Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando

Stayed here a number of times, always great. Only annoyance is length of time it takes to check in, takes soooooo long! Location is prefect onsite with water taxi to parks. Atmosphere is cool, relaxing and sophisticated without being pretentious! Very clean resort and be try peaceful! Rooms whilst a bit small are lovely and beds are cosy! Drinks and food whilst pricey are very good, no complaints. Over the years we have paid on average £400/£500 for a night, which is pretty good with the express pass benefits you get. However this time I snagged the lowest ever price o £550 for 2 rooms! An absolute bargain! Would always come back!!

The Perfect Hotel, I couldn't write a good enough review to explain how good this resort actually is. We have been coming here for nearly 10 years and this resort maintains it amazing hospitality. The staff are exceptional. From the check in staff to the ground and all in between. Nicole and the crew in the concierge goes above and beyond. My son Jake wrote Nicole and the staff a little note to say hi and how excited he was to be back and how much he loves the resort. Nicole and the staff returned a note with a very personal touch. It made Jake's day the kindest gesture from the most amazing and tentative staff. The staff make this hotel extra special

⭐ Our Universal Orlando Vacation Review — August 2–9, 2026 We recently spent August 2nd–9th at Universal Orlando and stayed at Loews Royal Pacific Resort. During our week, we visited Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, Volcano Bay, and Epic Universe. Overall, we had an amazing vacation! We had a few minor things that we think could be improved, but nothing that took away from the overall experience. I did a lot of research before our trip, so I wanted to share our experience, some of our favorite parts, and a few tips that might help others planning their own Universal vacation. 🏨 Loews Royal Pacific Resort Check-In & Arrival One of the first things I highly recommend is using mobile check-in. When we first arrived, the regular check-in line was very long, but the mobile check-in line moved extremely quickly. We were able to get our hotel key cards right away, which allowed us to start enjoying the parks instead of spending a large part of our morning waiting at the hotel. Another outstanding feature was the luggage service. Our room wasn't ready yet, but the hotel was able to hold our luggage for us while we headed to the parks. This was incredibly convenient and allowed us to start our vacation right away. If you're flying to Orlando, I highly recommend booking an early flight if you can. We arrived around 9:00 AM and were already at the parks around 10:00 AM. Getting an early start gave us a great jump on the day. The staff we interacted with were generally friendly and helpful, and the hotel always had a very pleasant smell throughout the lobby and common areas. 🏊 Pool & Fitness Center We personally didn't spend much time at the pool because we were at the parks pretty much all day, but the pool area looked very nice. My husband did enjoy relaxing in the hot tub at night, which was a nice way to wind down after a long day in the parks. The fitness center was another area where I thought the pictures made it look a little larger than it actually was. That said, it still had enough equipment to get a quick workout in. I also liked that they offered bottled water and fruit in the mornings. 🚤 Transportation The free transportation offered by the hotel was definitely one of the perks we enjoyed, especially the water taxi. It was convenient and also a fun way to get to the parks. One thing to keep in mind is that the boats can shut down when the weather is bad, which is understandable with Florida weather. The bus transportation was a little more hit or miss. It seemed like the service from our hotel was sometimes a bit slower, and the bus stop for returning to the hotel from the parks wasn't always easy to find. I think the hotel could do a better job explaining where guests need to go when leaving the parks. Getting around the hotel itself was also a little overwhelming at first, but once we asked for help and figured everything out, it became much easier. 🛏️ The Room Our room was perfectly fine, but honestly, nothing about the room itself really stood out. It was a standard hotel room and did everything we needed it to do. One thing I would love to see the hotel add is a microwave. Considering the cost of staying at the resort, I think having one in the room would be a nice convenience. We did have one less-than-great experience when we returned from Walmart with a large amount of groceries. We asked for a cart to help bring everything to our room, and the initial response wasn't particularly friendly. After explaining that we only needed it briefly, they allowed us to use one, but an employee ended up pushing the cart to our room for us. It wasn't a major issue, but it was probably our least pleasant interaction with hotel staff during the trip. 📱 Hotel Texting Service — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of my absolute favorite hotel features was the texting service. Anything we needed could be handled by simply sending a text, and they were incredibly quick to respond. One night around 10:30 PM, we needed additional towels. We sent a text and had the towels delivered within about 15 minutes! Even checking out was incredibly easy. At the end of the trip, all we had to do was text them that we had left the room. This was such a convenient feature, and I absolutely loved it. 🍕 Food & Groceries We used Lyft to go to Walmart for groceries, which worked out really well overall. One thing to be prepared for, though: we went on a Sunday evening around 7:30 PM, and WOW — it was packed! It honestly felt like Black Friday shopping. 