Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Review

An excellent way to get to the City Walk and parks. Security was easy, operators were friendly and fun to interact with and are professionals at what they do. Lots of scenery.

Fine place but always check your bill and provide your copies! They charge for empty mini bars and increase approved checks afterwards! Even though it is heavily expensive they try to make some extra bugs the cheese way! Be prepared!

Our Party Animal enjoyed his stay at the Hard Rock.

I went there for a wedding that was being held there. For the price my boyfriend paid for the room, I expected it to be much more than what it was. The room itself was very simplistic. Everything was clean expect for their Keurig machine as there were coffee grounds in it. I like that it's only minutes away from City Walk.

Rooms and bathrooms not as clean as you would expect from this price point. Rooms not serviced after spending all day at the parks, 430pm first day had to call to have room cleaned and 330 next day. Not friendly service. We won't be staying there again.

Amazing hotel, comfortable and in a fantastic location, five minutes walk from the Universal theme parks

Great staff, great hotel and amazing universal experiences just minutes away

Very expensive, but you know that already. Staff is very friendly.

The hotel and grounds are perfect, the kitchen was delicious but the organization at the front desk was lacking. They texted us that our rooms were ready, but with the wrong number due to a typo. Upon arriving in the correct room for our keys we found that it was a garden view instead of the pool view that we had paid for. We mentioned it to the front desk and they moved us the next day, and apologized for the mistake by paying for our breakfast and sending up some snacks via room service. Good recovery, but we wish they hadnt made the mistake in the first place!

Just spent 5 nights at the HR and could not be happier with the staff, the room, the atmosphere and location. The only complaint I have is paying almost 30$ a night to park my car. Why wouldnt they just add it to the price of the room. Besides the parking issue we had a great time. Every staff person I encountered with was so friendly and helpful.

Great service and style and so convenient for universal

Great hotel in prime location for universal parks. Beautiful grounds within a comfortable walk or boat ride to the park. Not cheap for food or drink here but the facilities are of a high standard as are the rooms. With the express tickets available here, I would definitely recommend staying here.

This hotel is absolutely gorgeous and the staff is very friendly. At check in the employee made some great recommendations that really helped us have a more enjoyable stay. The location is great, you can either take a water taxi to Universal or you can just walk; it's only like 5-10 minutes. Overall, great stay, I highly recommend it.

The pool was great for the kids. Lots of activities. Its easy to walk to the parks and restaurants. Would definitely come back. Hotel was beautiful. Had a nice ice cream shop in the hotel.

The best hotel in Universal Studios. Inside the park enclosure. Possibility of access by taxi boat that leads to the park entrances. With the hotel accommodation, they provide you with the express pass with priority access to the attractions, one pass! In two days you see and you can get on all the attractions. Music and fun in this renowned chain, which is full of famous objects and full of details. If you come to Universal Studios Orlando, be sure to stay at this which is the best hotel of all. Guaranteed fun.

They say closing on google at 1:30 am. It was 11:45 when we were refused service with plenty of people at the bar still. This among many other things, confusion between lock Box key being our room number and purchasing hundreds of dollars in merchandise at Universal to be sent to our room number stated on our documentation when we check in and The frustration thinking it was going to be sent to a different room because our actual room number was 5100. We received two cards and one of them not working after a very long day of walking at universal having to go back to the check-in desk to reprogram. At these prices people expect higher in service we did not get a cheap room, we got a king suite. Do not recommend. After bar being closed early, the suggested room service. We called in for moscato as advertised on mini bar as 750ml was argued by room service is only per glass for 35$ plus 22% Gratuity and a 3$ service charge. I will mention that the valet service went above and Beyond to accommodate our services. I left a few things in the vehicle and he was more than willing to run to the truck to get what we needed without bringing the vehicle up to the front. For the merchandise confusion that we purchased at Universal we were told to contact customer support which we have not yet done. Ordered the Bottle of wine at midnight and it is currently 12:45 AM with nothing yet. Being a anniversary celebration I should of just Uber to a local grocery store earlier to insure delivery. Update after checking the bed before going to sleep this is what was found. We requested to leave the hotel and be placed somewhere else. The manager was requested to come look at what we had found and asked if we would like new sheets or a new room. We stated that due to past experiences we did not want to stay here anymore. By the time we got to the new hotel it was 4 am and got to sleep around 4:30am with practically no sleep we attempted to finish out our day at Universal Studios but could not because of the lack of sleep. We purchased a king suite and was sent to a double queen standard room. The situation was never followed up on and we have not received anything for our troubles. I think the photos speak for them selves and we will update with any reconciliations.

