be getting a similar experience, or at least a similar-sized room. Guess I should have went there instead!
I now consider Aventura and Cabana Bay my two top mid-tiers of Universal. Long weekends I don't mind booking on either of these two. The Endless Summer Beach resorts has become Universal's "value" but truthfully, Cabana is a gem on that level.
Aventura is much easier to navigate and being on the same side of the street as Sapphire Falls makes it ultra easy to take the water taxi to City Walk and bypass the main security hub there. But the rooms are BORING, I didn't think the IPADs were that difficult to use but to be honest I spent more time on my laptop than I did looking at the TV.
I’ve stayed at Aventura twice, but every time the bus stopped at Cabana Bay, I would get jealous. Ventura is nice, and would definitely stay again, but I definitely recommended we stay at Cabana Bay next time. …unless the hotels by Epic Universe are within the same price range.
Jake!!! Beyond happy to see you feature a Universal property(: I have been going to both Disney and Universal since I was very young and Disney has lost all the magic a theme parks is supposed to invoke (for me at least). From the hotel to the parks, the "bottom line" of the company can be seen everywhere(when they started charging for parking at hotels....) and the guest are the ones who suffer. Universal has found a way to keep the theming, mystic magic, whimsical environment and creative dreaming alive all while keeping it financially accessible to the common folk. PLUS they are expanding to ANOTHER theme park with two new hotels! It's an exciting time to be a Universal fan(: hope you cover more about them in the future. We have stayed at all five of the hotels(Portofino Bay is by far the most high end and five star experience), BUT don't sleep on Royal Pacific. RP offers a little bit more perks than Cabana Bay for a minor price increase and it is a complete game changer. Royal Pacific is as nice as the high end hotels at Disney, gives you so many add ons(including fast passes), accessibility, theming and the charming hospitality that ties everything together. Loving the expansion of this channel and excited to follow along with you on more adventures.
My family stayed at the surfside hotel this past summer and I saw some similarities in the designs Universal used. The lobby looked very similar along with the gift shop and gym close by. There were two long hotel sections with a big pool area in between them. It was actually very nice for what it was.
A comment about the Holiday Inn nearby -- I worked at Holiday Inn for a long time, and you'll find a lot of kind of mediocre hotels in prime locations in order to capitalize on rewards points. The HI I worked at was near a naval base, so we'd end up with contractors staying for months at a time, paid for by their employers, and racking up rewards points. If they then use those points to take their families on vacation to Orlando, they're going to stay at any IHG hotel that's available, regardless of quality, because they're essentially getting that stay for free. A lot of those sort of mid-tier chain hotels will have locations in these otherwise saturated, competitive markets, and they absolutely clean up, and recoup some of those points they've given out with minimal effort on their part. (Also, I imagine they do brisk business in group bookings, especially if they're willing to take school teams.)
I have to agree about Universal hotels. We stayed at Sapphire Falls this past October and it was one of the best hotel experiences we’ve ever had and the boat to city walk felt like a luxury experience
i stayed there twice, pound for pound, dollar for dollar, it is the best resort hotel on both Disney and Universal. I see you scored it the highest. I concur.
My family of 6 stayed here in July 2021. We had the best time!!! It's a beautiful resort. You get early access to Volcano Bey, which was awesome, the pools were great, dining was good. My only negative was the check in processes. The line was around the whole lobby. After flying, delays, and stress of travel, waiting in line to check in for an hour was awful especially with 2 young kids. Over all..... one of the best vacations we had!!
Yes!! I was so looking forward to seeing this after the spreadsheet said it was coming soon!! I’ve been a big fan of Cabana Bay ever since I first stayed there around 2017, in which time it’s quickly become my favorite hotel ever. Everything is just unmatched at everywhere else I’ve been, save for maybe the food. I doubt that it’ll ever be knocked out of the number one spot now!
My family's stayed there at least twice to my memory, once in 2017 in one of the family suites (the small ones with the kitchenette and the 2 queens) i'm used to staying on pullout couches when i travel with family, as a family of 5, and that was by far one of the nicest i've ever slept on. the second time was a smaller, low-key trip over thanksgiving a few winters ago while family had annual passes, and it was just down to four of us, so we made just a plain room work and it was just as lovely. even if i weren't going To Universal, I'd still probably pick there to stay in orlando, unless I were on an absolutely threadbare budget. Not too much fuss to transfer at Citywalk to one of the Lynx buses to get around to other area attractions. It's just that nice.
Universal’s hotels are fantastic. I’ve stayed at both the newer Surfside Inn and Dockside Inn the last few times I went (which are the cheapest hotels on property), and they were just fantastic, with room rates around ~100$ a night, sometimes even less. While they’re not as visually impressive as Cabana Bay (I’m a sucker for MCM), they still feel clean and cohesive.
when i stayed there on a school trip, i got one of the worst sunburns of my life on half of my leg. with us having a strict itinerary and staying out late for group activities, i was unable to buy any aloe/sunburn relief (my dumb 16yr old self didn't think of orlando in the winter would have sun). i ended up back at the hotel this night and caught one of the "gift shops" in the lobby right as they were closing. they saw my leg, made an exception, and picked out two products for me. they werent supposed to do this. the manager even told me how to apply, gave me a "don't do this again" finger wagging, and wished me well. that plus everything covered about the rooms in this video would make me only want to stay here
My family and I stay here every time we go to Universal. We love it! We often walk to the parks. Sometimes we will take the bus or cross the street over the pedestrian bridge (with plants on it) to Saphire Falls to take the boat to the parks.
