Cabana Bay Beach Resort is always a favorite of ours but this time we decided to stay in a family suite since we haven’t stayed in one of these before. We’re going to treat this like a whole new review since we know that hotels change over time.
Lobby and Exterior
This is always what gets me. The theming is impeccable, and the presentation is great. You can’t ask for a more immersive themed hotel; they took every opportunity to create a truly retro feel to every area and surface. Another thing I always grade on is cleanliness, this is always a top priority to me, and this place delivers. We went during a fairly business time and the lobby and grounds were perfectly clean.
Room
This was a family suite and again this is our first experience in one of these rooms. First and foremost, the obvious difference is the size. These rooms include a kitchenette of sorts and a sitting area with small pull-out sofa that are separate from the area of the room with 2 queen beds. The bathroom also in split with the tub/shower has its own sink, there’s also a sink in the middle section of the bathroom that's open to the room and a door on the other end that’s the water closet aka toilet!
Pool
This is another area of Cabana Bay that excels in theming. They really didn’t miss any details on the theming. The centerpiece of the Cabana Courtyard pool is the dive tower, it’s purely decorative to remind you of the classic Florida beach resorts but the pool also has a 100-foot-long water slide, splash pad, hot tub, sand area, picnic tables and plenty of cabanas to rent. If you cross the lobby to the opposite end of the resort, you’ll find the Lazy River Courtyard which obviously includes a lazy river! There’s also a smaller zero entry pool, games, splash pad, and fire pit.
View
Our room was on the front side of the building, it was an exterior entry family suite, so we did have a somewhat parking lot view, however, it provided a great view of Sapphire Falls and Aventura. Although this may not seem ideal it definitely sends the message that vacation time has started.
Cons
Like any good review it should include pros and cons, but Cabana Bay usually delivers very well so this section is short on cons. No fault of Cabana Bay or Universal but it was unusually busy during this trip, compared to past February’s but our trip also fell during Fat Tuesday of Mardi Gras so there were many schools out and visitors from all over the southeast. Also, our room being exterior entry and facing the road and parking lot. It was slightly noisy from cars and buses but we also weren’t in the room too much, so it wasn’t that big of a problem.
Final Thoughts…
Overall, we were very pleased with the Family Suites at Cabana Bay but to be fair we love this hotel and its theming, so we are somewhat biased. Biggest takeaway is that the theming is unmatched by any other resort and offers so many great things to do just in the resort from bowling, pools, to the food. Given the choice of rooms we may have opted for a pool view in hindsight. Again, we love this hotel and will definitely be back, hopefully pretty soon!
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