At Cabana Bay now for first time

[CinderellaDreamer]

The hotel is excellent. The decor is fun and fabulous. Great retro look and well maintained. We enjoyed both pools yesterday. Lots of fresh towels provided. Didn’t get in the lazy river, but those themed floats you can buy for it are adorable. I may get one just to take home.

The room is spacious and clean, perfect for our family of five. The kitchenette is a great addition, although not equipped for more than basic reheating of leftovers. We had a very good lunch at Bayliner yesterday. We bought a giant 2 liter coke for all of us to split for $3.50 and brought what was left up to the room frig. We took the bus over to Citywalk later in the day with no problems. Cutest buses ever. Wish they had made use of the many TVs all over the bus to entertain you on your short drive. A promotional video or something.

Our room has a nice view from the tower of the pool and volcano, not down at the volcano end, but on the diner end of the tower. Still a nice view. I had no idea though that they would start the tribal drum music and loud conch horn so early at Volcano Bay. 7:45 a.m. It goes off every fifteen minutes all day long also. I guess it’s not a problem for most people who want to do early park admission or have early rising kids. But for me and my teens, we like to sleep in on vacation. It might be a problem for napping toddlers during the day too. I can’t imagine how loud it must be at the closest end of the tower. Something to think about when choosing your room.

The split bathroom is nice for getting ready, although I wish there was a fan in the toilet area. Two sinks are very helpful, plus the one in the kitchen area. The themed products from the 60s are great. I also like the recessed closet area. Great place to get suitcases out of the way.

Another small complaint, the free WiFi only allows five devices per room. Not enough for a family of five with multiple devices.

Overall, I would definitely recommend.

 

[quandrea]

This sounds great. Thanks for the review. We will be there in January and I've been a bit scared. How much are the pool floats?

 

[BeerMe]

Are Christmas decorations up yet? We're coming down in a week.

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

They are! They were putting up the big one in the lobby this morning. Bayliner and all the other lobby areas have 6ft silver trees and silver garland strung everywhere.

 

[solfan68]

Planning our first Universal trip for this coming summer. Staying at Cabana Bay, and really looking forward to it!

 

[Jennasis]

We really liked Cabana Bay when we stayed there 11/6-10. We had a room in the Americana building overlooking the parking lot and the construction at Aventura. While the construction noise was LOUD outside, we never heard a sound in our room so I can't imagine the Volcano conch horn is a problem for any of the rooms at CBBR. If we ever stay here again (and we totally would) we would request Americana again in a heartbeat. Super close to EVERYTHING.

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

I was sleeping with ear plugs and a sound machine app playing on my phone and heard the conch and drums in my room. Woke me up at 7:45. My friend was staying in the tower in September and also had a problem with noise from the leaf blowers down below early in the morning. She even reported it to the front desk. The sound is in a corridor between the buildings and travels up to the top floors very clearly.

But I still loved being in the Tower on the 7th floor and would even stay there again. I really loved the resort. It was extremely well-cared for and themed. Enjoyed it even more than our fancy rooms at HRH. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

 

[TawnyLynn]

The hotel is excellent. The decor is fun and fabulous. Great retro look and well maintained. We enjoyed both pools yesterday. Lots of fresh towels provided. Didn’t get in the lazy river, but those themed floats you can buy for it are adorable. I may get one just to take home.

The room is spacious and clean, perfect for our family of five. The kitchenette is a great addition, although not equipped for more than basic reheating of leftovers. We had a very good lunch at Bayliner yesterday. We bought a giant 2 liter coke for all of us to split for $3.50 and brought what was left up to the room frig. We took the bus over to Citywalk later in the day with no problems. Cutest buses ever. Wish they had made use of the many TVs all over the bus to entertain you on your short drive. A promotional video or something.

Our room has a nice view from the tower of the pool and volcano, not down at the volcano end, but on the diner end of the tower. Still a nice view. I had no idea though that they would start the tribal drum music and loud conch horn so early at Volcano Bay. 7:45 a.m. It goes off every fifteen minutes all day long also. I guess it’s not a problem for most people who want to do early park admission or have early rising kids. But for me and my teens, we like to sleep in on vacation. It might be a problem for napping toddlers during the day too. I can’t imagine how loud it must be at the closest end of the tower. Something to think about when choosing your room.

The split bathroom is nice for getting ready, although I wish there was a fan in the toilet area. Two sinks are very helpful, plus the one in the kitchen area. The themed products from the 60s are great. I also like the recessed closet area. Great place to get suitcases out of the way.

Another small complaint, the free WiFi only allows five devices per room. Not enough for a family of five with multiple devices.

Overall, I would definitely recommend.

That music from Volcano Bay killed us in September when we were at Halloween Horror Nights. We tried to sleep in the one day and that didn't happen because of the music so early in the morning and while we were there the one night the music was on until midnight.

I would never suggest anyone pay more for the Volcano view rooms after that experience. Unfortunately, we had booked Volcano Bay for our upcoming January trip before we had stayed at Cabana Bay in September. I think we maybe looking for a new hotel for our next Halloween trip.

 

[georgina]

Interesting. I was in Americana with a parking lot view in August, quite a ways down the hall from the elevators (room 6215) and did not notice the sounds from Volcano Bay while in the room. It sounds like the noise is only a problem in the tower buildings on the end?

 

[TawnyLynn]

Interesting. I was in Americana with a parking lot view in August, quite a ways down the hall from the elevators (room 6215) and did not notice the sounds from Volcano Bay while in the room. It sounds like the noise is only a problem in the tower buildings on the end?

I'm glad to know the noise isn't a problem in all of the Cabana Bay rooms.

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

I'm glad to know the noise isn't a problem in all of the Cabana Bay rooms.

I think it would only be pool view rooms. So don't pay for the upgrade!

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

There is a really cute retro clock in the room. Notable as there are very few clocks in hotels these days. There was one in HRH as well.

Only bar soap, as is typical of a hotel. I prefer liquid soap and would bring a cheap bottle of it from home for a longer stay.

Lots of cute themed merchandise for the hotel in the store there. AP discount available also. I got a T-shirt, Christmas ornament and deck of cards. I regret not getting the tervis tumbler.

The Galaxy Bowl was very nice. I went in twice, but did not bowl. I did buy a piece of Coca Cola cake which was tasty. No one there during the day, but a bit busier at night.

Nice Starbucks right off the lobby. We ate several meals at the Bayliner Diner and were all pleased with our food. Lots of choices and a large seating area with the huge screens showing old commercials. We walked by the pool at night when they had the fire pit going and saw people roasting marshmallows. Just a lot of fun stuff at the resort. Room service available for pizza deals with a drink and dessert. You can bring stuff up on a tray from the Diner also.

Never had to wait long on an elevator. Lots of hot water. Comfortable beds. Pull out wasn’t bad for a kid. Thin mattress though. Extra pillows in closet.