Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort:

With over 8,000+ positive Tripadvisor reviews,
Cabana Bay is one of our favorite family-friendly hotels in Florida.
You will love this vibrant, retro-themed resort that is specifically designed for families to have fun at an affordable price – which is rare now in Orlando, Florida.

I am a big fan of Loews Hotels, so it is no surprise that I am impressed with all this value hotel has to offer. The retro themed hotel takes you back to the 50’s while managing to incorporate the wonder of the Universal theme parks into the experience. Plus you’ll enjoy the exclusive benefits of staying in Universal, including Early Park Admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ up to one hour before the parks open (valid theme park admission is obviously required). Speaking of theme parks, you can take the walking paths or complimentary shuttle buses to get to Universal parks easily.

** UPDATED (2.28.23) We have stayed at this hotel 6 times now and I am certain we will be back again soon!

The Rooms: Splurge for the Suite.

Compared to other theme park resorts both at Universal and Disney, this hotel offers value rates, especially if you book a standard room. We have stayed in both room types multiple times and I highly recommend reserving the Tower Suites for the extra space refrigerator and room divider.  The standard rooms sleep up to 4 people and the suites sleep up to 6 and include a kitchenette making them perfect for late-night snacking after your attendees have enjoyed a day of unforgettable meetings and events.

Make time to enjoy the pools.

The Cabana Courtyard has a large zero-entry pool, twisting water slide, a wonderful splash pad for the littles, a sand recreational area with games, and cabanas that can be rented for the day. On our most recent visit, we arrived super early, so we rented a cabana for the entire day (10am-10pm) for $100. The rental included the shaded cabana, table with 4 chairs, 2 lounge chairs, tv, wifi, outlet, fan, refrigerator and bottled water. We thought it was well worth the cost.

The Lazy River Courtyard has a zero entry pool, lazy river with water falls, sand beach and fire pits. This is the pool where the nightly movie is played. And there is a wonderful poolside grill, so you can enjoy dinner and a movie by the pool!

TIP: BRING YOUR OWN FLOATS! They sale some but they are pricey!!

Food options limited onsite

There is a “diner” which is a food court-style cafeteria with several offerings from pizza, burgers, sandwiches and a salad bar. There is an Icee machine, frozen yogurt and a selection of grab and go food. The bowling lane has a restaurant but we did not dine there, so unsure what to expect. The Hideaway Bar & Grill has a very limited menu but the burger was so good! You can order select pizzas to be delivered to your room or pool. And a full service Starbucks off the side of the lobby!

Great Value. Convenient Location. Endless Fun.

There are even more reasons that make Cabana Bay Beach Resort a smart choice for a family planning to spend a few days at Universal. By staying at the hotel all guests have early access into the theme park.  Free shuttles run every fifteen minutes to and from Universal Parks /City Walk.  There is also a 10 lane bowling alley, an arcade, and a gym.  You can read more about the gym in a future post.

Hope you found this helpful and the next time you are in Orlando tag me on Instagram (@mandymcarter) so I can see all the fun you are having!