Clarion Inn & Suites Across From Universal Orlando Resort — Hotel in Orlando

I chose this hotel because it was literally across the way from Universal and it offered free bus rides to/from Universal. I, however, did not completely enjoy my stay here. Firstly, the receptionist didn’t speak English very well so I don’t think she understood English very well either as she had a difficult time explaining how to find my room. It was very confusing to me, the way she was trying to explain directions. She kept telling me to drive around the back but I spent about 45 minutes driving around and around the different buildings trying to find “Building 5”. I kept seeing every building EXCEPT 5. OI finally figured out that Building 5 was in the center of the complex so if you’re assigned to Building 5, you actually walk through the courtyard looking area, with all the plants, next to the gym, between the office building & gym. She was perceptive enough to give me a bottom floor so I greatly appreciated that. ||Another issue is that the ice machine is located all the way around to the back, in Building 1. Why isn’t there an ice machine near building 5 or perhaps the office? I’m mobility challenged so it’s a struggle to walk that far to get ice & it’s just plain silly for to drive around to the ice machine. I was disappointed that I was unable to use ice for my ice pack on my swollen feet & ankles. ||Another issue was that I didn’t understand the window curtains. I didn’t notice or see the third set of curtains against the window so I had to leave the curtains open the first night & next day as well. As I was walking back to my room, I saw the adjacent room’s curtains drawn so I knew there had to be curtains in my room so I looked again but more thoroughly & finally saw the curtains that drew closed. The set closest to the room are stationary & are just for show so just keep that in mind, the curtains you close are against the window. ||Another thing to note is that you’re supposed to make a reservation to utilize the bus to Universal. The bus driver gets really upset if you didn’t make a reservation although he’ll take you anyway, he makes it known that you’re supposed to make a reservation. Also take note that you catch the bus back to the hotel BEHIND the elevator on the ground floor at Universal, same area as the regular hotel busses but go BEHIND THE ELEVATOR! Or just ask a security officer there at the bus drop off, they’ll tell you where to go. The bus drivers were not friendly nor very helpful at all but it’s a free ride so I can’t complain. ||The hotel has several places to eat inside the main office building but are charged separately so it’s not included in the hotel room price. The hotel looked like it was recently updated, it was very clean, still smelled of fresh paint & the bed was VERY comfortable and had a variety of pillows that had different levels of softness. The shower had a safety bar inside the shower so I greatly appreciated that. |The water pressure wasn’t all that great but worked nonetheless. It took a minute to find the refrigerator, it’s behind a cabinet door, beneath the tv. There’s no microwave and the only convenient outlet is beneath the tv so I had to unplug the lamp & tv to use the outlet. There’s a second outlet on the other side of the tv but my cord was too short to reach so consider using a 10’ cord to reach the top of the cabinet, if you plan on using it to charge any devices. ||There’s a table blocking the connecting door to the adjacent room but someone actually tried to open the door from the adjacent room! So scary! ||The hotel is in a decent location. It’s very close to Walmart & fast food places so it was conveniently located and easy to get in/out but you can’t turn left out of the parking lot, you must turn right then make a U-Turn so just be aware of that. The hotel parking is narrow & has minimal parking available in front but should be enough parking for each room in the adjacent buildings. ||I’d definitely consider staying here again in the future. Despite the initial issues I had, I know what to do now to avoid any of those particular issues in the future. I had a decent night’s stay & any issues I mentioned don’t deter me from...

I've been staying here since December 29th and am due to check out on the 8th. Wanted to leave an honest review. First, check in was pretty painful. I'd gotten caught in an absolute downpour so I was soaked and tired. There was one man on reception and no one else. Had to wait a minute for the other guest to be done who kept asking question after question. Not their fault, but more people should be on reception. I'll make a list of pros and cons down below:

Cons:

NO MICROWAVE IN ROOM. This is insane to me. I've stayed in my fair share of hotels in Orlando, some far worse than this and even they've had a microwave. I feel like it's such a general standard here and I can't understand why this hotel wouldn't provide one. As a solo traveller, it's made it very difficult to eat. Especially when I've gotten super sick during my stay and was bed bound for 2 days. I could seriously barely walk due to dizziness and my whole body being in pain so was in no fit state to go out for food. Had I had a microwave I could have fed myself instead of feeling worse due to no food on my stomach besides yellow lays. They told me there's a microwave in the gym, however I've failed to find it when I've peeked in. Still tho, ridiculous. Honestly if I'd knew there was no microwave I would have stayed somewhere else that did have them in rooms as standard.

