Cabana Bay Good or Bad?

Jenny412

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 1, 2015
We will be coming to Universal 11/29-12/5. Myself, husband and 6yr old. Decided to try Cabana Bay out. So many mixed reviews on trip advisor. One review can say it's filthy and dirty and the rooms are full of stains and the review immediately after can say how spotless clean and immaculate the rooms are. We probably will only book a standard poolside room since we won't need a suite with just the 3 of us. I really don't understand how up and down the reviews are. Has anyone stayed recently that can give any opinions? Also trying to decide if we should purchase tickets that come with the express pass. If we get the combo tickets that come with express it still will be cheaper then staying deluxe. But will we need express that week? It would be about $600 less to get tickets without express attached. Most crowd calendars show that week being very slow. Please any advice and recent stay experience at this hotel would be greatly appreciated :)
 
It's our favorite hotel. Pretty much anywhere.
I've never seen or heard of a filthy room. The hotel is maybe 5 years old now, so things are still pretty new.
Great staff. Great experience. Great rooms. Our only complaint is some of the rooms can be far away at the end of the day.
I typically compare it to a Disney moderate but with better out of room amenities.
 
It's our favorite hotel. Pretty much anywhere.
I've never seen or heard of a filthy room. The hotel is maybe 5 years old now, so things are still pretty new.
Great staff. Great experience. Great rooms. Our only complaint is some of the rooms can be far away at the end of the day.
I typically compare it to a Disney moderate but with better out of room amenities.
Thanks for your response :) Do you stay in a suite or a standard room when you stay there? Also do you get express or do without?
 


We stayed about two weeks ago and it is definitely not filthy! We had a pool-view room in the Americana section with a nice view of the lazy river. The room is a tad small but bright and clean. We did not need an express pass at all, but with the people who rescheduled because of Irma, it might be a bit busier this month. Take advantage of the early admission, it's worth it. Gringotts was almost a walk on, twice! If you plan to ride Jimmy Fallon, make sure you go early to get your virtual queue reservation. We didn't know how this was done, went at around noon and was told there were no more passes available and that the wait could be anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours. :( Regardless, I think you and your family will love it.
 
Is the suite much nicer then the standard room? We were deciding if it's worth the upgrade.
The main difference with the suite is you get a sitting room (with a couch bed) and kitchenette and a little more bathroom room (but not a full second bathroom).Personally, I think a family of 3 would be fine in the standard room, but you know your family.
 


I would say that if you are going to be there for that length of time go for a suite the added space will be relaxing. I have only stayed there once and found the rooms clean, and I have been an executive housekeeper. As for express passes I would say to pass on them during that time it should be slow not to mention you are there for 5 days.
 
I wouldn't splurge for the fast pass on those dates. If you get there and find that it's busier than predicted, add it then. With that many days at the parks, you can just go slow and take your time to ride it all. It is not very busy in the early morning or the evenings; especially the evenings for HP.
 
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I'd skip the Express Passes and splurge on the family suite. You'll appreciate being able to spread out, use the kitchenette and have a slightly more private space to hang out when your little one sleeps. You have enough days that even without EPs you'll be able to see and do it all. The lines are pretty cool so having to wait in them isn't terrible.
 
Just stayed at Cabana Bay last week for 4 nights in a poolside suite. It was just myself and even then it was nice having a suite. If you stay in a regular room it will be like any other hotel room. Like others have said having a suite is nice but not necessary. I mean it would be nice to have a sitting area, that your child can watch tv or hang out while you get ready so you aren't in each others way, but if it does get crowded you may opt to use the money you save by not doing a suite on express which is personally what I would do.
Having stayed at HRH and RP before I was overwhelmed with Cabana. I thought it would compare to a Disney Value but if anything I would compare it to a nicer moderate. It is a huge hotel and as others have said is spread out and some rooms are far away, but if you are far from say the food court your are probably closer to volcano bay or the pools, so its a trade off. Housekeeping was sensational and always done by noon when I was there. Even though hotel was fully booked, no waits at food court, although wait to check in around 10 AM was about a 20 minute wait. The only con I thought was the transportation. Now don't get me wrong, their bus service is sensational! Never had to wait for a bus, when one was full, it was not like Disney where you would have to wait 15-20 minutes for the next one would be there right away. What I wasn't nuts about is getting off the bus, going up the stairs through security and down the longest hallway I have ever scene to the middle of citywalk and then walking to parks. Grant it this whole process takes 5-7 minutes but I much prefer walking from HRH or RP. And this is very nit picky, I would rate this hotel a 9.5 out of 10 simply based on this fact.
Now the question of express or not express, when I was there it was Columbus day weekend and the parks were very crowded in the afternoon with most rides exceeding 60 minutes. However I would get there for early entry which was at Studios or opening which was at Islands and touring efficiently could ride until at least noon with no more than a 5 minute wait. Then I would go back to hotel and nap or go to pool and then do dinner and head back to the parks. If it isn't possible for you to be at the parks that early and you find yourself getting there around 1 or 2 then express might be a necessity. But as others have said you can get the express pass there so feel it out and if you find the lines unbearable then get it.
 