😂 The store was absolutely jammed, so if you're planning to make a grocery run, just be prepared for a very busy store, especially in the evening. We also ordered Domino's one night and Papa John's another night. Both deliveries were quick, the pizza was good, and the prices were much better than eating inside the parks. 🎢 Universal Orlando Tips Before getting into the parks, here are a few things I would definitely recommend bringing with you. 🎫 Get a Lanyard Get yourself a lanyard for your hotel key cards! This made things SO much easier. We bought a Super Mario-themed lanyard from Amazon, and it was perfect. Having the hotel cards immediately accessible made entering the parks and using our hotel benefits much simpler. 🌧️ Bring a Poncho! Do not underestimate the Florida rain! The rain can come out of nowhere, and when it does, it can absolutely soak you. We bought inexpensive ponchos from Walmart for around $6 each, and they lasted our entire week. We used them at least five times. This was one of the best purchases we made for the trip. 👟 Wear Comfortable Shoes I did a lot of research before our trip about what shoes would work best, and we ended up choosing Crocs. They were fantastic! They were comfortable, we didn't have to worry about getting them wet when it rained, and the straps helped keep them secure on rides. We walked a LOT during this trip and didn't get any blisters. For us, they were one of the best decisions we made. 🎟️ Express Pass We had Express Pass that could be used at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, and it was absolutely worth it for us. Being able to skip the majority of the long lines made the experience much more enjoyable. The only day we noticed longer waits was Saturday, which wasn't surprising because weekends are generally busier. If you're able to combine Early Park Admission + Express Pass, it makes touring the parks much easier. 🎬 Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure Overall, we thought the rides were excellent! We did have one experience where Transformers temporarily got stuck. However, the ride attendants handled it very well and were friendly about the situation. They even allowed us to get back on if we wanted to. 🎭 Shows The shows were another highlight. The Bourne Stuntacular was incredible! I highly recommend making time to watch it. It was one of the best shows we saw during the trip. The nighttime light show was also absolutely amazing. It was breathtaking and a great way to end the day. 🤝 Character Meet & Greets We really enjoyed the character meet-and-greets, especially at Universal Studios. They seemed to have the process more organized there compared with some of the other parks. 🌊 Volcano Bay We also spent one day at Volcano Bay, and overall, we really enjoyed it! We were able to experience all of the rides we wanted to, and it was a great change of pace from the traditional theme parks. Our biggest disappointment was Early Park Admission. When we arrived for Early Park Admission, a significant portion of the park was still closed, including many of the water slides. Since the slides weren't available until the park officially opened, we found ourselves wondering what the real benefit of arriving early was. We completely understand that a water park may have additional opening procedures and safety checks in the morning. However, it would be nice if more attractions were available during Early Park Admission so guests could actually take advantage of that extra time. We also noticed that the bathrooms were fairly spread out throughout the park, and the Freestyle refill stations weren't as easy to find as we expected. Neither issue ruined our day, but having a few more convenient locations would definitely make the experience even better. Despite those minor issues, we had a really fun day at Volcano Bay. For us, one day was plenty to enjoy the park and experience all the rides we wanted. Volcano Bay Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 🌎 Epic Universe Epic Universe was probably the favorite part of our entire vacation! We went four times, and every time we discovered something new or figured out a better way to experience the park. If you're staying at Loews Royal Pacific and have Early Park Admission, get up early! When we visited, Early Park Admission began at 8:00 AM. We recommend being at the hotel bus stop around 7:00 AM so you can be on one of the first buses. 🍄 Super Nintendo World Strategy If you want to go to Super Nintendo World first, pay attention to where you stand. When you arrive at Epic Universe, stay toward the far-left lanes. Once they officially release everyone into the park, stay to the left. Eventually, you'll reach another area where they hold guests for a short period of time. We found that staying in the two far-left sections worked best for us. Then we discovered a shortcut! Instead of going through the main Nintendo World tunnel, go around to the far-right side where they allow wheelchairs and strollers. When we were there, the doors were already open. Once you get through that area, stay toward the right and head directly to Donkey Kong Country. We did this every time, and we were consistently among the first 10 people to ride Mine-Cart Madness. This made a HUGE difference. If you wait until later in the morning, the wait can become extremely long, and there is also a much greater chance of the ride experiencing a delay. For us, getting there early was absolutely worth it. The ride itself is fairly short, but it is such a fun experience! After Mine-Cart Madness, we headed over to Mario Kart and were usually able to get on within about 10–15 minutes. 