Universal Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites — Hotel in Orlando

We stayed in tower 1 in a 2 bedroom suite. It wasn't anything fancy but the beds were comfy and the rooms clean. I loved that they have a Starbucks and a restaurant right in the lobby. The pool isn't very deep, which for littles is a plus, for adults it can be mildly irritating if you're wanting a true swim. The Starbucks is a bit more expensive than the average Starbucks, but that's to be expected in a touristy area. The food at the in hotel restaurant was average, it wasn't anything to write home about but they have a good selection and decent portions. Would definitely say the pizza is probably the best of what they serve. If you're someone who likes a lot of soft drinks/tea/juice I wouldn't purchase it ala carte, I'd purchase the refillable cup and bring your own sturdy cup from home. Buy one refillable cup and fill your own up with it for your whole stay. It takes a little more time that way, but worth the save in money if you're serving more than 2 people. The other family we traveled with said they spent $20 on drinks alone that first night not realizing they had the refillable cups. The hotel is situated near a Walgreens, which was awesome for little items you might have forgotten or not realized you needed. There's also a souvenir store nearby, which is a lot more reasonably priced than getting souvenirs in the parks. I'd stop there first before buying in the parks, especially if you're just looking to bring stuff home for family or friends who didn't come. There's also a really reasonably priced pasta buffet right near the hotel/souvenir store so if you get tired of park food or the food at the hotel, that was a decent but affordable option. The service at the resort was fantastic. Everyone was unbelievably nice and helpful. The shuttles to and from city walk/the parks was free and really convenient. The only feedback I'd have is offering complimentary breakfast. We travel so much and are so used to hotels having complimentary breakfast it took me by surprise that they didn't offer one. That was quickly remedied by ordering instacart. I got enough fruit, muffins, and bagels to stock the small fridge so we could eat breakfast daily in our room. We had a 2 bedroom suite which had a microwave and little dining area but I'm told the regular rooms don't have a microwave or dining table, so this may not be an option for you depending on what you select for your stay. I've also been told that the walls in the regular rooms seemed sticky to the touch. I'm assuming this is from humidity or something, but our room didn't have that issue. When we travel to places where we don't expect to spend a lot of time in our room, we don't splurge on a higher end place, so for being a more affordable option, I find this hotel very amenable and kid friendly. If you want a more luxurious feel, I would go for one of Universal's premium resorts. With all the extras... the shuttles, 1 hr of early bird entry at the parks, purchase delivery to your room etc... I do recommend staying at an associated hotel/resort. When we did the math, we would have had to spend an extra $150+ per day to make up for transportation, express passes, etc. We were there for 6 days. I'm told there's a lot of tolls in Orlando. Another family we went with opted to stay elsewhere and rent a car and after paying for the rental, paying for gas, and paying for the tolls they said the $40 per night they saved in hotel costs ended up not being worth it because they doubled it in rental vehicle, parking, gas, and toll costs. Not to mention there was one day they were in traffic for an hour to go less than 5 miles to meet us. All in all, definitely feel like we got our monies worth and very much enjoyed our experience...

(1) The rooms at endless summer were clean to say the least. We got there around 12-1 p.m. and the staff at the front desk were very friendly. SEE PARAGRAPH (6) FOR SUMMARY OF REVIEW.

(2) My sister, friend, and i went exploring as my mom was checking us in, and around the hotel was a large pool, an arcade (around 20-25$ for a card), a gym, starbucks, and a restaurant with much food to choose from. We went to HHN (halloween horror nights) later that night. We got back to the hotel around 2:30 A.M. after the event ended and the hotel still had staff around helping.

(3) When we woke up we checked out of our room (see the 4th paragraph for more information on rooms), and then we went to eat breakfast at the “restaurant” (basically a buffet but $$ for the breakfast). The bacon was absolutely amazing so i pretty much filled up on that. The rest of the food tasted pretty bland to me after that. All of the food tasted pretty much the same as any other four star hotel you’d stay at. The restaurant tables were dirty after other families had eaten there and left a mess.

