Hotel Hopping | How to Stretch Your Perk Dollars By Staying At Two Hotels
Universal Orlando has so many amazing on-site hotels who wouldn’t want to try them all? They are all gorgeous, with different experiences at each. Each hotel has a different “energy.” And which one is your favorite will depend on your individual taste, but as much as the lush surroundings (and all their hotels are well themed), what I love about staying on-site is the energy of the other hotel guests.
(Be sure to read 15 Things You Need to Know About Staying at Universal Orlando On Site Hotels)
Maybe I still have too much child-like wonder myself, but I like to be around excited people when I visit theme parks. I love to hear guests of all ages “ooh” and “aah” just as much as me. And because of this, my current favorite hotel is Cabana Bay. It’s themed as a retro beach getaway and everyone there always seems super excited to be there. And no, not in a keep you up all night partying way, but there’s a definite excitement energy at every turn. Hands down, my favorite hotel. And the short walk to Volcano Bay is an extra bonus.
Why Hotel Hopping?
The downside to my favorite hotel is that it does not come with Express Pass. On one trip, we bought a ticket combo with Express Pass included. It ran us into the price range of some of the more luxury on-site hotels, but I didn’t care. The hotel is just that nice. Then, we bought season passes, and for all their perks, just don’t currently have an economical option for adding Express Passes.
That was when I had the “A-HA” moment.…. We had always wanted to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel.
What if we became Hotel Hoppers and stayed at BOTH the Hard Rock and Cabana Bay in the same trip?
Great idea that worked in reality as well as my plan.
Hotel Hopping and Express Pass
See, for those of you who don’t know, three (3) on-site hotels (Portofino Bay, Royal Pacific and Hard Rock) give you unlimited Express Passes (for up to 5 people) for each day of your stay. The other hotels do not. That’s EACH day of your stay.
So, if you check in late Monday afternoon and check out on Wednesday, your Express Pass is good for all open theme park hours Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday!
Curious about Express Passes? Be sure to read: Say Yes to the Express | Why Universal Express Pass Is Worth It
How to be a Hotel Hopper
To be a Hotel Hopper, you just book 2 on-site hotels for the same trip!
In my example above, we stayed first at the Hard Rock (with free Express Passes) checking in on Monday and checking out on Wednesday. That’s paying for 2 nights but we got 3 days of Express Passes. Then on Wednesday we checked out of Hard Rock, enjoyed a day in the park and checked into Cabana Bay that afternoon. We enjoyed the Express Passes that evening, and then on Thursday (the day we didn’t have Express Passes), we went to Volcano Bay (which the Express Passes don’t cover).
Win-win!
It made the trip so enjoyable! Not only did we save money and see two hotels, but I couldn’t have picked a better way to enjoy Universal Orlando.
It’s budget friendly and the best way to enjoy everything especially if your family has trouble choosing a hotel – you’ll have twice the chance to make more of them happy.
Packing and re-packing wasn’t much of chore. We simply had a suitcase planned for each hotel. There’s always some overlap with medications, make-up and the like, but it really wasn’t bad at all.
Hotel Hopping allowed us to maximize all the perks of two hotels while staying within our trip budget.
HOTEL HOPPING IN A NUTSHELL
If you are planning a 3 night/4 day stay, here’s how you do it:
DAY 1 – Arrive early and check-in/pre-check-in to an Express Pass Hotel (Portofino Bay, Hard Rock, or Royal Pacific). You will have Express Pass all hours the theme parks are open.
DAY 2 – Enjoy the parks with your Express Passes.
DAY 3 – Check out of Express Pass Hotel. Use Express Pass all open theme park hours. At your leisure, check in (or pre-check in) to non-express pass hotel.
DAY 4 – Check out of non-express pass hotel. Store luggage and enjoy a day at Volcano Bay, the parks without express pass, or head home.
That’s 3 days of Express Pass paying only 2 nights at a more expensive hotel!
PRE-CHECK IN
Did you know – While the on-site hotels generally have afternoon check-in times, you can get there at sunrise if you like and pre-check in. This will give you any Express Passes and you can safely store your luggage in the hotel. Cool service that lets you maximize your vacation fun. Most hotels just send you a text when your room is ready.
HOTEL SAVINGS
Hotel Hopping at Universal Orlando Resort for a 4 day trip saves us roughly $400 for a 3 night/4 day trip. The math, of course, will depend on how many are in your party. It will also depend on the cost of Express Pass at the time you go (prices vary depending on timing of trip).
MIX OF AMENITIES IS ALSO A PERK
Being able to have a mix of different hotel amenities is a perk of hotel hopping that cannot be underestimated. Maybe you want to do most of your heaviest park days while staying at the Premier Hotel so you have access to water taxis those days and use the value hotel for low key pool days or Volcano Bay days.
Your feet will thank you.
Or maybe you want to slip in a spa day and want to stay at Portofino Bay for ease of convenience to your room after your relaxing massage or facial. But then want to just step our your door another day for some pool side fun. Hotel hopping allows you to be conveniently located to all your choices.
DIFFERENT HOTELS APPEAL TO DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES
Sometimes, the heart wants what the heart wants. And sometimes your fellow travelers have different ideas as to what that is. Hotel hopping at Universal Orlando Resorts can make everyone happy in the same trip. Indeed, it can be like two Universal vacations in one. Maybe you can’t please everybody but by staying at two hotels in one trip, chances are you can come closer than not.
Now that you know how to hotel hop, the bigger decision awaits. Which two hotels will you choose?
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