Decent room but some drawbacks

Clean, fresh, spacious room. Decent location - short walk to Universal Blvd. to catch the trolley or for restuarnt options. The staff were generally young and inexperienced, but tried hard. A gem is the tall guy at the bellstand -- he knew more than the travel concierges about restaurant suggestions, getting around, etc. Still, I booked the Club Level, and had the ASK the staff at check-in if there were any special amenities that went along with this room level, i.e. I never would have known there was a Club lounge if I hadn't asked.

Save your money rather than book the Club level. You still have to pay for a chitzy glass of wine; the complimentary continental breakfast is only okay; and the Club room is closed on the weekends.

I tried the restaurant for breakfast, and advise against it unless you are satisfied with really mediocre food. The coffee was horrid (PLEASE get a Starbuck's) and the waffle was the driest thing I've ever been served, with the stingiest little stripe of whipped cream I've ever been served. Maybe they are trying to push guests toward the breakfast buffet? Even so, the pastry looked mediocre.

Book closer to the Convention Center if you need business there. The cabs get expensive, and many seem to have their meters off.

The pool is better than a see-ment pond, but it won't be confused with a resort pool.

Take away: not a bad stay for a fresh, clean room, but there may be better options.

Better than the Rest

Just returned from 7 nights at the Crowne Plaza Universal and if you are looking for a high quality hotel for a reasonable price then look no further. The property is a 5 minute walk away from I Drive which keeps it quiet enough, yet near the action should you require it and there is a green line trolley stop just outside for those not wishing to walk. The rooms are spacious and cosy, and with the hotel being quite new don't have the "tired" look of some I Drive resorts. The beds are indeed very comfy, with the hotel staff being helpful when asked for advice. Didn't actually eat in the hotel as there is simply too much choice on I Drive and at Citywalk, but I do recommend the pizza place for a quick snack. I hope this review helps somebody as I will use the Crowne Plaza again. We booked through Airnet and got a good price of £44 a night.

Most Comfortable Sleep Ever...

In July 2003 I enjoyed a two night stay at the Crowne Plaza Universal.

The beds were by far the most comfortable I have ever encountered in ANY hotel. After long days in the parks, it was a joy to return to the hotel for a peaceful sleep. The bellman was sooo helpful and kind. He offered great tips for touring the parks. The rooms were slightly larger than average. Since there is constant traffic outside the hotel I suggest a room on an upper level. We were on the third floor and heard alot of traffic noise. One small suggestion to management...forego the $15 per night rollaway charge. Otherwise, a pleasant and comfortable place to stay in hectic Orlando!

Excellent!

Returned exhausted 5th September after two very wet but very hot weeks in Orlando. We had changed our choice of hotel from the Sheraton World Centre to the Crowne Plaza Hotel Orlando Universal after reading some bad reviews of the Sheraton on Trip Advisor. And, although there were only two, the reviews for the Cowne Plaza were very good. We were glad we had made the switch as the hotel was everything we were hoping for.

It was clean and luxurious with a pool and jacuzzi that seemed too small for the size of the hotel, but niether were very busy and was used several times by the kids. A gym was available but was not. We requested and got two adjoining room on the 14th floor on arrival for our partyof 7 (containing 2 kids and 3 teenagers!). The rooms were very nice, clean and fair sized, although there was no sitting area in either, but both had a magnificent view of Orlando over the front of the hotel entrance. The staff were alway polite and courteous and made a special effort with the children. The location of the Hotel is excellent. Turn right out of the front of the hotel and you're on Sand Lake Rd leading to the I4 and crossing I-Drive literally a coulpe of minutes away. Turn left out of the hotel and you're 10-15mins from Wet & Wild and Universal. Disney was about 20-25 mins away on the I4 west bound. We didn't use the Hotel Restaurant because it was dearer and there was plenty of choice available around the corner on I-drive.

Perkins was walking distance away. We would definitely return to this hotelagain if staying in the I-Drive area. You can't go wrong.

Incidently, we booked through Travel City Direct in the UK, whose quote made the whole holiday feasable in the first place.

Great Hotel - Clean & Friendly!