(4) The rooms. Oh, the rooms. As soon as we walked in to our room there was an overwhelmingly strong smell of eucalyptus, which was not suitable to smell. Luckily the smell went away after we left for HHN. It was a cutely themed room, with an amazing view of the pool, which is a cute shape of a surfboard. We had reading lights above our beds, but near the TV had no theming to it. The bathroom was small, the sink was outside the room with the toilet and shower (like usual hotels). So overall, the room experience was decent. Very clean, no bugs, comfy beds, but i can’t say much since I pretty much only stayed there at 3 am to sleep 😅.

(5) The location had two buses, both located outside on the left side of the resort when you walk in. I’m not entirely sure where the other bus went, but one of them took us to city walk (and we got to enter through the bus stairway, which enters to the security). It ran around every 10-20 minutes because it needed time to get to the locations and load up the passengers. The location of Endless Summer is close to Universal in general, close enough for buses to run like i mentioned above, which is very helpful if you do not want to pay for parking for citywalk (unless it is after 6, usually after 6 parking is free). The buses run until 2 AM according to the sign outside, but I’ve seen them run until 3 AM when citywalk closes.

(6) In summary, par. (4)The rooms are clean, but bland with (depending on your room orientation,) a great view of the surfboard shaped pool. par. (3) The food was decent, but mostly like normal four star hotel food (the bacon was the only amazing exception). par. (5) The buses there are on the left side of the resort when you walk in, and one of them goes to city walk. The one that takes you to citywalk runs till 2 AM according to the sign outside, but I am almost 100% sure that they run till 3 when city walk closes. par. (2) Around the hotel was a large pool, an arcade (around 20-25$ for a card), a gym, starbucks, and a restaurant with much food to choose from. This review is also formed with the experience of my family and how they felt...

During our recent stay at this hotel, We encountered significant issues that reflected poorly on both staff professionalism and accessibility for guests with special needs. Check-In Process: The check-in process was extremely slow and frustrating, with only two or three desks open at a time, resulting in wait times of 45–60 minutes and lines often 20–30 people deep. Reception staff appeared overwhelmed and disengaged, possibly due to the laborious steps required to check in each guest. Key Card Incident: Midway through our stay, the hotel changed the locks on all rooms and cancelled every guest's key card without prior notice. This left all guests stranded outside their rooms, forced to queue again for re-check-in and show identification—often inaccessible since it was locked in their rooms. Guests without immediate access to ID had to wait to be let into their rooms, then return to the line, with total wait times reaching up to two hours. The staff were completely overwhelmed, and management was nowhere to be seen. No apologies or clear ownership of the situation were provided. Although we were offered a partial refund for the inconvenience upon checkout, four weeks have passed without receipt of this compensation. Meanwhile, charges for parking and extras were processed promptly. Disabled Access and Support: During the key card incident, our severely disabled teenager was unable to access essential medication and personal care supplies in our room. During this situation reception staff and management offered no assistance. In addition to this the Disabled (blue badge) parking, typically free in the UK, was charged at full price for the duration of our two-week stay totalling serval hundred dollars. Transportation Issues: We relied on the shuttle bus daily and, on one occasion, arrived early for early access to Volcano Bay admission. However, the bus marshal denied us entry, prioritizing able-bodied groups and overriding drivers' efforts to board us. This resulted in an hour-long delay, and, upon arrival, all accessible seating was taken. Guest Services suggested renting a cabana for several hundred dollars as an alternative. Post-trip, the hotel responded to my email with a generic offer of fast passes, but provided no explanation or commitment to resolving these accessibility or service failures. Overall Impression: These experiences highlighted a lack of care and respect for guests, particularly those with disabilities. The hotel appeared more focused on profit than hospitality, providing minimal assistance, accessibility, or accountability. I strongly advise against staying here, especially if you have special needs or value attentive service during your holiday. Recommendation: Avoid this hotel if you expect reasonable service, accessibility, or empathy as a guest. Our experience was disappointing and fell short of both industry standards and basic...