I paid in cash. They wanted a $100 cash deposit which is fine, however they failed to mention they also charge the price of 1 nights stay to your card too (which gets refunded I think it was 2 or 3 days after the fact) but I can't really understand why. Due to the exchange rate this means I didn't get the full amount back that they took.

Walls and ceiling are PAPER thin. This is not the place to stay if you want rest. Every single day I've been woken up by people yapping loudly, housekeeping doing the same. Their carts and people with suitcases sound like a train going past my room. Been woken up by vacuums and grass cutters also. People showering and slamming doors too.

Bedsheets certainly were not clean when I got here. Pillows smelt of sweat.

The lighting in the room isn't sufficient enough in my opinion. It's a very dark room. There is a big mirror on the wall next to the door, however there's no light next to it which seems odd? Meaning if you're doing make up or whatever else, you have to stand the entire time at the basin mirror where there's light. Other two lights are next to the beds.

The bars that would make the shelves usable in the refrigerator are missing for some reason. You can see where the bars should have been but they're not there.

The layout of the hotel isn't the simplest to understand when you first get here, even from the map provided. Especially when you're walking around in the pouring down rain trying to find your room and the said map is getting soaking.

Washing machines and dryers are card only. Another inconvenience. Every hotel I've stayed in have been quarters or tokens which you get from cash. Quite expensive too, $3 to use the washing machine and $3 to use the dryer.

There are no elevators to the upper floors, another insane thing. If I wasn't on the ground floor, there's not a chance in hell I would have been able to get a 19kg suitcase up a flight of stairs.

Pros:

The air con in the room is really clean and it's very modern. Unlike a lot of the same aged air cons I've experienced in other hotels around orlando.

This may not be a pro to others, but personally I hate being disturbed by housekeeping. This doesn't happen here as you have to request housekeeping if you want it, avoiding people knocking on your door.

Toilet and bathtub were spotless.

There are tons of towels provided in the room.

Washing machines and dryers are very modern, LG front load and have a large capacity inside.

Beds and pillows are quite comfortable.

Curtains are truly blackout.

Room was generally quite clean.

Unfortunately, due to the cons I can't recommend this place. It may be fine for 1 nights stay but...

The main draw of the hotel is how close it is to the Universal Studios parks. If your number one focus is to be as close to Universal without actually staying in a hotel owned by Universal then this is a great choice. The price is also pretty good for what you're getting. However, there were a lot of little things about the hotel that add up to a somewhat mediocre experience and made me wish I'd shelled out a few more dollars for a better hotel. First I'd like to clarify that this is more of a motel than anything else and there are no elevators that I could see to take your stuff up to the second floor. Because it is a motel, the rooms are exterior facing so there will be noise coming in from the outside. The bed was incredibly uncomfortable and the sheets were very thin. The air conditioning wouldn't fully cool the entire room so the bed closest to the AC would be freezing but the rest of the room was extremely humid and warm. The property is a little bit dirty and could definitely use a touch-up, although the bedsheets and towels themselves were pretty clean. I didn't have any noise issues with neighbors but our room was located right next to the highway so we could hear the constant hum of the cars all through the night and there was a large truck parked right outside that continually made noises.

The hotel features a small cafe with pretty decent breakfast selections, there was a $5 special that came with a croissant sandwich and coffee and a small cup of orange juice which was perfect to get the day started although the cafe is small and gets quite busy so I'd expect there to be some wait there. There is also a restaurant called Tabla located right off the lobby which I DO NOT recommend. The food is highly overpriced, the service is slow, and the flavors overall were not that good. For the kind of prices they list on their menus you'd be better off eating at Universal City Walk where you get way higher quality and a better overall experience. There is also a small convenience store which has a decent selection of toiletries you may need and it was a life saver in a pinch.

They do provide wifi but it is incredibly spotty and it did not reach all the way to our room so we may as well not have had any. I would recommend using the wifi in the lobby to download any media you want before heading back to your room. There's a TV with cable in your room which is standard for most hotels nowadays.

As for their partnership with Universal, there's a desk in the lobby where you can buy tickets and reserve a spot on the bus to the parks. The bus only comes about three or four times in the morning, and it's a quick trip to the park. In fact, it takes about the same amount of time to ride the bus as it does walking. The bus does stop at other hotels but Clarion is the first stop. For the return trip, the bus has three departure times from the park and they're pretty early (between 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm) which is not ideal if you'd like to take full advantage of the parks and City Walk. But like I said the walk isn't too bad. One of the benefits of walking to the parks instead of taking the bus is the chance to use the security gate at the valet entrance which is completely empty so you don't have to deal with the stress of the big crowds lining up for security.

Overall the hotel was kind of mediocre and there were a lot of things I wish they'd improve but it is a great location if you're going...