I would highly recommend staying on property, especially if you only have one day. Even if you do not stay at one of the high tier resorts with unlimited EP, but those with only EE it will definitely help and be nice to have that extra hour. Even if you do not have take advantage of that it helps a lot that you're already on property. A hotel that is even just a few miles away can equal to a 10-15 minute drive with lights / traffic / ect. Which doesn't seem like much, but with that, on top of getting in line to pay for parking, parking the car, walking to security, going through security, walking to the gate of the park. A rough estimate of that would take about 30-45 minutes. So, in total you're looking at about roughly an hour from getting into the car to standing at the gate.
Ideal resort would be HRH, as not only you have unlimited EP and EE, but it's a breeze to walk over to Universal and is the closest hotel to any of the parks. Also, USF is always (EE hasn't been at IoA in ages) EE park which is even better. If you can't afford that, that's fine, as honestly, I think it's good just in general to be on property anywhere, as you can to save time and get that extra hour, especially if you have only one day.