We stayed here last week for 7 days. Fantastic Hotel. We have stayed in Surfside & Dockside previous (Also good hotels). I don't think we will take less than Cabana Bay going forward. We booked Water Park view and we got got the 10th floor with an amazing view. I'd rather stay at universal and drive to Disney... Universal know how to do hotels.
I stayed 9 days at cabana bay in September of last year. I was in a volcano view room. Absolutely the best vacation of my life and likely less than half the cost of a comparable vacation at disney.
I stayed here a couple months ago. It was nice, however there were particular little things that pissed me off. Such as the walk from certain buildings to the lobby, just because of the sheer size of the property. Also, the dining area was limited on where you could actually walk into it, and you had to walk all the way around just to get to the drinks. Arcade was also scammy. But it was nice otherwise.
I love cabana bay. The value is insane, especially compared to Disney hotels. The pools are better, the service is better, the rooms are better, the amenities are better, you get house keeping every day, and it’s a third the cost. I mean it has its own lazy river for goodness sake! I can stay at universal and just Uber to Disney, it’s right down the road.
The only gripe I have about this resort is not enough hot tubs. In the "winter" months, families fight over the hot tub. I wished they had built a second one by one of the barbecue pits. However, I enjoyed swimming in the lazy river. You do not have to bring a tube to use it.
I stayed in a Family Suite back when Cabana Bay was pretty new in 2019, and it was amazing. I think we only payed $300 to $350 per day. The décor they have to push the 50s and 60s theme is absolutely on point. And the perk of being able to get into Volcano Bay early was amazing as well. We could get good lockers and ride on majority of the big family raft slides before the park even opened. Which was good because about 2 hours after opening, they already had 1.5-2 hour waits! I would highly recommend it to anyone that is going to Universal and especially Volcano Bay.
I've stayed at the Endless Summer and Aventura, the former of which was also super well themed and colourful, while the latter was great as a modern hotel with less kids and also had a Volcano Bay view. I avoided Cabana Bay because I find 50s/60s aesthetic gross and tacky, but you really made it sound worth a stay. My next trip will be when Epic Universe opens and this will be an option if I can't snag a room in one of the new hotels.
It just seems Universal's team is focusing on the experience and just being fun to go to with their parks, Disney seems to be filtering their design decisions on focus groups, outside consultants and corporate branding. I see Universal eating Disney's lunch in the coming years in the resorts.
I find these family rooms hard to justify for actual families in most cases. For a family of four those go for over 600 a night. Which family has that kinda cash for a hotel stay on an annual vacation. A lot of places that offer and cater to families do this as of late with pricing that seems to aim more at those that never wanted kids in the first place and like to pay extra to just shove them off to the entertainment and daycare offers while they drink themselves senseless by noon. There are places that straight up don't offer single rooms anymore or require you to stay at least 3 days "to make memories with family". Not sure what that trend is, but it appears to further push up overall pricing as other hotels see they can get away with it.
Gotta say, I like the theming. It’s nice to see someone embrace bold colors and patterns instead of just painting everything white and battleship grey and calling it ‘elegant’. It’s a bit kitsch, but it’s a resort so it’s supposed to be fun and this is definitely fun. It also seems like they approached the complex as a whole and tied everything together instead of just slapping on a retro veneer.
I love how they topped off the theming with old fashioned Zest and Alberto V05 bottles. And having used those as a kid in the early 1980s, I did remember the smell and those are the real thing, not a generic shampoo and soap in a themed bottle. Alberto has an odor that I never mistake for any other brand of shampoo...
Man, that pricing is ideal for something so special. I hate how boring so many hotels have become for so much money. What a cool little spot. Would love to go bowling there.
Good review. I think the deduction in points for this clever resort having Zest and Alberto hair products in the shower is unwarranted. It's authentic and it's what we had and used. 10/10 for me.
I snitched one of each of the Alberto bottles for the memories. I used those when I was a kid and it's the real thing, not a knockoff in a repurposed bottle with an Alberto label slapped on it. They have a distinctive smell and I could tell it was real Alberto shampoo.
Universal is just getting better across the board. They've easily surpassed Disney in the Hotel category. And are starting to gain ground everywhere else. Cabana Bay blew us away. The Disney resorts left us bitter and confused.
@@Afineaddition And best of all: Universal doesn't force you to use their app to do everything in their parks. The only bad thing? It seems everyone is defecting from Disney so the crowds are getting worse all the time. I refused to believe that in the beginning but was forced to change my mind when season passholders grumbled online about the insane crowds. One time, over the spring break, a youtuber complained that several restaurants in the parks ran out of food because the lines to the counters were so long!