Great staff, restaurants, bars, pool, and everything is close by. Cool hip rooms, this is the only place to stay when going to Universal both water and land shuttles if you don't want to walk!

The Hard Rock is a beautiful hotel. Modern and clean and the staff are super helpful. The pool area is an amazing beach-like experience with white sand, hit tubs, slide, and bar. The Kitchen provides an onsite restaurant and there's also a small store to buy water, alcohol, and other food items (but it's pricey).

For what I'm paying for a night, I would expect better from this resort. We feel like the maintenance on the rooms are not top priority for this hotel. Cleanliness always should be top priority over anything.

And really? $7.50 for a bottle of water?

So far I had a better experience at Cabana Bay, Portofino and Royal Pacific.

This is my third time here and I'll doubt I'll be back because of the Cleanliness.

Room 5113 I'm staying here for 4 nights.

This hotel was AMAZING. We stayed club level. My only issue was it looked like our shampoos and towels had been used and our bed was never made up. There was also a condom used in the trash.

Attended for an event held in the lobby and meeting room. Fantastic setup, very friendly staff, great food and drinks, and of course awesome music/environment. Would be very happy to attend another event here!

I am staying here as i m writing this review literally praying i could be at any other hotel. We had ants in our room, no working outlets, no working TVs... was moved to another room. The door was broken we couldn t get into it ( 3 trips up and down 7 floors). Finally get the door to work.. Ac is busted. It s midnight and i m sitting here sweating in a room i m pay 459 dollars a night for... Staff is rude. I had 8 issues and 4 engineers
have to come out within the course of a day. I wish i could stay anywhere else. i m also a military veteran and they have just been terrible here. Go elsewhere.

amazing atmosphere. poor customer service. "dont care attitude" from in hotel call kiosk manager. half hr wait in line to "process". then was told to call customer service phone line to resolve issue - call kiosk manager could not help me with blue man show tickets and/or park tickets - which had already been paid for.

customer service line told me i was supposed to call ahead to confirm already paid for and reserved blue man poncho shows - out of town with grandparents.

all they could do was refund me blue man show tickets. rep kept on repeating they ll extend my park ticket by two days - dont insult my intelligence, i m from out of town and cannot "stay extra two days" regardless of whether they are free.

it took over an hr to get all this sorted out. no complaints about other hotel staff. call kiosk manager, who should have handled issue personally better, should not have sent me to call a customer nbr line.

still no tickets for blue man show which had been bought already. hour and half wasted just trying to get passes. overbearing and patronizing attitude from call kiosk manager (trainee was polite and tried to make best of situation).

my recommendation. enjoy the park and hotel. amazing. call kiosk manager needs to learn to put herself in guests situation and TAKE OWNERSHIP and fix the problem.

i need to let this go and spend time w family now.

What an incredible business that is dedicated to true hospitality. This hotel and its employees are so helpful, quick to help, resolve issues, and make your stay more magical than you can imagine. From car rentals and park tips to unexpected rides and room service, this hotel will make you believe in magic AND customer service again.

This was a fun Hotel, reminiscent of earlier years, bell hops, room service. Staying here and heading to Universal was so easy, early access, items sent to my room so we didnt have to carry them all day made the experience even better. The hotel is always clean, the staff was always hospitable and helpful. They have fun events daily for the guests. This place was worth the price.

Really nice. Love the pool entertainment. All the food is terrific. Easy walk to the parks. We have had an awesome week.

