Cabana Bay Beach Resort is a value hotel at Universal Orlando Resort. As one of the better-priced on-site options, you might be wondering whether this hotel really shines, or does 50s and 60s “retro style” wind up being more “50s and 60s roadside motel” style? No worries—this one is a winner. Read on to learn about our visit to Cabana Bay Beach Resort!
Cabana Bay Beach Resort Basics
Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort is a “value” resort located adjacent to Universal’s Volcano Bay Water Theme Park. It’s also located right across the street from “prime value” resort Aventura Hotel.
Universal’s tier distinctions are pretty messy, in my opinion, and I can’t see why Cabana Bay is “value” but Aventura is “prime value.” They’re both good hotels, and the main difference is theme. Cabana Bay is has a more “beach resort” theme while Aventura has a more traditional, somewhat plain, hotel theme. Anyways, we’ve separately reviewed Aventura Hotel here.
Rack rates for standard rooms at Cabana Bay start at around $163 per night, and that includes tax. That’s based on a 4-night stay, so shorter stays should expect nightly rates a little higher than that. And that’s a starting point, so you can expect high season to have higher prices. In any case, it’s a great place to start if you’re trying to keep down the cost of your Universal Orlando trip while still keeping some notable quality.
This is about $50 more than the cheapest hotels at Universal—the Endless Summer resorts. I haven’t had a chance (or reason) to stay at Endless Summer, but I can say that I found Cabana Bay to be a great option at its price point. With walking paths to CityWalk (and thus two theme parks) plus Volcano Bay adjacency, I’d pretty much always opt for Cabana Bay over Endless Summer.
Staying at Cabana Bay, you get several perks as a Universal hotel guest. The main benefit is Early Theme Park Admission, allowing you early access to at least one park each day. Note that Cabana Bay is not one of the hotels that gets Universal Express Pass Unlimited. You can read more about Express Pass here—including our analysis of when it makes sense to upgrade your hotel for the sake of that perk. We also have a Guide to the Hotels of Universal Orlando Resort if you’d like to review all your hotel options.
As noted above, Cabana Bay is connected to both CityWalk and Volcano Bay by walking path. It took us about 20 minutes to get to CityWalk, while the walk to Volcano Bay is about five minutes. To get to Epic Universe, you’ll have to take a bus.
Booking, Arrival, and Check-In
We booked Cabana Bay as part of a room and ticket package. This particular trip was a little complex in terms of stay length / ticket length. Generally, I recommend booking Universal hotels directly through Universal’s website or with the help of a travel advisor. If you’re interested in booking Cabana Bay, we suggest contacting our go-to travel advisor, Lauren Quirk of Travel With Character LLC, who also booked this trip for us, about the nights you’re interested in. (You can read more about planning a Universal Orlando trip here.)
Universal has some basic online check-in functionality, but it’s not as thorough as Disney’s system and I just opt not to use it. There was a short wait when we arrived just after noon, but Zoe and Emily were able to explore a bit while I waited. Happily, a room was available despite our early arrival. I’ll get to the room in a bit, but first let’s look around the hotel itself.
Cabana Bay Grounds
We were pretty heavily focused on the parks this trip so we didn’t get to fully avail ourselves of the resort’s amenities, but we can still talk through some major items.
Cabana Bay Beach Resort Pools
Cabana Bay consists of a central building that houses the lobby and main amenities (fitness center, arcade, store, help desks, etc.) with courtyards on two sides.
One side is the “Lazy River side,” and the buildings sit around the pool complex that includes the lazy river. The other side is the “Cabana side,” and the buildings sit around the other pool complex. The Lazy River side is on the side of Volcano Bay, and you can even see that park’s iconic Krakatau Volcano from the pool area:
We had no problems finding seating at the pool areas the few times we visited. Each side has a pool bar, too (The Hideaway, on the Lazy River side, and Atomic Tonic, on the Cabana site).
Cabana Bay Beach Resort Dining
Inside the main lobby building, you’ll also find the Bayline Diner, the main, cafeteria-style dining option at Cabana Bay. I am a noted fan of cafeteria style dining at so-called “value” resorts, and this is no different. As my saying goes—when I get back from a theme park after a day of touring, I don’t need a steak dinner in 40 minutes, I need a burger right now.
Bayline Diner’s standard hours of 7AM to 11PM are pretty good for a theme park day. Personally, I like to see 6:30AM so I can make a clean exit for the parks by 7AM, but that’s a rarity at any theme park hotel.
We were happy with the food quality and variety, which included deli, pizza, pasta, international, burger, and grill options. If you’d like to add some fun to your meal, you can also eat and bowl at Galaxy Bowl on the second floor of the main building.
Last but not least, you’ll also find a Starbucks on-site (this line did get quite long):
Transportation at Cabana Bay Resort
As noted above, Cabana Bay is connected by walking path to Volcano Bay and CityWalk. All guests for Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure go through CityWalk, and the walking path puts you closer than buses will.
