Loews Helios Grand Hotel is something out of this world, with its own dedicated entrance to Epic Universe offering early entry to the park, you really could spend a week or more at the hotel.
If you're looking for a luxury hotel with amazing views of this Epic Park, then this is the one for you. Booking a Park View room, you'll be able to watch the park light up at night and become the park that everyone talks about. Grabing some Gelato from the Aurora Market and looking out to see the fountains dance to the music is something you cannot miss. This hotel also has How to Train your Dragon suites if you have kids that love films, they'll be sure to enjoy these rooms.
The pool is extremally relaxing, offering loungers with lounger towels that hook onto them ensuring they don't fall is a lovely addiotion. You can book a pool cabana if you wanted to add that luxury experience. The pool bar serves some of the best food as well, from burgers, salads and drinks.
At this time, The Helios Grand Hotel does not offer free express passes to Epic however this is something that could change in the furture but certinly something that shouldn't put you off.
We were lucky enough to stay for 4 nights at this hotel for when Epic Universe opened to the public and we were blown away by how stunning it was. The staff were extremely helpful and nothing was ever to much trouble even holding our luggage whilst our room was being prepared. There is a gym and games room for time away from the park or you just want to burn those holiday calories off.
Dining options - Flora Taverna - Open Kitchen & Al Fresco Dining offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bar Helios has some stunning views of the park with it being on the top level of the hotel, offering food and drinks which can change seasonaly. The Aurora Market is a grab and go, with pasteries, sandwiches and treats - these were expensive in our opinion, 6 mini sandwich wheels were $16! The Gelato on the otherhand was very reasonable, 1 scoop $6 + tax, 2 scoops $8 + tax and very tasty to the point we went back for more. Lotus Lagoon - is the pool bar also offering food and drinks. This was by far the best food we've had at a pool. The crispy chicken sandwich and Fish sandwich were succulent and juicy, the fries were crispy and the salad was the freshest salad ever. The chicken wrap was filled to the brim and throughly enjoyable as well.
Our room was located on level 8 and we booked a Park View Deluxe 2 queen beds, 415sqft - this room can sleep upto 5 people as the sofa turns into a sofa bed. A tea/coffee maker and mini fridge were in the room as well as the interative tablet where you could open/close the curtains, adjust the lighting to your hearts desire and view the menu from room service. The bathroom offered a bathtub/shower combination with toilet and seperate basin area. A sofa, chair and small table offered a relaxing area after a long day at the park which was a lovely offering for the room as it really felt like you could relax here. Whilst this room was at the front of the hotel and the park literally being there, you could hear some noise but it wasn't very loud and we had no issues with sleeping.
This hotel really hit the spot for us and it's a must now for our trips to Orlando. With the entrance to the park, it was just wonderful being able to look at the app for the wait times of the park and head on in, ride and return to the hotel whenever you wanted (park ticket required) without having to grab the bus or the car.