Universal’s Epic Universe In-Park Hotel is Cheap!
We were harsh on Helios Grand Hotel when Universal Orlando pulled back the curtain on the new in-park hotel overlooking Epic Universe. But we’re always willing to admit when wrong or misguided, so in that spirit, we want to revisit our commentary about the upcoming signature resort now that base pricing has been revealed.
Almost all of our critique was premised around the belief that Helios Grand Hotel would be a luxury resort. That it would immediately become Universal Orlando’s flagship hotel, with prices higher than any of the current resorts. We speculated that it would easily eclipse Portofino Bay Hotel, which is currently top dog, with starting prices of $393 per night.
We never made public predictions as to price points (thankfully), but our expectation was that Helios Grand Hotel would rival Walt Disney World park-adjacent hotels in terms of pricing. To be sure, we were not anticipating that Helios Grand Hotel would cost as much as the Grand Floridian from the jump, but in the same ballpark as Walt Disney World’s cheapest park-connected hotels? Sure.
As it turns out, this expectation was very wrong–unless you use the most liberal interpretation of “park-connected” resorts at Walt Disney World. Are Pop Century and Art of Animation park-connected by virtue of their Skyliner access to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios? If so, then Walt Disney World comes out on top–and is still cheaper.
But you and I both well know that’s not what any reasonable person means by park-connected or adjacent. Comparing the Universal’s Epic Universe in-park hotel to Pop Century and deeming them equivalents is like comparing filet mignon to Fancy Feast Filet Mignon flavor. There’s no way to spin this that makes it pass the smell test.
Anyway, Universal Orlando still hasn’t revealed full pricing for Universal Helios Grand Hotel (that’ll come next week), but we do have an idea of starting prices based the hotel comparison tool. Here’s a look:
Before we go anything further, there are a couple important asterisks.
First, the $293 per night cost at Universal Helios Grand Hotel is the starting price. Rates will go up from there.
Second, this is the price for a 4-night or longer stay. It’s safe to assume that shorter duration stays will be more expensive on a per-night basis.
Just for the sake of added context, I searched single-night stays at Portofino Bay for what I’d expect to be off-season and peak season dates, and the range for those 1-night stays in 2025 was $491 to $1,024 for a standard room.
For even more context, I searched single-night stays at Gran Destino Tower in Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort for the exact same off-season and peak season dates, and the range for those 1-night stays in 2024-2025* was $398 to $602 for a standard room. (*I had to search 2024 peak season dates for Gran Destino because 2025 prices for that timeframe aren’t out yet–rates do not materially increase for the rest of 2025, though.)
For the same dates, Grand Floridian is $732 to $1,224. Again, standard room.
Walt Disney World fans who feel compelled to defend the company for whatever reason will likely point to the 1-night rate at the higher end of the spectrum at Portofino Bay. After all, that arguably “proves” that Universal’s starting price is marketing puffery, false advertising, or whatever.
I’d be somewhat receptive to that argument when it comes to Portofino Bay–or even Hard Rock Hotel or Royal Pacific Resort (for those who are wondering, both are over $900 for peak season dates around Christmas 2025). Those rates are extremely expensive, all on par with the most expensive Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World during the same timeframe.
However, I figured that might be attributable to Unlimited Express Pass. Since Walt Disney World doesn’t include Lightning Lane Premier Pass–much less an unlimited incarnation of it–with Deluxe Resort stays, that also isn’t an apples to apples comparison. So I took a look at Universal’s other “Signature Collection” resort that does not offer Unlimited Express Pass for a cleaner comparison.
Sure enough, Sapphire Falls is priced at $451 per night during those peak season dates. Less than half any of the other top-tier options at Universal, and also cheaper than Gran Destino Tower. (No matter how you feel about the other comparisons, there’s little denying that Sapphire Falls and Gran Destino are in the same ballpark, quality-wise.)
