Holiday Inn and Suites Across from Universal Orlando

Debbie Blass

I expected more from a Hilton Inn & Suites. I made reservations for my daughter's special birthday gift, that she was looking forward to for months. Upon her arrival the reservations that I had made for her were changed (they called it an upgrade). They did not use the card that I held the room with and my daughter had to put up her own card. When I called to clear up the matter both front desk employees that I spoke with were rude and snippy. I had to fill out a form and take pictures of my ID and credit card for them to put it back onto the credit card that I had originally reserved the room with. Meanwhile they could not refund my daughter's card for 3-5 business days. During my daughter's stay the fire alarm went off and on for 2 hours straight on the first night and again the next day. The elevator did not work and she had to walk through a construction zone to get to a different elevator. Clearly the hotel was under construction and equipment was taking up room in their parking lot, which is $38 per day. I'm extremely disappointed to say the least, this hotel was sub-par and I would never stay here again or recommend to anyone. The location was the only positive aspect of this hotel.

Sarah Nichole

This is the nicest holiday inn we have stayed at. Staff was friendly and Andy the housekeeping Director deserves a raise. He was so friendly, smiles all the time, and out of every IHG experience we have had he’s been the absolute best! This man should run the organization, seriously! This holiday inn did not have breakfast and we had to pay $37 to park! The parking fee is ridiculous and was not clearly stated on IHG when booking the room. And no keys! This is the second IHG hotel we have stayed at that didn’t have keys. They basically lock you in your room all night. That’s strange and unsafe. Otherwise, the rooms were nice and updated, cozy and we had plenty of space.

jose Cortes

I’ve never review a hotel while staying there but I think it’s worth saying this is very much the most frustrating first day at an IHG hotel. $148 dollars to park next to construction suppplies and rental cars for 5 days is diabolical. Already key card deactivated twice so stuck outside with our hands full until someone came by Hotel is SIGNIFICANTLY under construction. We booked way earlier in year and didn’t know this. Making hotel daily fee another $90 spent. The hotel room is 22 feet long. Very roomy which is good. But the bathroom is 3 feet wide so I can literally touch both walls while on toilet. Room is nice enough, as this one is decently renovated. But no full length mirror and very little closet space. Hallway has old thick carpet making it extremely hard to roll suitcases down hall. Carlos was very friendly at check in. Although very hard to hear and have conversation with the drilling behind him. 5 days here….here we go…. Day 2- all treadmills in gym under maintenance.had to drive around a construction side and through actual actual spots to get to our side of parking Day 3- ice machine on floor 4 broken

Gracie West

We stayed here 4 nights for Universal. The staff was very friendly, however, it took us reading the reviews to find out they are going under extensive remodeling. We would’ve appreciated staff telling us this as we were booking. The lobby, elevators, and hallways are in a sorry state with exposed wires, debris on the floor, and equipment everywhere. That said, the room was very clean. A little outdated, but as a place to lay your head and relax, it did the trick. There are 5 elevators, one does not work, and one did not go to third floor where we were staying. Our final day, we were recovering from a long night at HHN and construction work was underway above our heads. It sounded like drilling, and it was not pleasant. Other than this, it was by far not the worst hotel experience we had. The cleaning staff was very kind as well. Parking is steep but cheaper than the parking at Universal and the hotel has a free shuttle so it balances out.

Tara Sherlock

We booked the Holiday Inn Across from Universal six months in advance, and apparently that’s just enough time for the hotel to fall into a construction zone. Had we known, we would have happily stayed literally anywhere else including the Jurassic Park gift shop. The lobby looked like it was auditioning for an episode of Extreme Makeover: Chaos Edition, the elevators smelled like they had given up on life, and the entire third floor where we stayed from 11/14 to 11/21 had an odor that can only be described as “mystery meets despair.” There’s no microwave, the fridge was doing the bare minimum (like a teenager asked to clean their room), and the walls were so thin we became unwilling subscribers to the conversation next door, which included someone negotiating the sale of marijuana. Truly an immersive experience, Universal should take notes. Since it’s marketed like a Universal partner hotel, we expected convenient transportation. Instead, the shuttle schedule was so limited that we’re pretty sure the buses were operating on island time, just without the island. There’s no breakfast, unless you count being gently directed to the TGI Fridays next door for an all-you-can-eat option, which felt oddly like being told to fend for ourselves. The one shining light was our housekeeper who was friendly, thorough, and the only thing in the building actually working as intended. If the whole hotel operated like she did, this would be a five-star review. Unfortunately, it’s a hard no for us ever staying here again. The only universal thing about this place was disappointment.