Universal's Loews Sapphire Falls Resort

Loews Sapphire Falls Resort stages a Caribbean plantation on the edge of a lagoon, with waterfalls dropping into the main pool, tin roofs and steel drums along the walkways. It opened in July 2016, holds a thousand units including 83 suites, and sleeps more people under a single reservation than any other hotel at Universal Orlando Resort.

One detail that changes the bill

Sapphire Falls belongs to Universal's Signature Collection, alongside Portofino Bay, Hard Rock and Royal Pacific. Many travellers conclude that it carries the same headline benefit. It does not.

Free Universal Express Unlimited is reserved for three hotels: Loews Portofino Bay, Hard Rock and Loews Royal Pacific. Sapphire Falls is excluded, and Loews confirms it by omission: its benefits page lists neither Express Unlimited nor restaurant Priority Seating, while the pages for the other three do. Express access can still be bought separately, and your advisor will have the current rate. Keep in mind as well that no hotel express benefit applies at Epic Universe or Volcano Bay, whatever the category.

What your room key does give you here: Early Park Admission, the water taxi, the walking path, delivery of in-park purchases and charging privileges across the resort.

The rooms

A standard room runs about 30 m² and sleeps up to five with a rollaway bed. Views split between the pool and the lagoon, the latter looking toward the park skyline in the distance.

The real strength of Sapphire Falls lies elsewhere. Its connecting suite configurations reach fourteen people on a single reservation, which no other hotel at the resort matches. Thirty-six kids' suites put the children's beds behind their own door. Hospitality and presidential suites include a kitchenette, useful on a long stay or for a group that wants breakfast in the room before the parks open.

Eating and drinking on site

Amatista Cookhouse serves all three meals from an open kitchen, with a Caribbean menu and a terrace over the lagoon. Strong Water Tavern, in the lobby, is the most interesting room in the building: a ceviche bar, tapas and a rum counter with guided tastings. New Dutch Trading Co. works as a market and grab-and-go counter, Starbucks coffee included, for rushed mornings. Drhum Club Kantine covers the pool. Room service runs around the clock.

The pool

Loews describes it as the largest pool at Universal Orlando Resort: close to 1,490 m², two sand beaches, waterfalls, a water slide, a children's splash area, a large hot tub, a fire pit and cabanas for rent. It is the heart of the hotel and the reason many families come back without ever having had express access.

The Kalina Health and Fitness centre is complimentary and includes dry saunas. There is no spa here; the resort's only full spa is at Portofino Bay. A game room keeps teenagers busy on rainy evenings.

Getting to the parks

The water taxi leaves the dock for CityWalk in five to ten minutes, from an hour before early entry until the middle of the night. This is the only hotel outside the express trio with its own boat connection. The walking path takes about ten minutes, and buses serve the parks, Volcano Bay and Epic Universe.

Like every on-site hotel guest, you get Early Park Admission, up to one hour before opening, at whichever park Universal designates for that date.

Who this hotel suits

It suits large groups and extended families, thanks to those connecting suites, and anyone who would rather invest in the room and the pool than in express access. It also suits business travel, with substantial meeting space. Pets are welcome for a fee, which is not the case everywhere at the resort.

It suits you less if you plan to take on Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure during a peak week without express access, when queues become the main subject of the day. Parking is charged. To compare a stay here plus purchased express access against a stay at Royal Pacific where it comes included, call your Voyages AquaTerra advisor at 1-866-628-6241. The arithmetic shifts with the season and the number of park days.