From my perspective, the explanation for all of this pricing is pretty simple: Unlimited Express Pass, or the lack thereof, is the key driver of room rates among Signature Collection resorts at Universal Orlando.
This explains why Sapphire Falls is so much cheaper the week between Christmas and New Year’s in late 2025. It also explains why the starting price for Universal Helios Grand Hotel is lower than Portofino Bay. Or, for that matter, why it’s lower than all three of the legacy top-tier hotels.
Now, you could also make the case that Sapphire Falls isn’t as luxurious as Portofino, Hard Rock, or Royal Pacific. That’s fair and accurate. I’m not so sure it’s true of Helios Grand Hotel, though. It arguably is when comparing certain elements of each, but across the board? I don’t think so.
I’m a big fan of all three of those hotels and was highly-critical of Helios Grand Hotel’s reveal.
With that said, I can’t claim that my least favorite of the trio–Royal Pacific–looks better than Helios Grand Hotel across the board. Certainly not to the point that it justifies premium pricing of what appears will be around $50 per night!
This is precisely why I was critical of Helios Grand Hotel in the first place. Even though we knew it wouldn’t include Unlimited Express Pass, I still expected it would be the new flagship at Universal Orlando, likely having a starting point of $100 more than Portofino Bay–not $100 less. That $200 per night swing in expected vs. actual pricing makes me much, much more forgiving.
My bad. I undervalued Unlimited Express Pass and overvalued Helios Grand Hotel’s location overlooking Epic Universe. At least, as compared to Universal Orlando’s valuation of these features. My guess is that the ‘market’ will make an assessment more in line with mine, and Helios Grand Hotel will be very difficult to book.
Speaking of which, if you want the pros to book Helios Grand Hotel for you or to help determine which tickets or packages will work best for your family, we highly recommend requesting a quote from Be Our Guest Vacations, a no-fee Universal Preferred Travel Agency.
Most importantly when it comes to Epic Universe, they’ll wait in the virtual queue or on hold via the telephone so you don’t have to. We don’t know how high demand will be for Epic Universe tickets and packages, but my guess is very high. I’d expect waits online or via the phone once Epic Universe packages go live. Depending upon the dates you want to book Helios Grand Hotel, I could see it being very competitive, filling up fast, and difficult to book–especially at the lower end of the price spectrum.
Just keep in mind that if you want to use a travel agent, the time to submit a quote request is NOW–before October 22, 2024. Don’t wait until tickets & packages go live, realize you’re overwhelmed, and scramble. They’ll already have active clients they’re assisting on launch day!
Turning to commentary, now that the starting rate has been revealed for Universal Helios Grand Hotel–and we can infer rates beyond that based on percentage differences between it, Sapphire Falls and Royal Pacific, I am much more inclined to stay there. In fact, my first impression (or is it second?) of the value proposition is now much more favorable.
Guests staying at Universal Helios Grand Hotel, or any of the other Universal Orlando hotels, receive Early Park Admission to enjoy select attractions at the theme parks, which will expand to include Universal Epic Universe with the park’s opening in 2025. Early Park Admission will offer up to one hour of priority access before the park opens with valid theme park admission.
Honestly, I’m pleasantly surprised here that Early Park Admission is being expanded to Epic Universe. I wouldn’t necessarily have bet on that, and expected that Universal Orlando would instead try to monetize early access in the same way they do at Super Nintendo World in Hollywood. So that is a small victory at the very least–and one that could be incredibly valuable at Epic Universe.
Obviously, location is the other big one. While I’d normally rather be on the main campus of Universal Orlando, I’d prefer the proximity to Epic Universe in 2025. This is because I’m going to spend a disproportionate amount of time there, and think it’s strategically advantageous for Early Entry, midday breaks, and everything else. Longer term, who knows.
For this very same reason, I don’t care a whole lot about Unlimited Express Pass.