My husband and I have just returned from a trip (August 2003) to Orlando, staying at the Crowne Plaza. What a fantastic hotel!We chose the hotel primarily because we wanted a hotel which offered a shuttle service to the parks and also because we wanted a better class of hotel than some of the others on offer in the area. We were not dissapointed on either account.Neither my husband or I wanted to drive but was dubious about the ease of getting around without a car. Many hotels on I. Drive offer shuttles to Universal & Seaworld but not to Disney. The Crowne Plaza has a mini bus which takes you to Epcot daily at either 8.30 or 10.30am and picks up at 6.30 or 10.30 pm. Once at Epcot you can easily get around to all the other parks via Disney transport. We didn't find the times restricting and enjoyed the freedom of being chaffeured. Shuttles to all the other parks left at regular intervals from 7.30am returning from 3.50pm to 2am. The drivers to Disney were really friendly and full of interesting advice and stories about the parks and area. As we were leaving the company had just purchased a larger bus to keep up with demand.The hotel itself is immaculately clean from the moment you step inside you feel welcomed and truly spoilt. An elegant glass elevator takes you up through the centre of the hotel to you rooms & the decor is tastful and calming.Our room was large.We were on the 12th floor so had an amazing view for miles, looking over Universal Studios in the distance and Wet n wild just a few blocks away. We had coffee maker, CD player, TV, sitting area and a beautiful clean bathroom with fresh towels and toiletries every day.The pool and jacuzzi was ample. It never got very busy so it was good to go down and chill out for a while. The jacuzzi tended to get really busy at about 9-10pm. The hotel provides fresh towels for the pool area and the gym. The gym is extensive. I didn't venture into it myself but my husband enjoyed a daily workout.The staff were very friendly, especially Shaun the barman...what a character! He kept us entertained every night. The drinks are rather pricey but the measures are good!We didn't eat in the hotel as it was again, rather expensive but there are many restaurants in the area. If you turn right from the hotel it leads you down to I. Drive so you can take your pick of places to eat. Our favourites included "Perkins" a 24 hour restaurant five minutes from the hotel, prefect for when you get back late from a day at the parks and "The Golden Coral" an all you can eat buffet for $9.99. Unlike some of the other buffet places the quality of food was outstanding serving steaks and salmon and a whole range of other things. If you pick up a discount booklet outside you can save a futher 10%. Brilliant place!There's a supermarket nearby and "The Mercado" on I. Drive for nightly entertainment, crazy golf etc.I spent a lot of time using "Trip Advisor" before we booked our holiday and was put off many hotels. Even though there were only few the reviews for this hotel, they were good, which helped us decide to book. I wouldn't hesitiate to go back to the Crowne Plaza. It definitely gets our vote.And one last thing, if you're in the UK, ring Travel City Direct to get a quote for your holidays. We saved about £700 booking with them.Have a great holiday!!!

Terrific room! Shuttle to attractions!

7 nights from 8/22 - 8/29 booked through Hotwire... - great deal! Hotel, Airfare & Rental Car for $900 USD total for both of us!Weather: Rained everyday for about 2 hrs, 85-95 degrees, sunny mornings & rainy afternoons.PROS:- Nice room, it's like you never left home! - Excellent room service - Hotel store has everything you forgot! - 10 minute shuttle provided to Universal, SeaWorld, and Wet 'N' Wild (Universal charges $8 to park, this was well worth it!) - Nice staff - 24 hr security, a piece of mind - Very, VERY clean & cozy!CONS:- A little pricey ($250 per night) I've stayed in better hotels at almost half the cost, but we didn't pay this much, thanks to Hotwire. - Pool closed everytime the dark clouds rolled in - Fitness room located overlooking the pool (didn't like the fact that people working out can see you but you can't see them) - Food wasn't all that great, but hardly no one eats there because it's so close to Int'l Drive. - The hotel bar wasn't all that great, no Canadian beer!

Superb Accomodation

My wife and I stayed two weeks during May 2003. We were delighted with the accomodation and every other aspect of the hotel. It's new, modern and bright with good complimetary parking and very central in International Drive. Some 5-10 minutes walk but sufficiently far to drown the traffic noise of International Drive. All staff were very helpful and staying in the Crowne Plaza Universal added substantially to our holiday. We would give it 9 out of 10. Were there a little more provision for light snacks etc we would undoubtedly give it a full 10 points out of 10.

Brilliant first class

Excellant accommodation. The hotel is clean, the staff are welcoming and very helpful. The rooms are bright, very clean and lovely decorated. The hotel is close to all the amenties and I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone, especially those with children, as the staff make that little bit extra effort to make them feel special.

Very Good

We stayed here for 2 weeks in May 2003 and found the hotel excellent. The Room was spotless ,service was great ,nothing we asked for seemed to be any trouble, pool spa and fitness area where good. My son enjoyed the games room. Bar and food was ok. Would definetely use this hotel again. This hotel is well located for disney universal and seaworld.

Good Holiday

Stayed here early December last year and was so impressed we returned two weeks ago with our 5yr old grand-daughter. Well all loved the hotel especially the pool