Pricey rooms and not much fun. You do get free express passes and that helps. Rooms still need updating and there is an "old" room smell. You can walk to the parks and have private security gates, which makes it quicker to get in.

Very nice setup and facilities including the gym. Pool is child friendly but pretty shallow as a result and the music in the water is a nice touch. Gym is small but well equipped, both changing rooms have steam rooms and a suana.

Great room service and all the employees were super nice

The service is very good. If you have any question do anything to help you

Would have given it 5 stars, but had an issue with dessert served on my back. The server apologized profusely, but never got around to telling a manager for the establishment to do anything for the situation. I would eat there again in the future (if I ever come to Orlando again). I just won't wear the dessert next time. =)

Nice but EXPENSIVE! 7 BUCKS for a glass of TEA! 7 BUCKS for bottled water.

Really nice, above-average hotel experience: but it is expensive. For 2-3 days at Universal Studios this is a fantastic location: you can walk everywhere and Express Passes are included for almost every ride at the park. You can also enter the parks early, meaning some quiet time in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, for the Harry Potter fans.

The pool is excellent, and there are many eating options at the pool/restaurant/cafe/shop, but also a ten minute walk away at the Universal complex.

Fitness centre is really nice, and there are also running routes around the location, which the reception staff can hand you little cards about.

My only regret is not staying an extra night to make best use of the place.

It was ok. Everything was nice but the room was very small

Excellent service on the concierge level. Worth every penny. Highly recommended especially for the location

Absolutely gorgeous, friendly staff wonderful food!

Hospitality suite is top notch. The staff and especially Emily at front desk made our stay the best...

Don't leave here without seeing Hoover and Kyle at the beachclub bar. I've been here numerous times and always enjoyed my stay, but this time was 10000% better all because of the experience with these guys. Hoover is the best bartender there ever was, hands down. I guarantee he'll make your day without even trying. And Kyle will always give you a good laugh. Their energy is amazing! Very thankful to have crossed paths with them. So again, don't you dare leave without seeing both Hoover and Kyle at the bar! I promise you won't regret it

Computers were down when we arrived so we couldnt check in. Offered bag check and a drink vouchure which was nice but our schedule was off due to the 2 hour delay.
All the restaurants have extremely slow and sometimes lack of service.
-Sat down at The Kitchen and nearly finished our $20pp buffet of average food before the waitor poured our coffee and asked if we needed anything.
-Stopped in at the Beach Club twice and waited 15-20mins before anyone came to our table. Drinks are more mix and ice and a splash of liquor for no less than $10/drink. Double vodka tonic was $20.50. Wow!
-Our room was not cleaned on a Friday. We were out all day and asked the second shift housekeeping and they were puzzled. Asked to clean and they said they had their rooms to clean. No help...
-Pool is said to be heated but was very cold. Everyone attempting it were making faces and didnt go further than knee deep.
Otherwise the staff was nice but overall management and catering to guests needs to be stepped up.
For the money, I will go elsewhere.

What a terrible disappointment... stay away... Rooms are dirty... completely overrated for the cost. Ordered food from Emack and Bolio's (restaurant downstairs) besides the fact that after waiting almost 30 minutes they completely messed up the order and I had to cancel half of it... the pizza was disgusting undercooked, raw. It seems the Hard Rock has forgotten what service is. They have this kid that goes by the name of hendy which says she's the manager but yet it seems that he needs some managing skills... while observing, all of the employees were chit chat a ring and customers seemed frustrated and ignored... the supposed manager was the only one running around trying to take care of customers, but only after the customers were showing signs of frustration. Furthermore when I got to my room, even more disappointment... The room smelled funny and the mini bar glasses were filthy and full of dust... Not what one would expect when paying close to $400 per night! Stay away folks... trust me... not worth the money!

Great room facing the garden, good food and coffee. Been a great experience! Highly recommend

Great staff, service, decor, music, and atmosphere.