At 20 minutes, it isn’t a short walk. But once you get off the bus at CityWalk you still have a few minutes’ walk to the parks. Plus you’ll probably be walking all day. I don’t think there’s great reason to ever prefer the bus here, but surely some will disagree. (Okay, maybe the walk back, after midnight, from Halloween Horror Nights, was a little eerie.)
Walking paths are ideal for rope drop, as you can guarantee you’ll be one of the first people in line if you go early enough. You don’t want to be stuck waiting for a bus if getting on Hagrid’s is key to starting your day off right. The path are also particularly handy on a short trip, when time and control over your day are precious.
There’s definitely no reason to try to take a bus to Volcano Bay (I’m not sure one is ever even available). Once Epic Universe opens, your only option to get there will be by bus.
Our Room at Cabana Bay Beach Resort
Similar to Art of Animation at Disney World, I think Cabana Bay Beach is more known for its suites (which, at Cabana Bay, and unlike at Art of Animation, are very reasonably priced). We didn’t stay in a suite, instead opting for a Volcano Bay View Standard Room. Rooms wiht views of Volcano Bay come at a $20-$30 premium over standard rooms. Seem like a great deal for a great view? Yea, we’ll get to that in a second…
Overall we very much enjoyed this room. Back before Disney got its value resorts refurbished, the functionality of Cabana Bay was way ahead of Disney’s rooms. But even with Disney’s value resorts being upgraded in recent years, I’d now say that the design / theming of Cabana Bay has the edge. These are fun rooms.
I’m still not a fan of carpets in hotel room. Particularly at hotels that cater to families. Particularly at hotels that cater to families who are trudging in and out of pools, beaches, and theme parks in 100-degree and rainy weather. But I can’t win ‘em all.
I’m always a fan of separating the toilet from the vanity, though the best layout will also separate it from the shower (personally, I think [shower + vanity] separated from [toilet] is the best option, but maybe different privacy-priorities dictate different layouts).
I do wish the bathtub felt a little less into the “motel” theme. It’s just so…unappealing. But it’s a tub, and I’m being nitpicky at this point.
Finally, the view. Here was the view.
I’m not disappointed too often—I set pretty low expectations generally—but I was disappointed with this view.
The problem here is mostly the low floor. You can go on Google or YouTube and find some absolutely stunning views of Volcano Bay from inside Cabana Bay Beach Resort rooms. I don’t mind looking across a street or some off-stage areas, but c’mon. I’d like to be able to really see the park—not just an icon poking its head over some buildings. The Cabana Bay towers are actually a feature of the view from the Volcano Bay pool, too:
Most hotels will never have enough room category breakdown for me. I’m the person who spends an extra 30-minutes buying theater / sports tickets because I’m comparing and evaluating every option on View from My Seat. The technology exists for guests to pre-select their own hotel rooms. I wish Disney and Universal would hop onboard. (Admittedly, the downside is that savvy guests will always wind up with the best rooms, while casual guests will be robbed of the “wow” moments the TV ads used to hook them in the first place. Of course, you fix this just by not opening all rooms for pre-selections. Anyways…)
Cabana Bay Beach Resort - Conclusions
Look, first thing’s first—I was disappointed with that view. As a first-time guest at the hotel, that was a sour pill to swallow. But now I know. And you know too. So with expectations for a specific view corrected a bit—how do I feel about Cabana Bay Beach Resort? Great!
I loved this resort. I loved the theme. I loved the service (I didn’t mention it yet, but I continue to be blown away by the quality of guest interaction throughout Universal, particularly at hotels). I loved being able to walk to CityWalk and Volcano Bay. I liked the room, other than the view.
And Cabana Bay just doesn’t cost that much. This is—of course—coming from the perspective of someone who mostly writes about Disney hotels, where the price to be able to walk to two parks starts at around $500 per night. But with rates starting around or below $150 when you can snag a deal, this is just a fantastic option for a theme park resort vacation. If I didn’t have a bunch of other Universal hotels to check out, I’d definitely be booking Cabana Bay for my next trip.
All Your Other Universal Orlando Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Universal Orlando planning! Take a second to check out our most important content!
Just starting out? Start with our Universal Orlando Resort planning guide! If you’re considering a Universal hotel, read our Review of Universal’s Aventura Hotel!
You’ll want to know what rides the parks offer, so we’ve got a Universal Studios Florida Rides Guide and a Universal’s Islands of Adventure Rides Guide. And to know how to get on them without the long waits, read all about Express Pass at Universal Orlando Resort.
If you’d like an idea of how to plan a day at these parks, we can help there, too. Our One Day Universal Studios Florida Itinerary covers a full day at the original park, and our Universal’s Islands of Adventure One Day Plan covers that park.
Early risers always have the best theme parks days (well, we think so). Read about Early Park Admission at Universal Orlando to learn how to get an extra hour in the parks. And read about rope drop at Islands of Adventure, including getting on the brand new Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.