@@largol33t12 I heave heard that Universal is trying to expand their parks and is set to open a new park as opposed to Disney, which charges you for being in the crowd.
Universal has really great hotels, we always stayed there over Disney because it was cheaper and the resort experience is SO much better. We stayed at Portofino and it truly felt like a luxury experience-beautiful property, great food, boat to the parks, and express passes included with the room! Felt like you got the best of both worlds, you can fully enjoying the parks and then come back to this really high end resort vacation. It’s a shame that Disney does not offer something like that-I was shocked watching your Contemporary video and seeing what you got for that high of a price. Even these “value” rooms look leagues better than the Disney premium resorts. It’s Insane how much better the experience could be but they still charge that ridiculous price.
Portofino is the best of the best at Universal and several steps above Cabana. It's a nice hotel and compared to Disney it's a good value. But Disney has gone completely nuts with their pricing IMO.
@@ashleighelizabeth5916 Seriously. I have more kids than a typical room can fit (or that most hotels will allow even if we could manage with a roll-in bed). A 1 BR or even 2 BR villa at Portofino is less than a regular 2 queen room in a Disney moderate resort.
Anyone else shocked by "Food is always something Universal has missed the mark on. 8/10."? 8/10 for me is a fantastic score. I couldn't give that score to someplace that "missed the mark".
Definitely - I had the same shocked reaction to that score. I think he's conflating price point into the other categories too much, especially when "Value" is already it's own category
Hes nuts. Universal is way better than Disneys food. I just ate at both and Disneys hotel food sucks. Universal it felt like luxury food on a lot of their stuff. I think hes being biased towards disney. Universal is more creative with food to
Really really nice hotel, especially for the price asked. I actually love the inclusion of Zest and VO5 shower toiletries, as they both harken back to their popularity in the era this resort's emulating. It's fantastic.
Stayed there a month ago. I agree with this video. Themeing is great, rooms were nice, distance to park is close and buses ran timely. Best thing was that nothing can beat the vibe this place has at night. Looked forward to just chilling on the balcony and looking over the pool every day.
I adore the faux-mid mod styling here. It's the sort of thing I'd love to see more of. I know mid mod furniture is making a comeback; I'd love to see the architectural stylings do the same.
They did a spot on job of getting the 50's-60's theme without going overboard. It looks very nice. For that price point it's hard to beat. Disney on the other hand - ugh....
Cabana Bay IS a themed hotel. It emulates and transports guests to a different time and place. Plastering Disney and Pixar IP on the walls of a Disney hotel is a motif, not a theme, not unless the theme is Disney Store or from the looks of their updated rooms, Ikea showroom featuring Disney wall decals and prints.
The theming is meant to take guests back to the 1950s and the Atomic Age. Am not surprised some teens said they felt like they were in the video game Fallout.
I follow your other channel and haven’t spent as much time here, but I’ve watched several videos today and I just want to say your partner is gorgeous 😍 she has such a natural look that is sooo beautiful! Please let her know that 😊 many thanks (I’ve also really enjoyed the vids, that was just my main takeaway. That and I’ll never be able to afford GF as an adult. But AKL seems to be calling my name)…in conclusion: 👍🏻👍🏻
Stayed for my first time this February and was completely blown away, I was put in the Bayside tower on the 10th floor with an amazing view of the Aventura and Islands of Adventure!
Just my two cents but "food is something that Universal has always missed the mark on" does not belong in the same review as then saying "8/10" to me 'missing the mark' is lower than average i.e
Stayed at a lot of Disney hotels and 2 other deluxe universal hotels but got to say this has a place of my heart. It feels retro, it's the past that didn't exist. Great deal, clean, good transportation, and decent offers. It's a nice hotel option and I am choosing it over a deluxe universal hotels. it's just that nice of a hotel.
@@BrightSunTravels As someone else mentioned Cabana Bay is more on par with Disney's Moderate hotels. Pop is a steal comparatively because it has Skyliner access to 2 theme parks.
I think universal has done a great job. I have zero desire to stay any of the Disney value resorts - I would honestly rather stay a generic but very clean off property random hotel. Disney buses are not really that much of perk. Universal’s higher end hotels are a steal comparatively, and you don’t have sleep in an incredibles themed room. Good on you Universal.
Stayed here with my (now) wife back when I went on a florida trip + cruise for my grad school graduation. We were pleasantly surprised by everything there. From the retro fallout-esque aesthetic, room quality for price, amenities, and activities (the bowling space was great!), everything was surprisingly awesome for the price point.
Stayed at this hotel twice in the last few years. Absolutely love this hotel. Will definitely stay here again. Love the whole vibe of the place. Quick bus ride to the park, or you can take the walking path there, either way it's easy
I went to Orlando in 2017 and stayed at The Point which is very close by, so I saw some of the construction of Volcano Bay and always wondered what it looked like onsite so thanks for the video.