Looking at the crowd calendar for your dates the days are all predicted to be VERY LOW (2 out of 10). I wouldn't even bother with express pass for that. If you would like more room, then I would go ahead and change to a suite.
 
Looking at the crowd calendar for your dates the days are all predicted to be VERY LOW (2 out of 10). I wouldn't even bother with express pass for that. If you would like more room, then I would go ahead and change to a suite.
Where can you find the crowd calendar? I’d like to check my dates.
 
I have begun my research into Universal this morning and CB immediately caught my attention! I would like to express interest in the retro-futurism reminiscent of Epcot.

Is this a great place to stay?
 
Is the suite much nicer then the standard room? We were deciding if it's worth the upgrade.

My son and I were at CB in April. We love it! We've never noticed it being dirty at all. We went with the suite even though it was just us because we liked having the space to spread out at the end of the day. Sort of helped us decompress after a day at the parks.
 
To preface, I am a HUGE Cabana Bay fan. I've stayed there five times in the past three years and you just can't convince me to stay any place else. Admittedly, we go at the least busy times possible so the EPs aren't a huge consideration. If you are going for a short trip, during a busy (or super hot) time, I can see the need, but not for a longer trip at a low crowd time.

I love the CB, the theme and everything that goes with it. I've never had issues with the cleanliness of anything on my trips. I read those reviews from time to time and wonder what hotel they were staying at.

Personally, I think a family of 3 would be fine in the standard room, but you know your family.

We stayed in a standard room for 2 nights on our first stay and the standard rooms are TIGHT, even for just two adults. It was okay since it was such a short stay, but now I always go with a suite. The upcharge usually isn't much and the kitchen alone is worth it. We stop at the grocery store on the way from the airport and pick up breakfast foods so that just about saves us the difference in room prices.
 
I have begun my research into Universal this morning and CB immediately caught my attention! I would like to express interest in the retro-futurism reminiscent of Epcot.

Is this a great place to stay?
Yes! We have stayed in most of the Uni resorts and with CB, we were able to save money and still be in the bubble. Yet, the savings did not feel diminished at all (except for not having EP). It is clean, classy, and lots of fun just to hang out there.
 
I love Cabana Bay. I've stayed in both a suite and a regular room, both were nice. I love the food court, the pools and pool bar, that there is a Starbucks in the lobby area, the little store, the buses, etc.

We have not bought Express passes and really haven't needed them even at busy times. If you do the parks for more than two days, you should have the opportunity to do everything and not have to wait too long if you base your days around doing the popular things first thing and in the evenings.
 
We found CB to be okay, but walking through the SF lobby made us wish we had stayed there. We did fine without EP, but we were there 6 nights and made it for early entry every day. The kids liked the pool and lazy river, but my wife and I didn't care for the execution of the theme. We all loved the But the walk from the ferry to CB was torture after a long day in the parks. We all loved the ferry way more than taking the bus, but it is a very long walk from CB.

We originally booked our second trip at SF, since it was only $10-20 more expensive than CB. However, it was in October and the crowds were likely going to be too much because of HHN and the kids are too young for the haunted houses. I ended up finding an APH room at RPR the week before Thanksgiving, so we changed our plans. I suspect the EP will really be a huge hit, since we are only there for 4 days this time...
 

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