Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando

we've been staying at this hotel for years. Every time on rock royalty level 7. we really thought this would be our last visit. our top reason to visit is the unbelievable staff, but rock royalty and the rooms was getting worse year after year and couldnt justify the prices. so when we walked to our room we noticed new carpet in the hall way, something that desperately needed doing. We entered our room, expecting the old worn furniture we'd seen for years. But i was like a new room. Carpet, furniture and the bathroom had a complete makeover. It was a really nice surprise. rock royalty room had lost its magic too. Only Nan and Wendy would interact with guests and the food and care of the room werent good. But that has changed. The food is good and continually looked after. Breakfast staff greet you with a smile and 'good morning' , something thats been missing for years. And evenings are back to how they used to be. Staff with personalities, Nan, Wendy and Meri are the best. Lovely people and fun to be around. Velvet and beach club is consistantly 1st class. And thats because of some of the best staff you'll meet. At Velvet, Sandra, Anthony, Skinny and Ken make you want to stay all night, and the same can be said at beach club, Hoover, Traci, David, Robert will make it very enjoyable to sit at the bar and have a drink. The Kitchen is with out doubt our favourite restaurant in Universal. The Acoustic brunch is superb and something we do every visit. We also had the prime rib dinner. I really hope they keep this. It was top class. Food and beverage manager Den should take a lot of credit for the above comments. A great guy and its clear his staff think the same. Hes doing a fantastic job. We didnt hear or see any constuction but fully undersatnd its got to be done sometimes. I dont understand peoples complaints about it. You cant moan about the hotel needing updating and then moan again because theyre doing it. If its happening theyre doing their best to make sure it doesnt affect your stay. So thank you Hard Rock. Things needed to change dramatically and youve done it. We've been visiting for 16yrs and its back to how it was. the best. And when the Epic Universe madness calms down a bit we will be back. Read less

On arrival, bell services were very helpful and the lady at reception was nice enough and answered our questions but it felt like she was reeling off a script and in doing so wasn’t taking a breath. When we checked-in, we found the bathroom set-up very strange with an open sink area. The door just about closed as it went past the toilet, literally by millimetres. Why they didn’t just enclose the whole thing as a bathroom is beyond us, it would have been spacious and easier to use. I went to use the safe and did a test set-up of the lock – as I typed in 3 numbers it automatically locked and nothing we did could open it again. It was also tiny about A4 size and depth of about 2.5inches – so not sure how much we would have got in there! Must be for top secret docs, not travel and personal items. On our first evening we came back to the hotel to notice ‘what we hope was stale chocolate cake’ on the floor by the beds, and a used bottle of body lotion on the floor of the bathroom, so very clear the room hadn’t been cleaned properly. It was too late to be complaining so I picked up ‘the cake’ and we just kept socks and shoes on. Then realised how noisy the air vent system is! We didn’t even have the air-con on but there is a continuous tinny sound. Went down first thing to complain but before we could get out the room we had to fight the door to get out. So mentioned all these things as we got to reception and they apologised, gave us 3 drinks vouchers (there are 2 of us so not sure how this equates fairly) and said it would all be sorted when we got back later. When we returned, the floor looked a bit better but I could see it still wasn’t fully clean. The next morning, I dropped a small piece off the end of a chewing gum packet on the floor along the main walkway through the room, as a test to see if it was picked up upon cleaning. Suffice to say it was still there when we returned the last day, not once was our floor hoovered or cleaned properly. And surprise surprise, the door was still getting stuck, even on our check-out morning. The walls are paper thin, we could hear every time next door was in the shower and the other side we could hear their whole conversations and people going up and down the corridor. When we checked-out they don’t ask who you are, whether you had a nice stay, what room you were in – they just say is an email receipt ok? It feels very cold and as though customer service is an effort to be quite honest! Overall, the hotel is clean and staff helpful, we had a lovely dinner and breakfast in the kitchen restaurant during our stay. It’s very odd though to come in the main entrance and reception area and then your whole stay never go through there again until you leave, as the entrance to the parks and everything else is on level 1. I give it props for being so close to the parks but I wouldn't stay here again. Read less

Stayed as a family of 4 in a future rock star suite. This was our second visit, having come as a couple years ago before we had kids. I have to say, it’s now starting to look a bit tired in places. For example, the speakers in the pool that used to play music under the water weren’t working during our visit, some of the furniture is starting to look worn in places, and the lobby is the same as it was a decade ago. The room was incredibly noisy considering the price. You could hear everything from the corridor - every door shutting, every drunken shouting person, every lift noise, everything. It wasn’t a great nights sleep considering it was one of their suites. Kids were woken up a few times. The great bit is the fun nature of the hotel, the location and the express passes and early entry to the parks. That’s what you are staying for really. Truthfully though, I’m not sure I would pick the hard rock next time - maybe one of the other universal hotels. This place feels like it has had its day, and I am sad about that as our first visit a decade ago was infinitely better. Read less

