Helios Grand Hotel is the new resort inside Epic Universe, and one of 4 hotels at Universal Orlando that offers a Club Level. This review features lounge & food photos, how this compares to other concierge tiers, pros & cons of staying Club Level at Helios, and whether it’s worth the splurge.
For starters, this focuses only on the Club Level lounge. If you’re looking for our thoughts on the new hotel as a whole, check out our Universal Helios Grand Hotel Review. Suffice to say, there’s a lot of good, bad & ugly that applies to the resort as a whole; this covers only the upsides and downsides of this one booking category.
As basic background, Universal Orlando offers Club Level accommodations at four resorts in its Signature Collection: Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, and Helios Grand Hotel. The final hotel in the new Signature Collection (previously Premier) is Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, which does not have a Club Level.
Prior to this stay at Helios Grand Hotel, we’ve only done one other Club Level at Universal Orlando–Portofino Bay Hotel a few years ago. Apparently, I forgot to do a standalone review of that experience, but we generally liked it. The food was more substantive and hearty than most Club Levels at Walt Disney World, with Universal acknowledging the reality that many (most?) guests want to do full dinner in the lounge.
That was probably my biggest takeaway–less sophisticated small bites and more crowd-pleasing comfort foods for a proper dinner. That’s not necessarily a value judgment in either direction; there are pros & cons of each approach. Otherwise, I found a lot of overlap between Club Level at Portofino Bay Hotel and the Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World. Breakfast, lunch/afternoon snacks, dessert & drinks were all similar. The lounge at Portofino Bay is likewise lovely. If it were a Deluxe Resort at Walt Disney World, that Club Level would rank highly.
To that point, we’ve stayed at almost every Club Level at Walt Disney World, some multiple times. (For more general thoughts on concierge level at WDW, check out our Is Club Level at Walt Disney World Worth It? guide.) We also have done a number of real world Club Level stays at various Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott properties.
There’s really not much sense comparing Club Levels at Universal or Disney to their real world counterparts. Real world resort concierges go out of their way to make you feel special and pampered. Their service is very attentive and proactive. Service at theme park hotel Club Levels is more reactionary; if you need assistance, it’s there. This can be helpful if you’re a Disney or Universal novice and need basic planning assistance upon arrival, but it’s not particularly useful to experienced theme park visitors.
Don’t get me wrong–if you make an effort to chat up Team or Cast Members, they will be conversational. Plenty are long-tenured and beloved by guests, but it just isn’t the same. It’s friendly and familiar service as opposed to attentive and luxurious, if that makes any sense. This is all what’s typically the case; there are exceptions at both Disney and Universal.
Throughout the day, the Club Level lounge at Helios Grand Hotel serves the following:
- Breakfast: 7 to 11 a.m.
- Snack Service (Lunch-ish): Noon to 3 p.m.
- Evening Hors d’oeuvres (Dinner): 5-7 p.m.
- Something Sweet (Desserts & Cordials): 8-10 p.m.
As with all other Club Level lounges, the hors d’oeuvres/dinner options are the highest quality and most substantive, followed by breakfast, and then the ‘something sweet’ service. Lunch or the snack service is, by far, the weakest.
With basics out of the way, let’s turn to the good, bad & ugly of Universal Helios Grand Hotel’s Club Level:
Good of Club Level at Helios Grand Hotel
The food in the Club Level at Helios Grand Hotel is good to great.
In particular, the dinner service is a standout, with Mediterranean and Greek-inspired dishes that are flavorful, high quality, and varied. During my multi-night stay, there was always something different for dinner, and it was always well-rounded. Lighter and healthier options alongside heavier dishes.
The chicken & cheese skewers, sliders, and pork belly were all highlights, and better than anything I’ve had thus far at the standalone restaurants in Helios Grand Hotel. The hummus and salads were refreshing, and similarly flavorful. The dinner service at Helios is a standout among Orlando theme park hotels, and far superior to what we had previously at Portofino Bay.
Breakfast is also a good, but not great like dinner.
For me, this checked the right boxes. I was able to have quality eggs, yogurt, pastries, and fruit. The coffee is also excellent.
There wasn’t really a marquee breakfast dish during my stay, but this is far better than your average ‘free’ hotel continental breakfast served at some third party hotels near Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World. It was enough to power me through rope drop until lunch.
Speaking of, the afternoon snack service (“lunch”) was good enough.
