Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites ACROSS FROM UNIVERSAL ORLANDO

I booked this trip to take my boyfriend to his favorite singer's concert as well as for an extended getaway. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and Suites for three nights. We are a mid 20's couple. We arrived at the hotel in the early evening. We were greeted at the front desk by very friendly and polite staff. They were exceptionally helpful and checked us in very quickly. At the guest services desk, Paul was extremley helpful with providing information on great resturants, things to do and the best way to get around town. He provided us coupons for different places which was really nice. He was very friendly and we really appreciated his help! The guest services desk does offer discounted park tickets. We went to our room on the 10th floor. We reserved a king suite, non-smoking. Our room was very well decorated with a modern taste. Along with the very comfy king bed was a nice desk, couch, two chairs for additional seating, a dresser, flat panel TV and a mini fridge. The room was much larger than I have experienced with other hotels, so we were very pleased. The pillows were given a soft or firm ribbon which I thought was a nice touch-I hate guessing! The bathroom was very nice, had a granite counter top and a nice vanity for storage. The shower had a curved rod so the shower felt much roomier. The towels were hotel towels-a little on the stiff side but I expected that. We really enjoyed the TGI Friday's onsite. Our waiter, Geo, was exceptional. Extremely friendly and outgoing, very prompt service. We returned for dinner or drinks and dessert on two more occasions because of his great service. On our last morning, we had room service for breakfast which arrived on time and was very good. We didn't have any issues with cleanlieness what so ever, our room was spotless. I can't comment on the maid service because we never had them come in to clean up our room. I found the location ideal because of our plans for the weekend. This hotel is literally steps to universal studios and there is an I-Ride stop right in front of the hotel. You can buy ride all day passes at the guest services counter...we found this mode of transportation very easy and we were able to get around to a lot of different places quickly. The hotel did offer a free shuttle to Seaworld and Universal Studios. I can not comment on any other parks as we did not go to those ones. The shuttle was on time with friendly service. I can vouch that the pictures are really what the hotel looks like. I was nervous when I booked this trip, but when we arrived I was very happy that it was exactly as pictured. I would without a doubt stay here again! This hotel boasts great decor, staff, cleanliness and amenities for the price! Can't be beat!

Good experience, nice to have TGIF next door serving breakfast buffet everyday, nice suite layout and very helpful staff. Negatives were that we had to go down to front desk 2 times in 5 days to get towels, we knew we booked a kitchen but were disappointed that it had no cooktop or oven - not even a toaster oven, trash can in kitchen was quite small - good thing we brought our own trash bags. Also, we were disappointed that we had to pay $.25/minute to use hotel computers especially to print out boarding passes and pay ahead for luggage.

Couldn't have asked for a nicer surprise. The room was fantastic!

Good location. Clean rooms. Beds are a little smaller than regular queen size.

We really enjoyed the room and the staff was very friendly.

they did not have good shuttle service, we had to take a cab cause there shuttle service came only one time a day the hotel room was not very clean at all had to call up everyday to get our towels.eventhough we were at the main gate of universal we still would have liked to have shuttle service especially for seaworld. I would not recommend this hotel.

The closeness of this hotel to universal is great but the hot hallways and falling apart rooms makes it not worth it and also I personally don't like when the put you on a floor they are remodeling and all you can smell chemicals and which it makes it very dangerous and not to mention I came home sick from it and just now a week later getting better. So never agian for the hotel or should I say dump

near Universal area. walked across street and reached universal in less than 10 minutes. other than being near Universal, hotel does not provide a difference. Plastic glass for drinks. minibar completely empty.

My family and I traveled to Orlando to visit Universal Theme park and Islands of Adventure. I chose this hotel because of location and great reviews. I must say I was absolutely satisfied! The hotel front desk was very friendly and personable. Upon checking in we received a free upgrade from a one bedroom suite to a two bedroom suite which was great for my husband and I and our two kids ages 18 and 5. You have a choice to take the shuttle which is free from the hotel to the theme park, or a cab which will cost you around $5 to $8 dollars which isn't bad at all. You can also walk there from the hotel but with how hot it is, I would advise not to. The house keeping staff was great. We had a lady by the name of [...]and she was awesome! Kudos to her! The rooms are spacious and clean, a laundry room and fitness room and TGI Fridays is on site as well. The two pools outside were great especially the kiddie pool. Our son couldn't get enough of it. Also if you love to shop, the outlets are about 5 minutes from the hotel on International. The location and price of this hotel is great. I will highly recommend this hotel to all families and those on a budget. The only complaint I would have about this hotel is that a few games didn't work in the game room and the free wi-fi was extremely slow. Other than that, everything was great and will definitely stay there again next time visiting Orlando.

Great hotel for the price. Close enough to Universal to walk but I would not!! It's actually about a mile and you have to cross the highway...not a good idea with kids and after a long day, who wants to walk back to the hotel? Plan to take the shuttle or drive. The shuttle leaves 4x per day so make sure you reserve your spot. I would recommend!