Hard Rock Hotel^® at Universal Orlando

On our last evening at the Hard Rock we decided to unwind by the great pool area. Are we glad we did! Hard Rock was awesome overall and my kids couldn’t get enough of the energetic atmosphere. They have a pool adjacent open air restaurant, called beach club, that the servers work out of and get you whatever you need from the bar or restaurant. We were lucky enough to have friendly, attentive, and just fun - Shaw! He made sure my wife felt welcome and we seemed to be on a comfortable first name basis almost instantly. The Hard Rock was a nice hotel, but the visit wasn’t truly perfect until we had our pool night. Thanks Universal, thanks Hard Rock, and a big thank you to Shaw! The DeBartolo Family

We just got back from staying 4 nights at the Hard Rock over Columbus Day holiday weekend. We were originally booked in a 1 bedroom suite at Portofino, but due to the hotel being currently closed, we had to move to the Hard Rock. We also had to also compromise on our room choice due to availability, so we were in a standard 2 queen room with club level access. Pros: The hotel itself is very nice. Everything was clean and everyone we encountered was very friendly and helpful. Our family has stayed at Royal Pacific, Portofino and now Hard Rock. Hard Rock is definitely the closest to Universal Studios. But Royal Pacific is not much more of a walk and closest to Islands of Adventure. We did not use the pool, so I cannot comment on that. We did eat at the Kitchen for dinner and it was great. We had dinner at the Palm and it was also great. The marketplace is good for grab and go, but I wish they had a few more hot breakfast items to choose from (various croissant sandwiches is all that is offered). Cons: We had a club level room. Club level rooms are on the 7th floor and that is where the club level lounge is normally located. Due to Covid safety precautions, they moved the lounge to a larger space on the lobby floor (3rd level) to allow for social distancing. That would not be a problem if the location was close to the elevators (Marketplace was our go to because of the location). But it is not. Instead, you have to walk down the hall, take the elevator to the 3rd floor, walk across the lobby (which is pretty big), down another long hallway to a conference room. Once there, offerings are very limited and prepackaged. Breakfast: boiled eggs, croissants, a few muffin and donut options. Coffee is extremely too strong (worse than Starbucks). We were never in the hotel to try the mid-day options. Happy Hour: Beer and wine is a plus. They have 3-4 prepackaged options to choose from and the only one that looked appealing was the meat and cheese option. Desserts were very lacking. Prepackaged brownies and cookies that looked store bought. The only benefit we gained from the club level is the unlimited access to complimentary bottled waters. But for the amount we paid for club level, we could have spent on bottled waters. The only other feedback I have is not really related to the Hard Rock, but more to Universal in general. They are going a little overboard with the masks requirements. I understand the need to require masks when inside the hotel, restaurants, shops or standing in line for rides. But to require them while freely walking around outside in the parks or the City Walk is extreme. Let people breathe the fresh air. Be trusting enough of people to keep their distance. For the most part, everyone was very self aware of their space and did not intrude on anyone’s personal space. I personally like the social distancing measures. It keeps people out of your personal space!

Home from a trip to Universal and have a great experience at the Hard Rock. Beautiful hotel, very clean, and we felt safe the whole time as staff always sanitizing and cleaning railings and good protocols in place. Rooms are beautiful and it is about 5 min walk to the parks with option of water taxi and bus shuttle to city walk. Pool and bar very nice, and The Kitchen restaurant was delicious. Looking forward to returning here next year!