Dockside's Pier 8 Market — Restaurant in Orlando

Edit made at the bottom. My rating is actually 3 1/2. Would recommend doing mobile check in before getting to the hotel but they still take forever checking you in. They should hand you your keys and ask if you have any questions. The hotel is a fairly newer built hotel so it's still fairly clean. They provide you with a free shuttle bus to and from Universal and they run pretty frequently so we've never had to wait long. You also get free early admission for Universal the days you're staying which is a great perk. Decent size rooms. We booked a two queen size bed room. Had everything you need if only staying for a few days. There's a good size shower, no tub if you are looking for that. There was a mini fridge which I was happy about because I didn't think that came with the room. In tower 2 where we stayed the laundry rooms are on floors 9 and 6, they have detergent and fabric sheets for sale as well. You can use a credit card or quarters for the laundry and there is a machine to convert dollars to quarters in the laundry rooms. There's a game room on floor one, but the fitness room is actually in tower 1. The pool is nice, they even have speakers underwater so you can still hear the music which is pretty cool. I didn't like how there were no hot tubs. On a chilly cloudy night after walking around the parks all day it would have been great to get into one. There's also a nice bar area by the pool you can sit at or bring to your beach chair. In the lounge there's a Starbucks that's had a never ending line. A great cafe area, and a cocktail bar with really comfy seating. I didn't like that when the cleaners came in while we were gone they didn't replace the dirty towels and two of the towels they just folded and hung back up, which I could tell because they were still damp from when we used it in the morning. I later found out that if a towel isn't on the floor they don't replace them they just hang them back in place which I found strange. The towels were also kinda rough for hotel towels which are usually nice and soft. We are some food from the cafe before leaving which was nothing special but I expected that.

Edit: my rating is now 3 due to an issue with the laundry room. There was an issue with the washing machine and it seems it didn't finish my load of laundry. It was all soaking wet. There's no sink in the laundry room so I had to ring out everything over the trash can, divide the still very wet clothes into multiple dryers and hope they get dry in one cycle. To their credit they did offer a refund for the money spent on the wash...

Stayed at Dockside for 11 days, so we ate here quite a few times during our stay. In my opinion, the food is mediocre and not worth the price. If you're planning on eating here a lot I suggest looking into the many options around the hotel that are just a short drive away. I get the convenience of the cafeteria style offerings, but you'll grow tired of eating it believe me.

The Pier 8 Market is on the lobby level near the Tower 1 breezeway. As mentioned before this is a cafeteria style dining option that offers several different counter to order at depending on what you're wanting. They also have several beverages (wine and beer selections as well), fresh fruit, salad bar, and a section for grab n go sandwiches, chips, and ice cream.

Pro tip: they have an option of buying a refillable souvenir cup. Depending on the amount of time you're here will determine the price, but you'll get unlimited refills. The cups are very small and don't fit a lot in them, so you'll be needing to refill them often. But is convenient to have for pool/resort days if you need one and doubles as a take home gift.

On to the food: the chicken and waffles was pretty good. Chicken was crispy and juicy - the waffles were alright, nothing special here. The pizza is pretty good. Those two options were probably the best thing I ate at the market during my stay. They filled me up, but it wasn't over the top by any means. The bacon burger was not good. Bacon wasn't even cooked all the way and was flimsy. The Mac n cheese is nasty I recommend skipping if you're getting the chicken, go with the mashed potatoes.

Our group didn't have a good experience with breakfast offerings. I had the steak and egg quesadilla and it had clearly been sitting on the warmer for a while. It was eatable, but upset my stomach once I got to the parks. Someone else got the ham and cheese croissant and he said it was rock hard and ended up throwing it away.

Grab n go and the pastry/deserts were a great snack to grab! The donuts were alright along with several of their cheesecakes.

If you're eating here, ask them to make it fresh; otherwise, you'll likely get something that has sat on a food warmer for an extended period of time. You'll have to wait longer, but it will make for a better dinning experience.

You can get it for here to eat in the dinning room or to-go to eat in your room. Avoid peek dinner times to avoid long lines. Again, I suggest looking around the resort and getting a better meal for...

Dockside hotel is the Worst hotel in universal resorts. Definitely can be compared with the All-Star Sports Resort in Disney. My room looked like it had been rummage through while we were away. Nothing of importance seemed to be taken. However no new towels, no fresh beds made. Also trash was still piled high. Checking out early after the most ridiculous and rudest encounter with their security guy, basically harassed me all through the hotel and with the worse and strongest accent. All because I wanted to sit outside due to the inside the building was extremely cold, and it's 6am so i wanted to watch the sun come out and feel some fresh warmth. I explain to management about these problems and Alexis says I'm sorry but there is nothing we can do. Someone who is in customer service especially hotel service should always have a solution. So I was forced to find my own solution which is sitting on the hard concrete floor outside. Her solution was to send me away. I guess I was being too annoying to early in the morning for these people. Supposed to check out Sunday but I can't handle anymore. Definitely...