Universal's Aventura Hotel

If you're looking for a modern, stylish hotel at a value price point, Universal's Aventura Hotel may be the perfect choice for your next Universal Orlando Resort vacation. This perfectly priced hotel offers spectacular views of all three Universal Orlando theme parks, especially from it's rooftop bar, Bar 17 Bistro, and is just steps away from Universal's Volcano Bay.

Universal's Aventura Hotel is one of two Prime Value hotels on Universal property. You get all the benefits of a Universal Orlando hotel guest including Early Park Admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (valid theme park admission required), resort-wide charging privileges using your room key card, and direct to hotel deliveries of purchases made at select stores in Universal's theme parks and CityWalk. 

In addition to those benefits, you also get complimentary shuttle buses and walking paths to Universal Studios Florida, Universal's Islands of Adventure and CityWalk. The buses run about every 10 minutes and will drop you off at the CityWalk entrance, where you will go through security before you walk through CityWalk to the theme parks. If you use the walking paths, it's about a 15 minute walk from the resort to CityWalk but you'll go through security at the end of the walking path, putting you closer to the entrances to the theme parks. Although this resort doesn't have a water taxi to the theme parks, it is right across the street from Loews Sapphire Falls Resort which does have water taxi service. If you happen to find yourself visiting Sapphire Falls, you could take the water taxi service. 

One of the biggest benefits of staying at Aventura is that there is a dedicated walking path from the resort that takes you straight to Universal's Volcano Bay. You are just steps away from the thrills and relaxation of Universal's water theme park. We stayed at Aventura, partially to take advantage of it's proximity to Volcano Bay, and we were very pleased with the 5 minute walk from the resort to the water park. 

View of Aventura from the Volcano Bay entrance

Aventura offers Standard, Deluxe and Kid's Suites room options. The Standard and Deluxe rooms sleep up to 4 guests and the Kid's Suite sleep up to 5 guests. We stayed in a Standard 2 Queen room with 4 adults and although we technically fit in the room, it was a little tight. The counter space across from the beds is plentiful but the counterspace/storage options in the bathroom vanity area is a little lacking. The views from our room were spectacular! I definitely recommend asking for a higher floor at this hotel or booking a Skyline View room to guarantee you'll be on a higher floor. 

Standard 2 Queen room

The view from our room at Aventura

There are a few dining options available at Aventura. The best, in my opinion, is Bar 17 Bistro which is located on the rooftop of the hotel, offering amazing views of Universal Orlando's theme parks, and serving a mixture of unique and classic dishes along with custom-crafted cocktails. It's a great spot to relax with a drink in the evening after enjoying the theme parks.

View from Bar 17 Bistro

The first floor of the hotel is home to several other quick service dining options. Urban Pantry is a food hall open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a variety of selections from international flavors at the roast kitchen, a custom wok dish at the Asian Station to burgers and pizza. Next to Urban Pantry, in the heart of the hotel lobby, is Starbucks. The lobby bar, barVentura, and the pool bar, Bar Sol, are two great options to grab a beer, wine or cocktail.

The pool at Aventura is relatively small compared to the pools at other Universal hotels so if the hotel pool is a major factor in your hotel choice, then this resort might not be the right one for you. The hotel also a small splash zone for kids, a fire pit, and hot tub. That helps make up for the smaller pool. 

Aventura Hotel pool

For me, the biggest downside to staying at Aventura is that you don't get the FREE Universal Express Unlimited. In case you aren't familiar, the Universal Express Unlimited gives you access to skip the regular lines at most attractions in Universal's Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. That benefit is reserved for Premier Hotel guests and isn't available at this Prime Value hotel. I wouldn't say this is a total deal breaker for me but it's a major downside. The Express Unlimited pass is currently a must have for my family as my boys have no patience waiting in line and I have no patience dealing with them complaining. 

I think Aventura is a great option if you're looking to get all the benefits of staying at a Universal Orlando hotel at a value price point. I would happily stay at Aventura again but I would probably only stay there when I wasn't with my children or if it was a really slow time of year and I didn't need the Universal Express Unlimited pass. The hotel has a great modern feel, a fun rooftop bar and is in a perfect location if you want to visit Volcano Bay! 

Want to see more photos from Universal's Aventura Hotel? Check out our Photo Tour here. 

What do you think of Universal's Aventura Hotel? Would you stay here on a future trip? Have you already stayed here? Let us know in the comments. 

Ashley Lehman

Ashley is a Hufflepuff who loves rollercoasters and thrill rides. You can email Ashley at ashley@kingdomkonsultant.com.