We’ve speculated for a while that Helios Grand Hotel wouldn’t offer it or that the other hotels wouldn’t offer it for Epic Universe wouldn’t…or both. This turned out to be accurate. As we’ve discussed previously, Universal Orlando likely regrets the deal they made with Loews to offer Unlimited Express Pass to its Premier Hotels, which is why subsequent hotels (and now parks) haven’t seen that arrangement extended.
Universal would not make the same deal in the 2020s that it did in the late 1990s, which is precisely why Sapphire Falls doesn’t offer Express Pass. Universal Orlando is now already established as a bona fide theme park heavy hitter, and there is no need to dangle such a park to get a commitment from Loews. The hotelier couldn’t get a sweetheart deal this time–it’s Universal with the leverage now.
All of that’s a bit inside baseball, though. From a practical guest perspective, in 2025 I don’t care as much about Unlimited Express Pass because my priority is Epic Universe, which will not have it. The flip side of that is that I’ll care about Unlimited Express Pass less at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
This is both because I’ll be spending less time in those parks during my stay and because I don’t think it’ll be as necessary. Meaning that even with the vacation packages that “force” people to visit the other two parks, I’d bet that the existing gates are not seeing significant spikes in crowds next year.
Of course, I could be wrong about this–but it’s a gamble that I’m personally willing to make because I don’t really care if I’m wrong (been there, done that with the existing parks–they’re not top priorities this go-round). Not only that, but the known upsides of Universal Helios Grand Hotel (lower price + better location) outweigh the downsides, even the potential ones. At least, for me. As always, your circumstances may differ.
I’m also unbothered by the “starting price” or that it’s “based on a 4-night stay” part of the base price. Companies trying to catch your attention with best-case prices isn’t exactly stop-the-presses news. Anyone who has ever watched a Walt Disney World commercial that ends with “vacation starting at $X per person” prices that are comically low should know that!
Sure, Universal Helios Grand Hotel won’t cost $293 for a 1-night stay on New Year’s Eve–it’ll probably be close to double that. But single nights during the off-season shouldn’t be that much more expensive (~$350/night if we extrapolate and adjust from Sapphire Falls).
Beyond all else, I don’t care because a 4-night or longer stay is probably what I’d book at Universal Helios Grand Hotel! If I’m the average tourist booking a hotel in 2025 who is emphasizing Epic Universe, I’m either doing a split stay between Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World, or simply staying at Universal and commuting to Disney.
The on-site perks at Universal are more valuable than the ones at WDW and, at least for now, Universal pricing is still superior. In light of that, a 4-night stay is probably exactly what I’m booking, and that base price isn’t deceptive from my perspective.
Ultimately, given all of this–I want to revise and upgrade my initial assessment of Universal Helios Grand Hotel. As before, the exterior looks to me like the strange love-child of Disney’s Riviera Resort and Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs, but with more artifice and attention to detail so it’s not so boxy.
It’s still not nearly as good as Portofino Bay, which remains the high-water mark for themed resorts at Universal Orlando. With that said, it’s priced closer to Gran Destino Tower than Riviera or Portofino Bay, so it’s perfectly fair for Helios Grand to look like a better version of that.
The pool likewise looks nice, which is not a huge surprise since Universal Creative and Loews have done a fantastic job with pool complexes at many of the existing resorts. It’s probably fair to say that Universal hotels, on average, outdo Disney from the perspective of pools. The pools at Hard Rock and Portofino Bay are my personal favorites, but there are several great ones. (Cabana Bay can be good, but it’s often packed.)
The standard rooms look small and bland, but with the added context that Universal Helios Grand is closer in price to Sapphire Falls than it is Portofino Bay, it now makes complete sense that it would remind me of the former. It looks like Universal wanted to cram as many rooms into as small of a footprint as possible…probably because they did! Universal took the economical and efficient approach–both to building and pricing Helios Grand Hotel–and it’s difficult to argue with that decision!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Surprised by the low prices of Universal Helios Grand Hotel? Were you expected the base price to be higher? Did you think it would be the flagship Universal Orlando hotel, or did you expect this? Will you book Universal Helios Grand Hotel, or stick with one of the existing resorts? Think Epic Universe will be a third gate that’s a worthy addition to Universal Orlando Resort…and potentially on par with Disney’s best lands? Agree or disagree with our assessment that much of the interior looks too similar to Universal’s new lower-tier resorts? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!
