Complete Universal Helios Grand Review: Rooms, Perks & If It’s Worth It
- Stephanie Moad
- May 23
- 6 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
I just finished my stay at the Helios Grand Hotel at Universal Orlando, and here is my full and honest review about the property.
The Resort
The Helios Grand Hotel is the newest hotel on Universal Orlando Property located on their "South Campus" within Epic Universe. The property is located on South Kirkman Road south of I-4 and approximately 3 miles south or a 15 minute drive from Universal's "North Campus" which includes Universal CityWalk as well as Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay.
The resort is classified as a "Signature" Resort", this will include your highest-level of service and amenities available on the property. For Helios this includes 24-hour room service, valet parking, luggage/bell services, hotel concierge, and more. The property does have a dedicated club level located on the 9th floor with a dedicated club concierge to assist with your needs during your stay. We used them a few times to assist with dining reservations that we need to make or edit that would have been difficult to do on our own.
One of the biggest perks of the hotel is the dedicated private entrance to Epic Universe. This entrance will drop you on the back side of the park, if using the stairs you will enter by the Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant, whereas the ramp will drop you closer to Meteor Astropub. This was critical in our rope-drop strategy to ride Harry Potter: Battle of the Ministry, and it worked out in our favor, being one of the first people of the day to ride.
So, what made this stay so special?
We decided to also book a club level room. Not only that but with a theme park view. These rooms overlook Celestial Park and the Cosmos Fountain, which made for very entertaining people watching during the day, and the views that we had at night were stunning.
The Club Lounge currently offers five meal periods throughout the day which offer lighter options to choose from. We typically hit these for our snacks throughout the day to hold us in-between meals. The lounge also has a mini freestyle machine that offers select beverages that you can enjoy while in the lounge or take with you as you leave. My breakfast usually consisted of a bagel and some pastries, whereas my partner enjoyed the fruit and deli options they had available.
Now, the room itself was beautiful, although we had a room with a tub rather than a shower by itself, we still thoroughly enjoyed the amenities provided for us to use. Our room also came with two robes to use during our stay, those did come in handy quite a few times. The beds themselves were super comfortable, and the AC worked amazing. The room also had a small lounge style chair, along with a couch and a table. This couch is not recommended to have someone sleep on as it is not a pull out. The room also had a small Keurig style coffee machine with pods to use for no charge, and a small beverage cooler. The room was also stocked with plenty of towels and washcloths for our stay, and for three adults we didn't have to ask for more!
Although we did not use the pool during our stay, I will say that it meets the mark for a Signature Resort. The pool is 8,660-square-foot and features a gradual zero-entry style option to enjoy, with numerous loungers available and cabanas for rent. The hotel's pool is located on the non-Epic Universe side of the building, so if you are looking to get the most sun-time, I would recommend the afternoon so that the building is not blocking the majority of it. The pool also has a pool bar called the Lotus Lagoon, which offers a wide variety of drink, snacks and light eats to choose from.
Another spot for lite bites in the resort is the Aurora Market. This quick grab-and-go style outlet also offers fresh brewed coffee, lattes, cappuccinos and more. They are a "We Proudly Serve Starbucks" cafe, so although they use Starbucks beans, they will typically use other popular syrups instead of the Starbucks branded one. They also offer amazing gelato and yummy pastries/desserts that are truly spectacular.
The dedicated "All Day Dining" option at the resort is Flora Taverna. We only ate breakfast here, but they offered à la carte options as well as a buffet style with a fresh made to order omelette station. It does come with a little bit of a higher price tag for a buffet, but the quality of meats and other food available made it well worth the price. Included in the price of the buffet is brewed coffee, and juices such as orange and apple.
The real meal that we splurged on was our dinner at Bar Helios. It is located on the 10th floor of the hotel and is the "rooftop bar" for the property. It has a elegant style with a 360 degree view of Epic Universe and Orlando. The have both indoor and outdoor seating available and a wide selection of tapas and cocktails to choose from. Although they do have a small kids menu if you are bringing your family. Here is the link to the full review: Bar Helios Review: Rooftop Dining at Universal’s Helios Grand Hotel
The Overall Impact
Now, the impact on our stay, outside of the hotel itself. The dedicated park entrance to Epic Universe was a lifesaver. As we are coming up on summer quickly here in the sunshine state, it continues to get hotter and hotter every day, and sometimes we wanted to take breaks. Universal has done well with implementing "Cool Zones" throughout Celestial Park with fans, misters and umbrellas to help you cool down in the Florida heat, but nothing beats being able to walk back to your room, ride out the hottest part of the day, get cleaned up a little bit, then head back into the park. This was also an amazing strategy to use when the rain came by. We are in the thick of rainy season here so it is more likely than not that there is going to be a pretty nasty thunderstorm or two. This gave us the opportunity to see the weather turning and head back to the room before the rain started.
This was also an amazing feature to have when closing out the park, instead of having to wait at the bus depot for the resort bus or walk back to the car, your room was a quick walk away. The ease of not having to wait for a shuttle or walk to the car was worth every penny at the end of our full Epic Universe days.
Now, the only downside I would say is the distance from the "North Campus" as I mentioned earlier. To get to CityWalk, Volcano Bay or the two parks located there you will have to wait for the resort bus which can roughly be a 15-20 minute wait depending on traffic in Orlando that day.
I will however give MAJOR props to Universal, when they were developing the "South Campus" they built the proper infrastructure needed to handle not only the visitor traffic, but the local Orlando traffic as well. On South Kirkman Road they have built dedicated bus lanes that their buses can use to help bypass some of the worst of the traffic that can occur in the area. It was not very often that we were stuck in traffic during our stay.
The longer commute to the "North Campus" though means you will just have to plan to leave a little bit earlier if you are trying to take advantage of Early Park Entry or are planning to Rope Drop at Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios. Although, the bus for Helios Grand is the closest one to the escalator to get into security at CityWalk. So I would count that as a win.
The Verdict
Overall, was the cost worth the product? I would say 100% a thousand times over. I was over the moon my entire stay at the property and would highly recommend it to anyone looking to make their trip to Universal and Epic Universe even more special. Or even couples or families looking to elevate their stay in Orlando while visiting Universal Orlando Resort.
That being said, I will say this resort may not be the best fit for everyone. I would recommend this most for those who are looking to have an Epic Universe focused park strategy, or who have a budget that can accommodate staying at this hotel. Since it is a Signature Resort, it is one of the more expensive hotels to stay at in the Loews portfolio at Universal Orlando.
It is also important to note that Helios Grand Hotel does not include the Unlimited Express Passes that is available for Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for those staying at Loews Royal Pacific, Loews Portofino Bay or the Hard Rock Hotel. This can be a dealbreaker for those looking to make the most out of their stays when visiting the original two parks in the North Campus.
For us though, as a birthday treat for my partner, the dedicated entrance to Epic Universe, the Club Lounge access and the theme park view room were well worth the cost for this trip. The convenience alone added so much value to our trip, and for this specific celebration, I truly feel like Helios Grand delivered.
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