Best Western Plus Universal Inn

The staff were excellent, helpful, and responsive, and the location is great. A short walk over the pedestrian bridge gets you almost to Universal. Breakfast was good, with most things kept stocked, though they ran out of bananas a few days. The hotel does have a park shuttle, but it only goes to Universal Studios, not Epic or any Disney parks, and runs just once in the morning and once in the evening. If you miss it or want to sleep in, you’ll need an Uber or Lyft. Our room was being worked on by maintenance when we arrived. They finished fairly quickly and let us in. It looked clean, but smelled like an old, sweaty gym sock. I’ve lived in Florida and know humidity, and this didn’t seem like that. Then came the roaches. On the first night, with the lights off and TV on, one crawled across the screen, followed by another. My wife saw more in the bathroom the next morning and tried to get rid of them. It was the same battle day after day, so we kept our bags closed to avoid bringing any home. If you’re okay with those issues, the savings may be worth it. For me, lesson learned. Next time I’ll budget an extra $20 to $30 a day for a room at the Double Tree or Holiday Inn. Best Western is between them.

We’ve stayed here twice. The family room has two queen beds, a pull-out couch, a mini fridge, and a microwave, and the beds are really comfortable. It’s super clean, within walking distance of Universal Studios, and breakfast is included. Families of four or more should consider staying here.

The room was a decent size, and the location is handy for Universal studio and downtown. Breakfast was tasteless, though. The scrambled eggs seemed to be made from powder and were impossible to eat, so we had to buy food at the store.

The pool was full of worms, which added to a really disappointing stay. Our first room had cockroaches. After they moved us, the air conditioning didn’t work, and they put in a machine to dry the wet carpet. It made the room too hot and uncomfortable to sleep in. I paid expecting a clean room and decent service, but this was the worst hotel experience I’ve had.