Universal's Aventura Hotel - REVIEW

Trip dates: July 27-31, 2022

This was our first stay at Universal's Aventura Hotel and we were impressed!

We began our journey at 6am which put us at Aventura around 1pm.  We had already completed our early check-in the night before.  Since actual check-in wasn't until 4pm, we went to the front desk, retrieved our "future" room keys and park tickets and hit the pool.  It wasn't long after that we received a text that our room was ready.

Pro Tip:  Your room key also serves at your "ticket" for early park admission.  And your actual park ticket is a separate paper ticket used to enter the park and to utilize park lockers.  Make sure they're with you at all times.  We found a landyard is the best way to keep them close and safe.

We did a little research before we left home to make sure we knew exactly where to go and what to do.  Upon arrival, we immediately went straight for the parking garage located to the left of the main entrance.  After parking, we took the elevator to the lobby and front desk.  There are 20 minute parking spots to the right of the main entrance, but knowing how early we were, it made more since for use to park in the garage when we got there.  We did use one of these spots on check-out day.

The pool was a decent size, but there are no frills (i.e. no slides or other pool "toys").  There's an outdoor bar located just steps away from the pool called Bar Sol and a kid's area called Splash Pad.  Splash Pad only had a few water jets shooting up from the ground.  For us, the best part about the pool was the back entrance/exit that is located right outside Volcano Bay's main entrance...super convenient.

Once we received the text that our room was ready (#1564), we grabbed a luggage cart, got our stuff, and went to check it out.  When we entered our room, we were blown away by the view.  During early check-in, we requested a top floor with park view and they delivered.  Our room was a panorama of windows and the location allowed us to see parts of Island's of Adventure, all of Volcano Bay, and Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort across the street.

Pro Tip:  The main lights to the room are imbedded into the headboards and the switch for those lights are located on the side table.  We found this out on our last night...lol.

Located in the lobby is the Universal Studio Store, Urban Pantry, barVentura, and Starbucks.  We enjoyed breakfast on two mornings at Urban Pantry.  It was cooked to order with nothing available for grab-n-go.  Urban Pantry and Starbucks both open at 7am if you're looking to get an early start at the parks.

And speaking of the parks, how do you get there from Aventura, you may ask?  The main transportation service the hotel offers is the Universal shuttle bus service.  It seems that the bus service runs every 15 minutes or so.  On one occassion, we took the shuttle bus from the parks back to Aventura and found out Cabana Bay was on the same loop and also the first stop before reaching Aventura.  The ride from the parks to Aventura took about 20 minutes.  The security checkpoint, when taking the bus from the hotel to the parks, is located at the main parking structure for the parks. Located next door to Aventura is Lowe's Sapphire Falls Hotel where you can catch a boat to the parks.  It's about a 5 minute walk to the Sapphire boat dock through the ballroom/lobby to the stairs/elevators and out the back door and then another 5 minute ride to City Walk.  The boats run every 15 minutes, so if you miss a boat, you'll need to factor in the wait on the next boat.  The security checkpoint for the boats is located at the boat dock.  Then there is the Garden Walk path.  We took this path on 3 separate occasions and averaged 15-20 minutes.  With the Garden Walk option, the security checkpoint is located at the base of the bridge going to Island's of Adventure at Universal City Walk.

And if you're looking for a cool place to hang out after a day in the parks, which is also an awesome place to see the nighttime shows from the parks, Bar 17 Bistro located on the roof of Aventura.  You can see the entire resort from this 17th floor advantage point.

One of the amenities of Aventura was the robots roaming around.  They are self guided robots with a small storage compartment on the top.  You can request certain items be delivered to your room and the robot brings it.  Even though we did not use it, it was pretty cool to see.

In our room was an iPad that controled everything from the TV and air conditioner to the lights.  There was also a chat feature to the front desk and they were very quick with their responses.  They also sent texts to us everyday asking if we needed anything.  It was those extra touches that made Aventura a unique and special place for us.

We would give Aventura an overall 8.5 because of the distance to Universal Studios and Island's of Adventure and the logistics of getting to the parks and the lack of things to do at the pool.  The price point was good and the hotel itself was amazing along with the friendly staff.

Fun Facts

Accommodations & Amenities

• 476 Standard/Skyline view double queen rooms
• 55 Standard king rooms
• 43 Deluxe double queen rooms
• 13 Deluxe king rooms
• 13 Kids' suite and skyline kids' suite
• Complimentary WiFi
• Universal Orlando Vacation Planning Center
• Self-parking (currently $18/night +tax)
• Car rental available on-site
• Universal Studios Store

Dining

• Urban Pantry
• Bar 17 Bistro
• Bar Sol
• barVentura
• Starbucks

Recreation

• Pool
• Fitness Center

Exclusive Hotel Guest Benefits

• Early Park Admission
• Free Shuttles
• Resort-wide charging
• Complimentary merchandise delivery
• Complimentary club-to-club access at Universal CityWalk