All things Universal Studios Hollywood

[CaptinEO]

Californian-In-Florida Reviews the Stella Nova Hotel at Epic Universe:
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I just got home from an overnight stay at the Stella Nova, the first piece of Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe expansion to open to the public. I had a blast.

A quick note about the unique exterior: It is dazzling in person—more vibrant and shimmery than most photos can really convey. And I was not expecting its night look:
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The building sort of fades into the night sky, featuring constellation lights with the glowing ufo entry as the focal point. Very surreal and fun.

Inside, the entire hotel has a fun optimistic sci-fi space theme—lots of white with blue accents in a world of sweeping curved walls and rounded corners. Looking part Star Trek, part Jetsons, and part Men In Black, the overall effect is clean, fun and welcoming.

The place was packed with Vloggers, so there is no shortage of thorough video tours on YouTube. I’d recommend checking one or two out, as still photos of the lobby areas don’t capture the impact of walking through the wonderful asymmetrical areas; it all ties together for a very pleasing, comfortable take on futurism.

The guest rooms, with their fun lighting, galaxy headboard murals and rounded portal windows, strike a perfect balance: They’re themed enough to be fun and unusual, but never at the expense of comfort and practicality.

The pool is basic, but very large.

The shop carries a fun selection of Epic Universe souvenirs, with many items I’ve not seen at Citywalk’s preview center.

The Cafe is fantastic, with a wide-ranging menu. I had lunch, dinner and breakfast there, and it was all delicious.

The staff was wonderful.

The hotel’s bus service to Citywalk/Studios/IoA is very quick, and will get even more efficient when the huge elevated roundabout opens.

I plan to return to Stella Nova in the future. It exceeded all my expectations, the pricing is very reasonable, and I enjoyed every minute of my stay.

Is this a sponsored review/stay? Or did you go out of curiosity?

 

[Rich T]

Is this a sponsored review/stay? Or did you go out of curiosity?

I went as an unsponsored fan who had never gone to an opening day theme park hotel event (made my reservation the moment they became available last year). I paid about $150 for the room.

I’m glad I went: The opening was super fun: The hotel entrance features a huge revolving door, which prevented unsuspecting early birds from seeing that on the other side, dozens of hotel staff and costumed astronauts were waiting to cheer and applaud everyone entering during the hotel’s first 15 minutes. It was overwhelming in the best way (and the free space punch was delicious! )

I’d never visited the EU area before, so it was also a great chance to get my bearings on how the resort is laid out. And it was great to give the shuttle a try; I’d compare the ride from the hotel to Citywalk drop off to a well-timed WDW bus park hop.
(Edit)
Man, I just reread that and I really do sound like a prescripted PR plant or something. Sorry about that. I try to sound natural, but old work habits are hard to break. I promise everything I post here is unsponsored and from the heart (and often clumsy and ineffectively phrased ).

 

[Rich T]

While over at Disney, the Galactic Starcruiser hotel is an industrial warehouse box with no windows and interior that looks nothing like Star Wars.

While writing my thoughts on Stella Nova, I was so tempted to say something in that direction…

I’ll just say this: I believe an equivalent to Stella Nova (a budget-priced, non-larp-focused, pleasantly themed sci-fi hotel) at WDW —with the classic Star Wars characters— Could have been a roaring success for Disney.

But nooooooooooo….

 

[Phroobar]

While writing my thoughts on Stella Nova, I was so tempted to say something in that direction…

I’ll just say this: I believe an equivalent to Stella Nova (a budget-priced, non-larp-focused, pleasantly themed sci-fi hotel) at WDW —with the classic Star Wars characters— Could have been a roaring success for Disney.

But nooooooooooo….

Disney budget-priced? I don't think those words go together.


How hard can it be to have a scheduled stunt show in the lobby?