Holiday Inn and Suites Across from Universal Orlando

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.

Capt Jim

I was extremely disappointed with my stay at this hotel. The room itself was very old, had an unpleasant smell, and the air conditioner barely worked — it didn’t blow hard enough to cool the room at all. The elevator also smelled strongly of dog urine, which was really off-putting. What made things even worse was that the entire property is under major renovation. Half of the parking lot is taken up by construction equipment, yet the hotel still charges $30 a night just to park. For the condition the hotel is currently in, that fee feels unreasonable. After seeing the room and the overall state of the hotel, I immediately requested a refund and chose to stay at the Hyatt across the way instead. Much better experience. I would not recommend staying here until the renovations are complete and the basic issues are addressed. Customer service I give 2 out of 5 stars. The girl at the counter was a bit rude when I asked for a refund and when I explained why.

Reece Pugh

This hotel is a mixed bag for me. For the positives I could list, it is very close to the Universal parks, and this is a huge benefit. the hotel also had mostly clean rooms and the accommodations were comfortable enough. The prices were also very decent for the area if you booked early, and the staff was kind and courteous. However, there are also some negatives. For one thing, the hotel is under EXTENSIVE renovation and construction. As others have said, this was not made clear to us before or after booking but we found out when we arrived, though they did disclose that certain amenities like the pool would be closed. But many other rooms were empty or were under renovation. For example there is no men's restroom in the lobby at all, but there are two women's restrooms. Much of the lobby, first floor guest areas, hallways, and even elevators are under renovation. There is exposed wiring, missing wall and ceiling tiles, construction paper, tools, boxes, and numerous other things strewn about even in the "finished" areas. The construction workers were nice but the work was almost constant it seemed. In addition to this, some of the hallways smelled as if there was a sewage leak. On top of all this, the walls were very thin, so much that you could easily hear pipes through the walls and hear nearby guests doing "activities" in their rooms next to yours or even across the hallways. The rooms also had some small issues, like scuff marks on furniture and spots on the carpets. My room in particular had a dirty towel with black spots on it on our first night, while my friend's was missing a microwave. It is also worth mentioning the big parking issue. The hotel uses a paid parking system that charges $30 a day and it is NOT included with the price you already pay for staying there. It uses a very inconvenient app and a tollbooth style gate that charges you for an entire day's worth of parking even if you just left for an hour and came back. So expect to pay top dollar just to park at the hotel you already paid for. I understand they want to keep non-guests from parking there and that there is a premium for being within walking distance of the Universal Parks, but there has to be a better and fairer way to treat hotel guests than this. Maybe introduce a pass or voucher system for guests or something because $30 a day on top of everything else is extreme. I understand that hotels have to stay open even during construction to continue to make money and stay afloat, but this is definitely an unfortunately case, and there are some clear measures they could have taken to improve.

Brad Hoy

Let me preface this by saying I’m a Diamond Elite member so I stay in A LOT of IHG hotels. This hotel is probably the worst I’ve stayed in around the country. First things first, there is construction everywhere and I was not warned before hand and they also have no signs posted. Not a huge deal but kind of annoying. Secondly, the elevators are DISGUSTING. They literally smell like vomit, urine, and excrement. They made my wife and her friend gag the entire time. Thirdly, they had no microwave in the room or on site. There’s a TGI Fridays connected so they obviously partnered with them to force you to eat there. Bad part is, we did, but you can’t even heat up any leftovers since they don’t have any microwaves. Fourthly, the water pressure is TRASH. No explanation needed on this. Fifth, the construction workers literally blocked in the parking lot. We had to squeeze between 2 cars to get out. If another car was in that spot we would’ve been trapped completely in. Sixth, they charge an extra $17.95 a night for no apparent reason AND charged for parking which was another $28 a day which WAS NOT advertised. So with our stay it was another ~$150 Lastly, we were woken up by the fire alarm which was a false alarm because of the construction. It literally went on and off for half an hour. Please if you can stay anywhere else, do it

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