I know the standard rooms might look basic but after I watched one of Universals videos where they talked to the creative team over Helios Grand Hotel I realized they really put a lot of thought into the rooms and the hotel. The headboards in the rooms were actually created by an artist. The rooms also have gold accents to represent Helios the God of the Sun. Universal has always been more subtle with their hotel designs. But I do think The Helios Grand Hotel looks beautiful.
I probably will take a staycation to check out Epic Universe, but I may wait until the 2 other new hotels open as they may be cheaper. I’m not hyped up with excitement about Epic Universe even though I’ve been a big theme park fan for years & years, mostly because none of the lands are themed to any of my fandoms or interests. I’ve never watched a Harry Potter movie or read a Harry Potter book. Not a gamer so not looking forward to the Super Nintendo land. Horror is one of my least favorite genres so Dark Universe isn’t up my alley, either. I haven’t watched any of the “How to Train Your Dragon” movies. I have enjoyed some of the Potter rides at the preexisting Harry Potter lands at the other 2 Universal parks in their own right, so I’m hoping I’ll enjoy some of Epic Universe’s rides regardless of lack of familiarity with the fandoms they’re based on. But I’m also getting older and my body’s less suited for intense rides, and Universal Parks fail to provide many mild alternative experiences for those who aren’t thrill seekers, unlike Disney which has plenty of easy going rides & also shows like Tiki Room & Country Bears.
Stella Nova and Terra Luna will be opening on 1/21/2025 and 2/25/2025 respectively. The base prices have already been revealed. They are considered “Prime Value” hotels (the other one in that category being Aventura). The prices start at $134 a night, so less than half of Helios Grand.
I think part of the reasoning for the lower price is tied to the ticketing strategy they will utilize. If you are only getting one day at Epic and having to get a multi day pass for the other parks, the convenience of being next to Epic is lessened and you are having to bus or otherwise travel to the other parks on all the other days.
Late to the party on this, Carl, but I 100% agree. Even if you are buying a 5 day ticket package, you can only get 1 day at Epic. So the stay at Helios for that one day is great, but then you have to schlep it to the other parks and not get an express pass. And I think CityWalk is a benefit of staying at the original resort. I’d say that staying at a hotel with an express pass, I can get just as much done in 3 days.
Contemporary resort costs $800 night during December for non club level. Universal sounds like a bargain to me! We would plan to do a split stay visiting universal. 2 nights at helios and 4 nights at Hard rock. Go one night to MVMCP while staying at helios since can only do epic one day. This will still be cheaper than our Disney Vacation this year!
I stay at portofino or Hardrock planning a trip in fall probably do 4 at the ones with fast passes and do 4 at Helios split it up
I am little surprised at the pushback about you calling this hotel “cheap”. It is cheap by any nice vacation standards. Heck, have these people seen what it costs to stay in a Holiday Inn/Hampton Inn along 95?. Finding a nice hotel room for less than $150 anywhere nowadays is pretty much impossible unless you go out of the way to travel non peak/non-holiday/non-weekends etc. Most decent rooms are easily $200-250. And luxury places are $500 plus easy. In someways I feel like Disney/Universal have not been raising room fees as fast as other places. Likely because hotel rooms also enable other income sources at the resorts.
People want to go back to prices a decade ago, or wherever their mind is anchored. I get this. On an emotional or “worth it” level, I feel the same way. But oddly enough, you never hear anyone say that they want to revert to their income from a decade ago.
