Hi Guys!

In January 2018 I had the opportunity to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, which is inside the Universal Studios complex and in this post I will talk a bit more about the hotel and tell you more about my experience there.

The Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando is a luxury hotel, which has a younger and livelier atmosphere. It is great for families with teenagers or with older children, young adults and music fans. If you prefer a quieter and more relaxing environment, it is best to opt for the Portofino Bay hotel, which is also part of the Universal Studios complex (and it is WONDERFUL, by the way).

I loved having stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel, found the ambiance and theme to be very nice and would stay there again (specially because the guests are entitled to the Express Pass, which allows you to bypass the lines in all the attractions at Universal Orlando and Islands of Adventure Parks). But let's go to the details so you can know a bit more about the Hard Rock Hotel:

Location

The Hard Rock Hotel is in the Universal Studios complex and is adjacent to Universal Studios Park. It takes less than 5 minutes to walk from the hotel to the park. This is great because you save time and money on transportation to Universal parks.

Besides being able to walk, you can also go to the parks by boat - the boat will leave you in the middle of Citywalk. To go to Universal Studios Park I find it easier to walk, you will walk less and get faster.

To go to the Islands of Adventure Park you can also walk (it should be about a 10 minute walk) but since I wanted to try the boat, I decided to use the boat on the day of going to the Islands of Adventure, since the boat leaves us half way between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

The boat ride is beautiful and very fast. The only downside is that it departs every 15 minutes, so if you just missed a boat, you'll have to wait a little longer until the next one comes along. In that case, it would be faster to walk to the parks. But if you left early and have no hurry, you can wait for the boat, because the ride is super nice.

With the map below you will be able to better understand the locations.

Rooms at Hard Rock Hotel Orlando

The Hard Rock Hotel has several types of rooms, from standard rooms to big suites.

I stayed in a Standard Room with Garden View, which I found excellent. The room had 2 double beds (WONDERFUL by the way) and was very spacious with 35 square meters.

A cool detail is that the bathroom has a sink inside the bathroom and another sink outside and this makes it much easier when the room has 3 or 4 people, as was my case - while one person bathes, another can go tidying himself in the sink / mirror from outside the bathroom.

Guitars Menu

The Hard Rock Hotel offers a "menu" of 20 different types of Guitars so guests can borrow for free and play in the room. They are all Fender brand and you can choose from a variety of Stratocasters, Telecasters and Basses.

Hotel Pools and Recreation

The Hard Rock Hotel structure is great. It has a huge and wonderful pool with an underwater sound system in which you listen to music when you dive! During the day there is always the DJ playing songs and cheering the guests.

It is also very common to have activities for children taking place in the pool area, such as a ping-pong tournament, a hula hoop contest, an outdoor movie on some nights, etc.

Besides the pool which is huge and has a waterslide, this area also has 2 jacuzzis with warm water, sand volleyball court, wet area for children and pool bar. Oh, there are some loungers lying on the sand to simulate a beach!

For those who want a bit more comfort, it is possible to rent VIP Cabins in the pool area, which have more comfortable sun loungers, a fan, a TV, Wi-Fi internet, minibar with water and soda, a small table with 4 chairs and a waiter.

The Hard Rock Hotel also has a supervised recreation area called CAMP LIL 'ROCK where parents can drop off children from 4 to 14 for a few hours. CAMP LIL 'ROCK starts operating at 5pm and is paid ($ 15 per hour in 2018).

Advantages of staying at the Hard Rock Hotel Orlando

• Proximity to the parks of the Universal complex - 5-10 minutes walk to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
• Free transportation to Universal parks - boat to Universal and Islands and bus to Volcano Bay
• Express Pass Unlimited for everyone in the room - this is the BEST advantage of staying at the Hard Rock, you will not wait in line at any Universal or Islands of Adventure attraction (Express Pass is not valid at Volcano Bay) 
• Possibility to enter one hour before the official opening hours in one of the parks of Universal
• Structure of the Hotel, which is wonderful
• Proximity to International Drive
• Music and Rock theme, which is really cool for adults, teens and older kids

Click here to book the Hard Rock Hotel

Disadvantages of Hard Rock Hotel Orlando

• Parking is charged
• It does not have a large food court like Cabana Bay, only Table Service restaurants and a small snack bar with some quick snack options
• Away from the Disney parks
• Do not have a Universal Studios store/gift shop
• Price - this is a luxury hotel and the rates start at $ 310 dollars

!steemitworldmap 28.478158 lat -81.464450 long Review Hard Rock Hotel Orlando D3SCR