I put it in perspective with the other resorts and I think because it is only accessible to the parks via bus, it’s less convenient than the walking paths and the boats
We love this hotel we have stayed here plus the Universal Hard Rock and Endless Summer all have been outstanding. Our daughter actually works for the mouse at one of their resorts and its cheaper for us to stay at Universal then at her resort even with the employee discount. BTW I have watched and enjoyed your BSF channel for many years and didn't know entered into our genre with this channel, Im sure you will do well with your film background even in this crowed market. All the best RP
man the design is so cool. Even though it's 50s/60s designed some of the designs kind of remind of the whole 90s Nickelodeon resort designs. I miss when Hotels were fun designed. because modern hotels today became boring and grey like everything else.
Universal Orlando is a far better “resort” than Disney world. Parks are walkable from all hotels that aren’t the endless summer resort, you could walk from cabana bay to Saphire falls and get a boat transport. And the value preposition is unmatched. Disney doesn’t try and compete with anyone, people will pay no matter what. Universal competes with Disney and the iDrive hotels and wins in most categories. We had a trip to the Aventura hotel across the street from here. Not really themed, just a nice clean modern hotel. Just as happy with that
The proximity to cigarette smoke is part of the theme, it provides an authentic 50s-60s ambiance.
I think they could have done more with the themes. Where are the race riots? Maybe randomly assigning guests a "special immersive experience" of being black at this time or maybe as part of the water park they could have included a dog and fire hose experience. I mean this all in jest, as slightly dark humor.
you sound like a communist@@3212009a
Looks like good value. I would find the theming to be nauseating, but it does appear to be a great value.
Smoking would be allowed indoors throughout if that were the case, close as we can get
For that you just go a few miles north of universal to downtown Orlando or pine hills. You can really take in that culture.
Shortly before my mom passed away with cancer. She took my young niece and nephew to Universal Studio. Knowing my mom's time was short, I tagged along. We stayed here. Nice hotel & cool theme, reminds me of Fallout. I mom loved it.
i loved the property but i went in October for my birthday and i joked to my friend that we should come back in fallout shelter outfits
God will 2424 my son and cousin s going back there 😊😊😊😊
I am so sorry to hear that.
True, I felt like I was in one of the Fallout games because the theming is meant to mimic the Atomic Age. Universal hired architects who knew what they were doing. Am glad I stayed there and would love to go back some day.
Sorry for your loss
We stayed at the Royal Pacific when we went to Universal and were shocked at how nice the resort was for the price we paid. It was quite a few years ago, but I want to say it was it was about $250/night but felt like a far more premium hotel.
The value Universal hotels offer was a big part of what flipped me from a Disney fan to all in on Universal.
Plus the Royal Pacific gives you the line hopper pass, which this hotel doesn't. That alone makes the Royal pacific a better value.
I stayed at both too and actually preferred Cabana Bay. If the free express pass came with the Cabana Bay Resort, I would stay there everytime.
@2744ducksdm what i do is stay at one of the cheaper universal hotels and rent one "throwaway" room at the Pacific loews just to get the free Express passes on both check-in and checkout day.
The soap felt cheap because it probably was. I actually loved the extra charm of using vintage era brands like Zest and VO5, but if I go, I'll probably remember to pack my own.
Totally agree with your review. This is our place we stay when visiting Orlando. We've always have had a great time, the staff is very knowledgeable and nice and the rooms are very clean. We book a Volcano view room each time and have gotten lucky with the view! One small price to pay with the volcano view is that the start testing the wave pool alarm pretty early in the day. The walk to Islands of Adventure and USF is about 10-15 min, and is landscaped very well the whole way.
My wife and I stayed here when we visited USO for our honeymoon. Watching this was nostaligc!
I’ll point out that if you don’t mind walking (and running across a few roads) you can take the boats at the hotel across the street to get to the parks. Ince we discovered that, it was the only way we traveled to and from our hotel.
I stayed at the Cabana Bay's sister hotel, the Aventura, last year. The lobby was fantastic, but the room was really small and its iPad-centric controls were cumbersome and annoying. After watching this video, I thought since both hotels were around the same price-point, I thought I would be getting a similar experience, or at least a similar-sized room. Guess I should have went there instead!
I now consider Aventura and Cabana Bay my two top mid-tiers of Universal. Long weekends I don't mind booking on either of these two.
The Endless Summer Beach resorts has become Universal's "value" but truthfully, Cabana is a gem on that level.
Aventura is much easier to navigate and being on the same side of the street as Sapphire Falls makes it ultra easy to take the water taxi to City Walk and bypass the main security hub there. But the rooms are BORING, I didn't think the IPADs were that difficult to use but to be honest I spent more time on my laptop than I did looking at the TV.
i honestly thought the ipad stuff was just fun, good way to kill time before going to the parks
I’ve stayed at Aventura twice, but every time the bus stopped at Cabana Bay, I would get jealous. Ventura is nice, and would definitely stay again, but I definitely recommended we stay at Cabana Bay next time. …unless the hotels by Epic Universe are within the same price range.