People blame higher prices on externalities, while attributing their personal wage gains to their own hard work. The obvious reality is that they’re interconnected.
in what world do we live in that this is cheap. the reason prices continue to rise is because people continue to pay. when you stop paying for these things and products you will see the price come down. it is time to stop being stupid and take a stand.
Take a stand if you so desire, but nothing is changing. The world is not going back to 2019 or 2009 prices absent a recession, which would have devastating consequences for reasons that should be obvious. The causes of inflation are multifaceted, but the big ones are the monetary supply and fiscal policy–and there’s no unringing those bells.
In other words, there are reasons why people are paying more for things. It’s not simply irrational behavior.
You’re allowed to do so. Not everyone is on the same budget though. This is cheap considering what we paid for Portofino two summers ago. And the Disneyland Hotel last November.
I do not think cheap means what you think it means.
It’s all relative. When it comes to an in-park hotel overlooking a brand-new theme park, this is cheap.
Someone might claim a Rolls-Royce being sold for $40k isn’t cheap since they could get another car for less, but in a more equivalent comparison, it is. To each their own, though.
“When it comes to an in-park hotel overlooking a brand-new theme park, this is cheap.”
One thing to remember is that half of those rooms will NOT be overlooking the park. They will have a beautiful view of the Lockheed Martin plant and West Sand Lake Road. In fact you just know that they’ll use the $300 as a basic rate, with more for “park facing” rooms. Still not a bad price, and of course everyone will have access to all the amenities and to that coveted private entrance directly in to the park.
Universal states in their FAQ in the explore tickets portion of the EU release:
“Q: Are there Express Pass products available for Universal Epic Universe?
A: Express Passes for Universal Epic Universe will be launched at a later date before the park opens. More details will be announced closer to the launch of these products.”
It seems like they WILL be offering Express Pass at EU, just not immediately. It also seems like they don’t offer that perk at Helios because it would be impossible to book for the next decade. This ensures reservations at their more expensive hotels as people are drawn to them for the Express Pass.
Those will be Express Passes to purchase, not that are included with hotel stays at the original three.
Given how much the rack rates for existing hotels are due to increase by this time next year, and the fact that Helios got placed in the top tier … I understand how we did not see this coming. (It’s closer in price to Sapphire Falls than Portofino Bay, for crying out loud!)
Great analysis Tom! No surprise there. Loved the filet comparison!
Excellent news. I’m with you in planning on booking this hotel without tickets (for November 2025) and waiting and hoping I can get more than 1 day tickets for Epic Universe at that point. Having never been to Universal before do you think it’s worth a split stay with Portofino for the Express pass? My kids are in elementary school and won’t be doing the large thrill rides.
“My kids are in elementary school and won’t be doing the large thrill rides.”
Given this, no, it’s probably not worth the hassle of switching hotels.
You could always hedge your bets by taking advantage of early entry, though!
Great idea! Thanks for your thoughts. Really value them.
My wife and I took our extended family to WDW and UOR in mid-April and again in early December 2023. in the Spring we stayed at Royal Pacific and in the late Fall at Portofino Bay. I would never bother to stay at Portifino again. Theme aside, it was very tired looking and in desperate need of a lot of TLC. It was also difficult to walk around – lots of levels, stairs and disjointed pathways. With the new hotel being lower in price and newer in every way, expect a lot of vacancy at Portofino…and filled rooms at Helios.
“It was also difficult to walk around – lots of levels, stairs and disjointed pathways.”
It’s interesting that you list this as a complaint, as the sense of exploration and layered design are big reasons I love Portofino Bay. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.
With that said, I nevertheless agree with your overall point. Proximity to Epic Universe and that new hotel smell will trump all else.
We went to Portofino in 2022 and it was really tired then. I was quite suprised how positive some coverage of it is. I suppose to be fair to Universal/Loewes it’s so large that it’s a maintenance nightmare but looked very worn in parts.
For balance we also stayed Club at Yacht and the communal corridors were in really shabby condition. No other ‘real world’ hotel at that price point would have corridors that dark and tired!
