Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort

The hotel was great for what you pay, they do not provide anything that you don't pay extra for. With no breakfast, even a donut, the only place to buy food downstairs was not cheap. Too bad.

Good location. Helpfully staff. Look forward to staying again.

The service is spectacular. Rooms are spacious and clean. I wish they had free wi-fi.

My family of five checked in for overnight (2 adults, 1 grandma and two teens) primarily to get the fastpass access to Universal IoA rides including the early entry to Harry Potter (you now get the fastpass from when you check in to the end of the day afterwards with a special photocard) and to park the car (for free) for that day without having to pay for extra parking at the park. We actually went to Universal Studios the day before without a fastpass because it was really quiet. We had previously been to the Royal Pacific Hotel - one of the sister hotels to this one - but we wanted to see how much better the Hard Rock was. The theming is excellent from the off. A sweeping drive culminating in a fountain of metal guitars just outside the main lobby makes you feel as if you've arrived at a rock star's home. The lobby was spacious with some interesting memorabilia displayed well. Check in was quick and efficient (although I received some incorrect advice from the staff about a discount booklet). The rooms were bright and spacious with nice artwork on the walls. Because it was unseasonably hot for February we all used the pool too. Again, nicely themed, very large with lots of sunbeds and palm trees. Unfortunately the vaunted 'underwater sound system' didn't seem to be working, which was a bit of a shame. We used the boat to get to the park and saw the fireworks the previous night but we didn't eat at the hotel so I can't comment on the restaurants. We then took advantage of early entry to Harry Potter the next morning. I had decided not to have breakfast at the hotel thinking we could grab and go at Citywalk but nothing was open at 7.30 so we had to wait until we were in the park at 8. So, it was a good experience but we all (unanimously) preferred the Royal Pacific Hotel for its pool and even the theming. My daughter went as far to say the Hard Rock's decor was 'a bit tacky', which wasn't the case at the Royal Pacific. I would say (although this is just my opinion) that the rooms in the Hard Rock were perhaps slightly bigger but you're there for such a short time that it doesn't really matter. So I'm glad that we have seen both hotels but when we come back it will be to the Royal Pacific.

Everything was exrtra. Room came with a refrig, only problem, it was full of hotel stuff that was way over priced. ie. $8.00 for a bottle of water. We were told we could RENT a refrig. if we wanted. We rented two rooms, one had a piece of broken glass under the bathroom sink and we mentioned it to the housekeeping person, it was still there five days later when we checked out. May have been a communication (language) error.

Cannot get better, fantastic location, Universal express access pass included (a huge added value), and as my daughter said, just "cool" hotel. Within walking distance from Universal, and indeed an enjoyable short walk. Coffee at the coffee shop was inexpensive and high quality (though the complimentary coffee in the room was excellent as well, enough to get started ;). We love it. We would certainly considering returning...or explore another Hard Rock Hotel in another fun location?

The location was just excellent. It is the closest hotel to Universal parks which gave the flexibility for going backwards and forwards to the hotel in the course of the day for any member of the family who wished to do so. The room keys which allow you to jump queues made all the difference in the world. We were in a club room on the 7th floor which provides happy hour finger food and drinks, deserts later on and a continental breakfast to guests on that floor. All the staff were very friendly and helpful. We have stayed in other good hotels in Orlando before and I wondered about the wisdom of the price difference before we went, but I think it was well worth it.

The hotel was clean, I loved the location. We had very little interaction with anyone within the hotel. I was disappointed with the individual that checked us in. He gave us our rooms cards and said.. there you go. He did not offer any assistance as far as.. elevators are to the left.. etc... he told us nothing at all.

I came down here with my girlfriend and knew I was going to propose to her, I just didn't know where or how I was going to do it. When I was checking in, I brought it up to Kristen (who was checking me in) and she immediately started helping me get everything situated. She had a genuine, true interest in helping me make this a memorable experience, I felt it right away. She got a few other people involved and then took me over to the concierge desk, where they took over. They had the same caring attitude and approach - I literally felt like they knew me for years and were just doing everything they could to make me happy. They walked me out to the butterfly garden, which was gorgeous, and told me they would set up candles and champagne for me. The whole thing sounded great, so I just walked her down to dinner and took the slight detour, not knowing exactly what to expect. Then we saw the candlelight path leading into the garden area, where there was a bottle of champagne waiting for us under the arbor. It was perfect. I sat her down and pulled out the ring...she was in complete shock and awe, it was incredible! The concierge supervisor, Lee, was there to get pictures and video of the whole thing. He even kept the entire garden area off limits so we could sit and have a few glasses of champagne without being disturbed. True to his word, Lee emailed later that night with 22 pictures that perfectly captured the moment. I could not have been any happier with the entire thing, especially considering they had no obligation to do anything for me, and they didn't charge me anything extra!!! AMAZING!!! After we got settled down, we went to dinner at the Palm, where the concierge had called and made a special reservation for us. When we got to our table there were already 2 shots waiting for us (Jager & JD), with a congratulatory card that was signed by the entire Palms staff. I had only mentioned the type of shots we liked in passing to one of the concierge staff, so I was really impressed with this little treat. The meal to follow was expensive, but well worth it - my fiancee got the crab cakes and I got the NY Strip. My steak was definitely top 3 on my best ever list. The ONLY part about the hotel that I was extremely unhappy about was that they do not have free wireless internet. I had to do quite a bit of work on my laptop while I was there, so this was an extremely big inconvenience. I sucked it up and paid the $9.95 for one day of access, only to be even more disappointed. Not only is it SOOOO SLOW (as in unbearable, couldn't do my work), but it's PER COMPUTER/DEVICE. I had an Apple store of devices with us - 2 Macbooks, 2 iPhones, and an iPad. That would literally be $50 p/day for Wireless...and I can't stress to you how slow this was, it was worse than dial-up at times. I didn't have time to wait, so I decided to just use my Verizon 4G JetPack the entire trip. It allowed me to get all of my work done, but I had to up my data plan substantially, which was not cheap. Overall, we couldn't be happier with this trip because the one complaint I have is definitely a convenience that all hotels SHOULD provide, but it's not a deal-breaker. We will be returning to Orlando in the future, and we will absolutely be going back to the Hard Rock. Even aside from my proposal, the entire hotel staff was the nicest I've ever come across. It was incredible. If they add free, legitimate Wi-Fi access, it will be PERFECT...but even without it, I give it 5 stars and highly recommend this to everyone - romantic or family. I LOVE YOU HARD ROCK STAFF!!!

I gave all the star ratings a good number, the thing that wasn't included was room location. This is a large hotel with only ONE section of elevators. After walking all day in the parks, walking another 200 steps from the elevator to the room was ridiculous. They need a set of elevators on each end of this hotel! Other than that, it was great. Don't bother with the All Access card, we didn't get ANY perks with it.