Jake!!! Beyond happy to see you feature a Universal property(: I have been going to both Disney and Universal since I was very young and Disney has lost all the magic a theme parks is supposed to invoke (for me at least). From the hotel to the parks, the "bottom line" of the company can be seen everywhere(when they started charging for parking at hotels....) and the guest are the ones who suffer. Universal has found a way to keep the theming, mystic magic, whimsical environment and creative dreaming alive all while keeping it financially accessible to the common folk. PLUS they are expanding to ANOTHER theme park with two new hotels! It's an exciting time to be a Universal fan(: hope you cover more about them in the future. We have stayed at all five of the hotels(Portofino Bay is by far the most high end and five star experience), BUT don't sleep on Royal Pacific. RP offers a little bit more perks than Cabana Bay for a minor price increase and it is a complete game changer. Royal Pacific is as nice as the high end hotels at Disney, gives you so many add ons(including fast passes), accessibility, theming and the charming hospitality that ties everything together. Loving the expansion of this channel and excited to follow along with you on more adventures.
My family stayed at the surfside hotel this past summer and I saw some similarities in the designs Universal used. The lobby looked very similar along with the gift shop and gym close by. There were two long hotel sections with a big pool area in between them. It was actually very nice for what it was.
A comment about the Holiday Inn nearby -- I worked at Holiday Inn for a long time, and you'll find a lot of kind of mediocre hotels in prime locations in order to capitalize on rewards points. The HI I worked at was near a naval base, so we'd end up with contractors staying for months at a time, paid for by their employers, and racking up rewards points. If they then use those points to take their families on vacation to Orlando, they're going to stay at any IHG hotel that's available, regardless of quality, because they're essentially getting that stay for free. A lot of those sort of mid-tier chain hotels will have locations in these otherwise saturated, competitive markets, and they absolutely clean up, and recoup some of those points they've given out with minimal effort on their part. (Also, I imagine they do brisk business in group bookings, especially if they're willing to take school teams.)
I have to agree about Universal hotels. We stayed at Sapphire Falls this past October and it was one of the best hotel experiences we’ve ever had and the boat to city walk felt like a luxury experience
i stayed there twice, pound for pound, dollar for dollar, it is the best resort hotel on both Disney and Universal. I see you scored it the highest. I concur.
Agreed. My sister and I stayed here several years ago and rated it highly on our personal "value continuum."
My family of 6 stayed here in July 2021. We had the best time!!! It's a beautiful resort. You get early access to Volcano Bey, which was awesome, the pools were great, dining was good. My only negative was the check in processes. The line was around the whole lobby. After flying, delays, and stress of travel, waiting in line to check in for an hour was awful especially with 2 young kids. Over all..... one of the best vacations we had!!
I stayed here on a school trip to Universal 2 years ago and it was awesome. Volcano Bay was also the best waterpark that I have ever been to.
MCM is right in my wheelhouse and they did a fantastic job. I need to stay here
I was here in 2016. I really liked the Cabana Bay. I spent the last night of my stay exploring and taking pictures of the hotel.
Yes!! I was so looking forward to seeing this after the spreadsheet said it was coming soon!!
I’ve been a big fan of Cabana Bay ever since I first stayed there around 2017, in which time it’s quickly become my favorite hotel ever. Everything is just unmatched at everywhere else I’ve been, save for maybe the food. I doubt that it’ll ever be knocked out of the number one spot now!
My family's stayed there at least twice to my memory, once in 2017 in one of the family suites (the small ones with the kitchenette and the 2 queens)
i'm used to staying on pullout couches when i travel with family, as a family of 5, and that was by far one of the nicest i've ever slept on.
the second time was a smaller, low-key trip over thanksgiving a few winters ago while family had annual passes, and it was just down to four of us, so we made just a plain room work and it was just as lovely.
even if i weren't going To Universal, I'd still probably pick there to stay in orlando, unless I were on an absolutely threadbare budget. Not too much fuss to transfer at Citywalk to one of the Lynx buses to get around to other area attractions. It's just that nice.
Universal’s hotels are fantastic. I’ve stayed at both the newer Surfside Inn and Dockside Inn the last few times I went (which are the cheapest hotels on property), and they were just fantastic, with room rates around ~100$ a night, sometimes even less. While they’re not as visually impressive as Cabana Bay (I’m a sucker for MCM), they still feel clean and cohesive.
I love Cabana Bay. It's our go to every time we're in Orlando.
Anytime Jake finds a valid reason to slam the horrendous cost of Disney hotels is fantastic.
when i stayed there on a school trip, i got one of the worst sunburns of my life on half of my leg. with us having a strict itinerary and staying out late for group activities, i was unable to buy any aloe/sunburn relief (my dumb 16yr old self didn't think of orlando in the winter would have sun). i ended up back at the hotel this night and caught one of the "gift shops" in the lobby right as they were closing. they saw my leg, made an exception, and picked out two products for me. they werent supposed to do this. the manager even told me how to apply, gave me a "don't do this again" finger wagging, and wished me well. that plus everything covered about the rooms in this video would make me only want to stay here
The TH-cam channel the diss unplugged mentioned you in their video today saying what amazing content you make
Whenever I go to Halloween Horror nights I stay at the Cabana Bay, it’s always my fav. I LOVE the theme, and I love the perks to get into Universal.