I’ve been an avid Hard Rock pin badge collector for years and we were so excited to be staying in a HR hotel for the first time! Positives are the location is actually excellent - walking distance to US, IOA, City Walk with regular buses to VB. All staff were really friendly. Now……. the negatives… Firstly, the room doors are paper thin, you can hear every syllable of excited children, adults going by and DOGS barking. When we checked into our room, there was an old clothes label and bits of food in the clothes drawer, salt sachets in the fridge cupboard, no shampoo in dispenser. Loud drilling (sounded literally underneath our room) as we first walked into the room after check in, we had to go down to reception to find out when it would be stopping as we weren’t pre-warned, no apologies were given either. On the second night we ran out of shower gel in dispenser. Ordered room service for dinner at 20:00 and was told it would be 40-45mins, chased it at 21:10, order hadn’t gone through and would be a further 25 minutes so we cancelled as it would be too late - no dinner for us. We decided to complain via the weblink we received at check in and got a prompt response asking when would be a convenient time to call the room, 9am the next morning was arranged…. 9am came and went, no phone call, gave it 15mins as we had plans and went down to lobby to see if we could do face to face instead. We got a dinner voucher and 50% off our last night room rate as an apology. Last day was a rain day so stayed in the hotel for the morning, the drilling started at 9:30am, water was then turned off - we had NO IDEA this was happening and could not shower, flush toilet, brush teeth… For the price we’ve paid for this Universal “signature collection” hotel, they didn’t even get the basics right! We wouldn’t stay here again and next time we would definitely look into staying at either a different Universal Resort or a cheaper better hotel close by and just buying the express passes directly from the parks. On a personal note, this was a once in a life time trip for us, we’ve stayed at the Disney Drury Plaza and off to the Keys and Miami after Universal and this hotel has been a disappointment to our trip, it put a right downer on our Universal element. Hard Rock, maybe take notes from the Drury Plaza, you cost 75% more which means you should have been better - you’re just trading on name and location alone…. do better Hard Rock…!!! Read less

I was very excited to stay at Hard Rock Hotel for the first time, and for my first ever trip to Universal (lifelong Disney visitor, DVC member), and unfortunately I was disappointed w the resort, especially for the price (ave $736 per night, 4 nights). The location of the resort can't be beat - it's a 10 minute walk to the parks, or a short boat taxi (complimentary). We used the boat most days. The line-skipping was a major factor in deciding to stay here as well, but even with this benefit, the hotel is over-priced. Check-in: We waited about 20 minutes in line to get to the front desk to check in, which was at 11am. The employee was friendly. I was then given a piece of paper stating that there was ongoing construction and possible water shut-offs daily. He said where our room was we should not hear anything, but we heard construction noise every day. When I mentioned that it was my daughter's birthday, he gave her a Bday button to wear and a coupon for a free dessert, which was a nice touch. We checked our bags w Bell Services (Concierge), then also checked our Amazon fresh order w Bell Services. Items were not refrigerated (I guess we were supposed to tell them to do so, which we have never had to do at Disney's Boardwalk, so I was not expecting to have to personally direct this). Went to the pool, ordered lunch, and then back into the lobby to wait for our room. By 3:00 our room was still not ready so I texted, and the reply was that check-in "begins at 4:00." I can't remember ever checking in so early and waiting so long for a room, especially when the resort is not fully booked, but I chalked it up to staffing issues. The person texting back (Audrey?) was nice and used "Rock-speak," but the vibe I got was that guests checking in are not prioritized, bc check-in "begins" at 4:00 (rather than the room should be ready BY 4pm and EARLIER whenever possible). 5 minutes later, I rec'd a text that the room was ready (Deluxe Queen). Was satisfied w room location and size, but the room itself was bland - not the edgy Rock vibe I was expecting (pics online are deceptive and make the room look cooler than it is). Took a shower, and shampoo and conditioner were both out. TV and remote were working sporadically (low batteries?). Called Concierge from the room phone for our luggage and grocery delivery, but it went to voicemail (we did not know we should text the number given to me at the front desk for Concierge). The pool has a ton of potential, and I can see that in its prime it was probably great, but it is long overdue for some maintenance and TLC. The water fountain features with the mosaic tile globes would be cool if they were clean and in working order, but they were filthy and barely dribbling water. The entire pool area just looks old and worn down, like an 80s rock star. The staff at the pool were all friendly, and the servers always communicated the automatic 18% gratuity added to the bill. The large bottle of sunscreen next to the towels is a great idea and very appreciated. On Wednesday (May 7), my husband had an important Teams/video call in the afternoon, but when we got back to the room, our water was off and he couldn't shower. The front desk did discount the room by 50% for this day, which was appropriate and appreciated. In the room description when I booked online, under amenities, it listed microwave was available upon request. While I find it odd that a microwave is not standard as it is in the majority of most basic family hotel rooms, when I requested it, I was told there would be an additional $15 charge per night, or there was a public microwave available (there is no mention of an additional charge on the Hard Rock site, where I booked). It is insane that for $736 per night I do not have a microwave in my room. I honestly cannot remember the last hotel I stayed in that did not have a microwave. We ordered room service on the last night, which was a good value (they did not skimp on portions). I really wanted to like this hotel, but all these little issues chipped away any remaining enthusiasm. The cool Rock-n-Roll vibe the hotel seems to offer is sadly soul-less, where if it were executed well could be really exciting and energizing to guests of all ages. I would only consider staying here again if it were half the price. Read less