I tend to agree with your theory that guests will place a high value on Helios’ location and it’ll become tough to book. So while they’ll be locked into the rack rates on this initial release, my guess is that going forward, these prices will take a hike and we’ll see the Grand Floridian pricing in a year or two. So definitely good to get in now while it’s affordable!
I was literally just playing around on the “compare hotels” tool and Helios is showing an opening date for me. No starting prices. I wonder if they pulled it down since this post was written?? Or something else?
Regardless, I hope this is accurate because my initial assessment is VERY much in line with yours, Tom. I too expected Helios to cost more than Portofino Bay, which didn’t seem justifiable to me for so-so looking rooms and no Express Pass. But if it’s actually less … that’s a different story!
I think the price got removed and replaced with the date. I only see the date on both the mobile and desktop website. So, who knows if the price is correct or not.
Tom, does this new info change your views on how aggressive Universal will be with their pricing going forward? Or do you still think the increased demand of Epic Universe will embolden them to increase their hotel prices by a significant amount?
I need to make a meme that says, “we’re talkin’ bout Comcast, not some company that loves consumers…COMCAST!” (nod to this great Allen Iverson rant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDBR2L5kzI)
C’mon, it’s Comcast. They’re going to push prices as high as demand will allow. It might be slower than I expect (it already is, in fact) but it will happen.
A huge downside to staying 4 nights at Helios in 2025 for most tourists is the fact that your ticket package only allows one day at Epic Universe.
I will be interested to see whether room splits will be an effective strategy once Epic Universe opens up. The free Express Passes are an enormous benefit to staying at Portofino, certainly worth the price of entry for a family of 4. That said, for days spent at Epic Universe this will be a waste and even with a parkhopper ticket will it even make sense to hop between Epic and other parks once the restriction lifts. There’s enough to see and do at Epic to always keep it its own day(s) by the looks of it, whereas IoA and Universal Studios bleed together as one big park in my brain. Will there be sufficient demand at first to warrant 4 nights at Helios even if you only spend 1 day at Epic Universe? I mean…yeah probably, at least at first.
“Will there be sufficient demand at first to warrant 4 nights at Helios even if you only spend 1 day at Epic Universe?”
I get what you’re saying before this, but if I’m staying at Helios, I’m doing 2 days at Epic Universe.
I know that’s not what the packages offer, but I wouldn’t book those. To each their own, though. (Totally agree about IoA/USF bleeding together as one park. It’s similar to DL/DCA.)
Randomly, any thoughts how this hotel compares to Tokyo Fantasy Springs hotel? Both new in-park hotels accessing the latest land/park, albeit different continents.
Well, I wouldn’t expect this to have any Toy Story characters inside, if that’s what you’re asking. 😉
Frustratingly, TSH does not have direct park access–despite the entrance being *right there.* This is something I will rant about at length in our upcoming review, so stay tuned for that.
TSH does punch above its weight, though, so there’s that.
Thanks – I was asking about the connected Fantasy Spring Hotel, which I know was your least favorite part of FS, but I’m curious how it compares to Universal’s offering. For Toy Story hotel I can definitely see the frustration of having to take the (paid!) monorail all the way around to the front instead of just walking into the park through the FS hotel.
Oh jeez–I don’t know how I read that as Toy Story Hotel. My apologies.
Helios looks quite different from Fantasy Springs Hotel from a stylistic perspective, but it seems like both ideas sprang from the same general desire–significantly increase the room count in a park-adjacent hotel. Both very much feel like products of the same era, even if they look different, are by different companies, and are on different continents.
“Gran Destino Tower in Disney’s Contemporary Resort” ???
Umm …
To paraphrase a Monsters Laugh Floor joke (about the Eiffel Tower): “When’s the last time you were at Gran Destino Tower? … They moved it.”
In all seriousness, thanks for the catch and heads up.