My family and I stay here every time we go to Universal. We love it! We often walk to the parks. Sometimes we will take the bus or cross the street over the pedestrian bridge (with plants on it) to Saphire Falls to take the boat to the parks.
You had me at Mid Century Modern theming. Love it!
I never get to see a Bright Sun video when it’s first released!
I stayed there about 2 years ago it was very very good the theme the lobby was very nice
I love the look of this hotel and it's aesthetics! Sooo cool!
Cabana Bay is my favorite UO resort express or not. Id freaking live there if i could ;)
Encouraging people to smoke in a high traffic area? They truly committed to their theme
We stayed here last week for 7 days. Fantastic Hotel. We have stayed in Surfside & Dockside previous (Also good hotels). I don't think we will take less than Cabana Bay going forward. We booked Water Park view and we got got the 10th floor with an amazing view. I'd rather stay at universal and drive to Disney... Universal know how to do hotels.
I would love to stay here! This is so cool.
Not surprised about the smoking areas. I mean you could smoke anywhere in the 60s.
Much better than anything Disney has done in decades.
lol at Melody Oliva 7:22 - thats a stinkbug not a bed bug.
This was my first Universal hotel and I stayed here last December for $104 a night.
Love that intro
I love this resort.
I stayed 9 days at cabana bay in September of last year. I was in a volcano view room. Absolutely the best vacation of my life and likely less than half the cost of a comparable vacation at disney.
I stayed here a couple months ago. It was nice, however there were particular little things that pissed me off. Such as the walk from certain buildings to the lobby, just because of the sheer size of the property. Also, the dining area was limited on where you could actually walk into it, and you had to walk all the way around just to get to the drinks. Arcade was also scammy. But it was nice otherwise.
You need to stay at the yacht club hotel in Disney World Orlando
I love cabana bay. The value is insane, especially compared to Disney hotels. The pools are better, the service is better, the rooms are better, the amenities are better, you get house keeping every day, and it’s a third the cost. I mean it has its own lazy river for goodness sake! I can stay at universal and just Uber to Disney, it’s right down the road.
The only gripe I have about this resort is not enough hot tubs. In the "winter" months, families fight over the hot tub. I wished they had built a second one by one of the barbecue pits. However, I enjoyed swimming in the lazy river. You do not have to bring a tube to use it.
Nice looking place. I may just take my next summer vacation here.
I remember staying there when it first opened. Much better than Disney.
I love this hotel
I stayed in a Family Suite back when Cabana Bay was pretty new in 2019, and it was amazing. I think we only payed $300 to $350 per day. The décor they have to push the 50s and 60s theme is absolutely on point. And the perk of being able to get into Volcano Bay early was amazing as well. We could get good lockers and ride on majority of the big family raft slides before the park even opened. Which was good because about 2 hours after opening, they already had 1.5-2 hour waits! I would highly recommend it to anyone that is going to Universal and especially Volcano Bay.
Hey Disney! Watch this video and learn.
I've stayed at the Endless Summer and Aventura, the former of which was also super well themed and colourful, while the latter was great as a modern hotel with less kids and also had a Volcano Bay view.
I avoided Cabana Bay because I find 50s/60s aesthetic gross and tacky, but you really made it sound worth a stay. My next trip will be when Epic Universe opens and this will be an option if I can't snag a room in one of the new hotels.
I absolutely love this hotel. Always get a suite there cas it's just.. man I love that place lol.
Pete sent me
omg vo5 toiletries in the bathroom 😂
It just seems Universal's team is focusing on the experience and just being fun to go to with their parks, Disney seems to be filtering their design decisions on focus groups, outside consultants and corporate branding. I see Universal eating Disney's lunch in the coming years in the resorts.
Two queen or two double?
I find these family rooms hard to justify for actual families in most cases. For a family of four those go for over 600 a night. Which family has that kinda cash for a hotel stay on an annual vacation. A lot of places that offer and cater to families do this as of late with pricing that seems to aim more at those that never wanted kids in the first place and like to pay extra to just shove them off to the entertainment and daycare offers while they drink themselves senseless by noon. There are places that straight up don't offer single rooms anymore or require you to stay at least 3 days "to make memories with family". Not sure what that trend is, but it appears to further push up overall pricing as other hotels see they can get away with it.
Can confirm that holiday inn near universal is by far the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed at.
Gotta say, I like the theming. It’s nice to see someone embrace bold colors and patterns instead of just painting everything white and battleship grey and calling it ‘elegant’. It’s a bit kitsch, but it’s a resort so it’s supposed to be fun and this is definitely fun. It also seems like they approached the complex as a whole and tied everything together instead of just slapping on a retro veneer.
