Universal Endless Summer: Dockside Inn and Suites Review

Hi there friends!

    Today I wanted to talk a little bit about a Universal Orlando hotel. My boyfriend and I recently came back from a 5 night, 4 day stay at Universal's Endless Summer Dockside Inn and Suites Hotel and we have a few things to say about it.  

    First thing first, I do want to say that this is one of Universal's Value hotels so it's definitely not luxury and we definitely did not expect that, but we definitely had higher expectations considering it is a resort and it is Universal. 

Our room number 

I will break this down between the positives and negatives.

Positives:

1. It has a free shuttle service that runs every 10 to 15 minutes between Universal Studios and the Hotel. This was great because last time we visited Universal we didn't stay at one of their hotels so we had to use Uber or Lyft every single day and it became pricey and sometimes quite a hassle. The shuttle drops you off in the same spot and when you leave Universal Studios there are clear signs that you can follow that directs you straight back to the shuttle. The shuttle runs an hr before Early Park Admission to an hr after  City Walk closes (usually at midnight but can be later during summer). 

One of the bigger shuttles you could take to the parks

2. You get Early Park admission (you do have to have a valid Theme Park ticket). This is great if you want to get into the park earlier than people who are not staying at a Universal hotel. We didn't use this feature because, honestly, we needed to catch up on sleep on this vacation. 

Waiting for the  shuttle

3. The room we stayed in had 2 Queen beds (I don't think they have king beds? I didn't see an option for that when booking a room with them.) The beds were comfortable enough, not super firm and not super soft either. Pillows were decent. 

4. The bathroom had a big shower! (No bathtub)

5. There is a bar downstairs that opens at 4PM as well as a Starbucks and a Grab and Go. They also have something called Pier 8 Market where they offer many options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

6. They offer free Wi Fi but if you have more than one in your party then only one device can be connected to the Wifi at a time which is definitely a downside. 

7. The room has a cute theme and is decorated in a colorful, fun way. 

Cute Nightlight Over the Bed

8. They have luggage services which is great! Check out was at 11 Am but our flight wasn't until 7Pm so we left our luggage with Bell Services and went to City Walk by shuttle to just waste some time. When we came back to pick up our luggage, it was very quick and effective. 

9. You can check out by text message, on your TV or by phone. we checked out by text and it was the easiest thing!

10. They have a huge heated pool with a pool bar. We didn't get to use it since it wasn't that warm while we were there but it definitely looked like fun!

Room View of the Pool

Negatives:

1. There are a lot of rooms and they are very close to each other and the walls are VERY thin. There was also a door inside our room that connected our room to the room next to us which we did not like very much. That is mostly for families, if they get adjoining rooms they can open that middle door and connect all rooms. Since we were there as just a couple, it was definitely something we did not expect or want. 

2. The blankets/sheets are thin and feel quite cheap. They get the  job done but they are nothing special. 

3. There is no fan in the shower/toilet room (this is something my bf noticed and was bothered by more than I did)

4. Since the hotel is so big, it was almost fully booked (even though it is February and kids should be in school) and the lines were long at Pier 8 Market

5. Which brings me to the next negative. Pier 8 Market is pretty much the only place for food in the hotel besides Starbucks. This makes it difficult when it is breakfast, lunch or dinner time because everyone just gathers in this one spot. It can get quite congested. 

Overall, we thought this was an average hotel with basic amenities. We spent most of our time at the parks so it was ok for us. I recommend it if you are on a budget and would rather spend your money on other things which is what we did! We  checked out the City Walk restaurants and spent most of our money on lots of souvenirs and T shirts haha 

Next time we visit we will definitely check out the other Universal Hotels (especially the ones that offer the water taxi. That looks like so much fun!).

I did enjoy the full length mirror at the entrance!

Until then, 

XoXo