🍄 Super Nintendo World Super Nintendo World was easily our favorite area. The amount of detail that went into this land is incredible. It really feels like you've stepped into the Mario games. I highly recommend purchasing the Power-Up Bands if you plan on spending a lot of time here. There are so many interactive activities throughout the land, and the bands make it much more fun. If you really want to experience everything Nintendo World has to offer, I would recommend giving this area at least two days. We enjoyed meeting Princess Peach, and Mario and Luigi were great as well. One thing I wish they had done a little better was the Donkey Kong character meet-and-greet. There was a designated area, but during our entire time there, we never saw a character there. 🐉 Isle of Berk The Isle of Berk area was really neat, and the show was awesome. The theming throughout Epic Universe was impressive, and it was fun simply walking around and taking everything in. 🥤 Coca-Cola Freestyle Cups We purchased two Coca-Cola Freestyle souvenir cups, and I highly recommend them. There were tons of drink options, including slushies, and we definitely got our money's worth. The biggest issue was that a lot of the machines seemed to be out of ice. It could also be a little difficult to find the refill stations, but the Universal app helped tremendously with locating them. 🍪 Food Food inside the parks can get expensive very quickly, so we decided to pack our own snacks and only purchase a few special things throughout the day. This worked really well for us and helped keep our food costs down without feeling like we were missing out. One thing I absolutely recommend is the S'mores Cookie from Cafe 4 at Islands of Adventure. 10/10 — definitely get one! 📸 Photo Package — A Few Things to Consider We purchased the three-day photo package because we thought it would be a fun way to capture memories from our trip. While we did get some great photos, this was probably the one add-on that we felt didn't provide quite as much value as we had hoped. One of our biggest disappointments was that Volcano Bay was not included in the photo package. Since we were visiting Volcano Bay as part of our Universal vacation, we were hoping to have the option to capture some of those memories as well. It would be great if Universal offered a photo package that included all of the parks. We also found that the number of rides offering photos was somewhat limited, and finding a photographer wasn't always consistent. Some character meet-and-greets had photographers available, while others didn't. The good news is that you can always use your own camera or phone. In many cases, the team members were even happy to take pictures for us when we asked. There were also some really cool automated photo locations. Epic Universe had one in the middle of the park, and Universal Studios had one near the Back to the Future car, which was a fun spot to stop. Overall, while we enjoyed having the photos we did get, I personally don't think we would purchase the photo package again. If Universal expanded the package to include Volcano Bay and offered more consistent photo opportunities throughout the parks, I think it would be a much better value. ⭐ Overall Experience Overall, this was a fantastic vacation! There were definitely a few minor things that we think could be improved, including hotel transportation, the photo package, finding certain things around the resort, and Volcano Bay's Early Park Admission. However, none of those things came close to ruining our trip. The combination of staying at Loews Royal Pacific, having Early Park Admission, and having Express Pass made it possible for us to experience a LOT without spending our entire vacation standing in lines. Epic Universe was the biggest surprise and easily became our favorite park. Super Nintendo World was incredible, and going early made a huge difference in what we were able to accomplish. Volcano Bay was also a lot of fun, although one day was plenty for us. ❤️ Our Biggest Recommendations ✔️ Stay at a Universal hotel if you can ✔️ Take advantage of Early Park Admission ✔️ Get Express Pass if it's within your budget ✔️ Get to Epic Universe early ✔️ Get a lanyard for your hotel cards ✔️ Bring inexpensive ponchos ✔️ Wear comfortable shoes ✔️ Bring snacks to save money ✔️ Get the Power-Up Bands at Nintendo World ✔️ Try the S'mores Cookie at Cafe 4 ✔️ Use the Universal app to help find refill stations and other locations ✔️ If you're getting groceries, be prepared for Walmart to be VERY busy on Sunday evenings! 😂 ❌ Skip the photo package unless you really want it After spending a full week at Universal Orlando, we came home tired, happy, and already talking about what we would do next time! There were a few things that could be improved, but the good far outweighed the bad. From the incredible theming at Epic Universe to the amazing rides, shows, characters, and overall atmosphere, we made some fantastic memories. We would absolutely visit Universal Orlando again! ⭐ Overall Trip Rating: 5/5

It was great. Walking distance to Citywalk, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Great staff, very comfortable, lovely pool, kids can use the hot tub, nice snack bar. Very pricey but worth it. Early park admission and express passes all the way. Only downside is that it's crowded and the front desk is BUSY. But staff were still patient and helpful. And use your pool hop pass to hit the pool and lazy river at Cabana Bay!

Literally on of my favorite hotels to stay out when in orlando , everything you could need is within walking distance , Great pool , stores , cafe , restaurant, transportation to Parks boat , bus , Good parking , staff is always friendly , Rooms are nice , can’t wait to return , and yes also the express passes are great to get