I love how they topped off the theming with old fashioned Zest and Alberto V05 bottles. And having used those as a kid in the early 1980s, I did remember the smell and those are the real thing, not a generic shampoo and soap in a themed bottle. Alberto has an odor that I never mistake for any other brand of shampoo...
Man, that pricing is ideal for something so special. I hate how boring so many hotels have become for so much money. What a cool little spot. Would love to go bowling there.
It’s super cool, and I do NOT like value girls. I only paid $140 in September- that’s a great price for the amenities. I looooove the pool area.
The bowling is sweet
Even the food at the bowling alley was pretty decent. I was pleasantly surprised the most by that.
Good review. I think the deduction in points for this clever resort having Zest and Alberto hair products in the shower is unwarranted. It's authentic and it's what we had and used. 10/10 for me.
I snitched one of each of the Alberto bottles for the memories. I used those when I was a kid and it's the real thing, not a knockoff in a repurposed bottle with an Alberto label slapped on it. They have a distinctive smell and I could tell it was real Alberto shampoo.
Universal is just getting better across the board. They've easily surpassed Disney in the Hotel category. And are starting to gain ground everywhere else. Cabana Bay blew us away. The Disney resorts left us bitter and confused.
I think Universal parks are better too. Velocicoaster. need I say more?
And it's so easy to get around and learn the walking paths.
@@Afineaddition And best of all: Universal doesn't force you to use their app to do everything in their parks. The only bad thing? It seems everyone is defecting from Disney so the crowds are getting worse all the time. I refused to believe that in the beginning but was forced to change my mind when season passholders grumbled online about the insane crowds. One time, over the spring break, a youtuber complained that several restaurants in the parks ran out of food because the lines to the counters were so long!
@@largol33t12 I heave heard that Universal is trying to expand their parks and is set to open a new park as opposed to Disney, which charges you for being in the crowd.
@@dindog22 Absolutely! And it's gonna get even better with Epic Universe next year.
Universal has really great hotels, we always stayed there over Disney because it was cheaper and the resort experience is SO much better. We stayed at Portofino and it truly felt like a luxury experience-beautiful property, great food, boat to the parks, and express passes included with the room! Felt like you got the best of both worlds, you can fully enjoying the parks and then come back to this really high end resort vacation. It’s a shame that Disney does not offer something like that-I was shocked watching your Contemporary video and seeing what you got for that high of a price. Even these “value” rooms look leagues better than the Disney premium resorts. It’s Insane how much better the experience could be but they still charge that ridiculous price.
Portofino is the best of the best at Universal and several steps above Cabana. It's a nice hotel and compared to Disney it's a good value. But Disney has gone completely nuts with their pricing IMO.
@@ashleighelizabeth5916 Seriously. I have more kids than a typical room can fit (or that most hotels will allow even if we could manage with a roll-in bed). A 1 BR or even 2 BR villa at Portofino is less than a regular 2 queen room in a Disney moderate resort.
Nice to see a bit of light towards Universal
More like nice to see a bit of relief for Jake's wallet
@@captaintalon4485 Hahaha
Universal has been kicking Disney's ass in terms of theming for quite a while now. Sad to see how Disney has fallen.
As a floridian, I just stayed there yesterday and the cheapest room they offered was only $104. I'm thoroughly impressed by this place.
To be fair, those smoking areas are pretty 1950s as well considering people weren't really concerned about health problems that come with smoking.
Anyone else shocked by "Food is always something Universal has missed the mark on. 8/10."?
8/10 for me is a fantastic score. I couldn't give that score to someplace that "missed the mark".
Definitely - I had the same shocked reaction to that score. I think he's conflating price point into the other categories too much, especially when "Value" is already it's own category
the 8/10 is the overall for amenities, not just for food
Kind of gives the "this was paid for by Universal" vibe.
Hes nuts. Universal is way better than Disneys food. I just ate at both and Disneys hotel food sucks. Universal it felt like luxury food on a lot of their stuff. I think hes being biased towards disney. Universal is more creative with food to
@@wiz3404 Exactly, the Food was the -2 from 10, resulting in the 8/10. The script could've clarified that better. I give it an 8/10.
Really really nice hotel, especially for the price asked.
I actually love the inclusion of Zest and VO5 shower toiletries, as they both harken back to their popularity in the era this resort's emulating. It's fantastic.
I thought those were funny. Kinda a win win for Universal because they can buy the cheap soaps but it works because it's technically on theme, haha.
I remember the Zest commercial when I was a kid. "You're not fully clean until you're ZESTfully clean!"
Stayed there a month ago. I agree with this video. Themeing is great, rooms were nice, distance to park is close and buses ran timely. Best thing was that nothing can beat the vibe this place has at night. Looked forward to just chilling on the balcony and looking over the pool every day.
I adore the faux-mid mod styling here. It's the sort of thing I'd love to see more of. I know mid mod furniture is making a comeback; I'd love to see the architectural stylings do the same.
I LOVE the decor in this hotel! The outside hallway motel look...perfect!
They did a spot on job of getting the 50's-60's theme without going overboard. It looks very nice. For that price point it's hard to beat. Disney on the other hand - ugh....