Beautiful hotel!!! Each corner has a detail. The super comfortable rooms. A 10

Absolutely disgusting! I don't know how they even pass this off as a decent hotel. Mold on our walls. A gross broom in our bathroom covered in a rubber glove. Brown stains in our bathtub. I wiped them off so obviously housekeeping never even attempted. Our wallpaper was covered in a gross white substance. Three lights wouldn't turn on. It was nasty! Usb outlets didn't work. Plus you have to use luggage assistance or carry your luggage up over three flights of stairs. Security mocked us for asking if we could access parking from the first floor. We have a five year old and we were all woken up at 2 am by drunk guests coming back and being loud in the hallways. Housekeeping tried to come in at 830 for cleaning. Seriously the worst. Stay away!!

Friendly staff, amazing atmosphere, small hallways.

This is a fun place for the whole family. They have the best chicken noodle soup! You have to try it to know why.

Closest to the parks. Easy walk vs water taxi.
Great themeing.

Great room, good pool, walking distance to the parks and the staff are great.

A rock and roll centric way to enjoy your Orlando vacation.

Crappy parking, no elevator from lot. Terrible water pressure. Wifi fast, bed serviceable. Room size ok.

The hotel has a great location with about 5 minutes to the park. The rooms are quite nice and enough plugs around the room. It is also great that it comes with early access to a park. Also included in the hotel are Express passes that are a godsend if wanting to save time. For the negatives, for the price paying a night, parking should be included. Also, for the price, at least provide a free bottle or two of water.

I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed this hotel. 1st of all the lobby smells amazing, I don't know how they do it but it is great. The pool is very nice and the bar has some good drinks. Very nice rooms with cool hard rock flair. Being able to walk to universal studios in 5 to 10 minutes was a big benefit

Every staff is super helpful, beautiful hotel, nice rooms, stay here if you're planning on doing universal

I love this place. It's close to Universal, Fast Passes come with your stay so you are able to skip normal lines, and the place is just cool to be in. There's music memorabilia everywhere and love entertainment by poolside. You can even get a guitar to play in your room.. For free. Seriously, it's worth the price.

Was a fantastic experience staying in this hotel. Any music lover can find themselves just walking down the hallways enjoying the displays. Was here for a few nights this past summer and enjoyed every second of the stay.

A really nice hotel in an excellent location to the theme parks of Universal. Very friendly staff. The rooms are well equipped. The only downside is in my opinion the pool, with a maximum depth of 1.10 m is just too shallow.

Great service, great music, great atmosphere. Highly recommended!

It started out with our room not being ready at check-in, he our AC was broken and room was as warm as Florida in July. However they were quick to fix our AC, the pool is nice and large. And the closeness to the park is really nice.

The best hotel at Universal Studios and not to mention the most convenient to the parks. It also has the best restaurant which is the Palm restaurant located inside of the hotel on the lobby floor. Whether you're an adult group or with the kids it's perfect.

This hotel is amazing. I go here every year for spring break and the staff treat everyone well and the service is great. I especially like how they come to you at the pool and take your order. They recently re-decorated the rooms, they turned out great, The hotel is very neat and clean and the parks are just a quick walk away. I would definitely recommend this hotel.

Great hotel. Stayed for 2 nights early this week while tagging along with my husband on a business trip. Staff was extremely nice and accommodating, especially the seating hostess (manager?) I encountered at breakfast in The Kitchen restaurant (sorry, I didn't catch her name). Room was nice and clean. Pool was clean and the staff at the pool bar was very nice. A great stay, would definitely return.

Good service with a diverse and hard working staff who are friendly and willing to work with you. Environment is welcoming and easy to adjust to with a familiar rock theme that anyone can enjoy.

Everything was amazing, but the wifi was terrible..

What a fantastic resort at Universal Orlando. This is in the Premium resort category and stays here will get you complimentary Unlimited Express Pass at the parks. Also you will find a perfect blend of family entertainment and cozy spots for you and your partner. The pool is absolutely amazing with underwater speakers to enjoy the music. You can even get access to a fender quotation and amp to have your own jam session.

Great Hotel, in Hollywood Studios Park, Is in distance walk from the attractions.

You need to experience this at least once, if not more if you plan to visit the Orlando area.