Living in the Orlando area, I'm always looking at cool places for short staycations. Thanks to your review, I'm adding this hotel to my list.
Cabana Bay IS a themed hotel. It emulates and transports guests to a different time and place. Plastering Disney and Pixar IP on the walls of a Disney hotel is a motif, not a theme, not unless the theme is Disney Store or from the looks of their updated rooms, Ikea showroom featuring Disney wall decals and prints.
The theming is meant to take guests back to the 1950s and the Atomic Age. Am not surprised some teens said they felt like they were in the video game Fallout.
I follow your other channel and haven’t spent as much time here, but I’ve watched several videos today and I just want to say your partner is gorgeous 😍 she has such a natural look that is sooo beautiful! Please let her know that 😊 many thanks (I’ve also really enjoyed the vids, that was just my main takeaway. That and I’ll never be able to afford GF as an adult. But AKL seems to be calling my name)…in conclusion: 👍🏻👍🏻
lol, the stink bug in the bed at 7:21 is funny as all hell. Not a bed bug.
No, the secondhand smoke is actually PART of the 50's throwback experience
Stayed for my first time this February and was completely blown away, I was put in the Bayside tower on the 10th floor with an amazing view of the Aventura and Islands of Adventure!
5:42 The main issue is that smoking should be allowed inside of the property if it wants to pull off its 1950s/60s theme.
Just my two cents but "food is something that Universal has always missed the mark on" does not belong in the same review as then saying "8/10" to me 'missing the mark' is lower than average i.e
Stayed at a lot of Disney hotels and 2 other deluxe universal hotels but got to say this has a place of my heart. It feels retro, it's the past that didn't exist. Great deal, clean, good transportation, and decent offers. It's a nice hotel option and I am choosing it over a deluxe universal hotels. it's just that nice of a hotel.
Such a convenient time to post this because I’m going to Cabana Bay next week-
I’m confused because it says “Orlando’s Best Value Theme Park Hotel” but then there was nothing in the video about POP Century Hotel.
Because I don’t think they’re the best value hotels
@@BrightSunTravels As someone else mentioned Cabana Bay is more on par with Disney's Moderate hotels.
Pop is a steal comparatively because it has Skyliner access to 2 theme parks.
I think universal has done a great job. I have zero desire to stay any of the Disney value resorts - I would honestly rather stay a generic but very clean off property random hotel. Disney buses are not really that much of perk. Universal’s higher end hotels are a steal comparatively, and you don’t have sleep in an incredibles themed room. Good on you Universal.
I will say their theming is on point.
That's funny, I was actually just there like a month ago.
Stayed here with my (now) wife back when I went on a florida trip + cruise for my grad school graduation. We were pleasantly surprised by everything there. From the retro fallout-esque aesthetic, room quality for price, amenities, and activities (the bowling space was great!), everything was surprisingly awesome for the price point.
You're not fully clean until you're zest fully clean 10/10
Stayed at this hotel twice in the last few years. Absolutely love this hotel. Will definitely stay here again. Love the whole vibe of the place. Quick bus ride to the park, or you can take the walking path there, either way it's easy
Yeah I would agree universal has not figured out food yet
I stayed at this hotel in Sept and it was a great hotel, I agree with your review
Anaheim CA NEEDS something like this. There's so much of this aesthetic associated with anaheim.
I love that you guys made this channel, it’s good to see honest unpaid reviews for the world to see.
The bowling alley has a restaurant.
I went to Orlando in 2017 and stayed at The Point which is very close by, so I saw some of the construction of Volcano Bay and always wondered what it looked like onsite so thanks for the video.
Glad I’m a patreon of the main channel because you’ve just been putting out amazing and detailed content that I’ve been enjoying since day 1!
Location should be scored higher, imo. The hotel literally has a dedicated entrance to Volcano Bay!!
I put it in perspective with the other resorts and I think because it is only accessible to the parks via bus, it’s less convenient than the walking paths and the boats
as a disney fan the value resorts make me cry
We love this hotel we have stayed here plus the Universal Hard Rock and Endless Summer all have been outstanding. Our daughter actually works for the mouse at one of their resorts and its cheaper for us to stay at Universal then at her resort even with the employee discount. BTW I have watched and enjoyed your BSF channel for many years and didn't know entered into our genre with this channel, Im sure you will do well with your film background even in this crowed market. All the best RP
man the design is so cool. Even though it's 50s/60s designed some of the designs kind of remind of the whole 90s Nickelodeon resort designs. I miss when Hotels were fun designed. because modern hotels today became boring and grey like everything else.
Universal Orlando is a far better “resort” than Disney world. Parks are walkable from all hotels that aren’t the endless summer resort, you could walk from cabana bay to Saphire falls and get a boat transport. And the value preposition is unmatched.
Disney doesn’t try and compete with anyone, people will pay no matter what. Universal competes with Disney and the iDrive hotels and wins in most categories.
We had a trip to the Aventura hotel across the street from here. Not really themed, just a nice clean modern hotel. Just as happy with that