Above is a mix of the pre-packaged items I grabbed for my bag to snack while stuck in line when Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness broke down.
None of this is anything special, obviously, but it avoids making “the bad” list because this is par for the course with Club Level. Even most real world hotels have light lunch offerings.
Finally, there’s dessert.
The macarons and creme brulee carried the day here; everything else was fine. More variety definitely would be nice, and I strongly suspect that’ll happen over time. The first thing to do will be the comically small spread of macarons.
Here are more food photos from Club Level at Helios Grand Hotel:
Another highlight of Club Level at Helios Grand Hotel is the Team Members.
Loews clearly pulled the best of the best for the launch of Helios Grand Hotel, as the service is top-notch across the board. I found the staff in the lounge to be friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic about the hotel, lounge, and Epic Universe.
This experience was easily the most attentive Club Level stay I’ve had at Disney or Universal. It probably helped that I was doing a solo stay, so it wasn’t as if they were interrupting any conversation, and also that the resort is brand-new. It’ll be worth monitoring this in the years to come, but as of right now, I’m impressed by the polish of the guest service at Helios Grand Hotel. It’s great across the board, with Club Level being the highlight.
Bad of Club Level at Helios Grand Hotel
If you showed me the above photo without context and told me this was the breakfast area at a Fairfield Inn in Des Moines or Grand Rapids, I wouldn’t bat an eye. It reminds me a decent amount of some spaces at the third party hotels near Disneyland; maybe with a bit more pizzazz.
This is hardly any surprise. If you read our full Universal Helios Grand Hotel Review, you’d know one of the biggest criticisms is that it’s boxy, bland, and underbaked from a thematic perspective. We emphasized how, if Helios Grand Hotel were built to overlook one of the Walt Disney World theme parks, it would be absolutely excoriated by fans.
Helios Grand Hotel is like a cut-rate Gran Destino Tower. That Moderate Resort boasts more attention to detail throughout its common areas, with superior fit and finishing. Everything about Helios Grand Hotel feels like it was value engineered, with the resort resting entirely on its location and big views of Epic Universe.
It’s no surprise that the Club Level Lounge is just like the rest of Helios Grand Hotel from a thematic perspective. It’s a boring lounge in a boring hotel. It’s still far from terrible–it’s just fine. And for what it’s worth, there are several lounges at Walt Disney World that are only “just fine.”
Here are more photos of the Club Level lounge interior:
Ugly of Club Level at Helios Grand Hotel
Speaking of location and big views being the selling point of Helios Grand Hotel, this lounge does not have the latter.
In what’s bound to be a controversial decision, the Club Level lounge has a “skyline” view, which is to say that it overlooks nearby roads and office parks, with a glimpse of taller buildings in the distance. On the plus side, at least it’s not primarily a parking structure or backstage facilities view. I actually had that during a different stay at Helios Grand Hotel.
Here’s a look:
This is ugly when contrasted with my room view on the other side of the hotel, and is a deserved entry in this column, sure. But I can also understand why Loews and Universal made the decision to put the lounge on this side of the hotel.
Putting the lounge on the park side would cause guests to linger, and also encourage the ‘hack’ of downgrading on room view and upgrading to Club Level for the best of both worlds. That’s exactly the advice we would’ve offered!
I’ve been to resorts with great lounge views, and that is exactly what happens. And to be sure, I’ve been part of the problem, so I’m not casting aspersions. It’s the logical thing to do, but it also can create frustrations in finding tables due to the same guests monopolizing the space.
I encountered no such issues with the lounge at Helios Grand Hotel. Although admittedly, I took most of my food back to my room to enjoy the view from there.
Other Club Level Considerations
Club Level is located on the ninth floor at Helios Grand Hotel, which applies to both the lounge and rooms. If you want a high-floor room, this is the easiest and most reliable way of getting it.
On other stays, I’ve made that room request and still ended up on the 5th floor or below. (Other friends had the same experience.) This is especially worthwhile if you want a bird’s eye view of Epic Universe. Here was my Park View from the 9th floor:
Additionally, Epic Universe is the #1 food park in Orlando. Even after spending multiple days there, I’ve still only scratched the surface of what its culinary scene has to offer. But what I did try was largely exceptional, a fantastic mixture of fun, photogenic, delicious, and ambitious. (See My Favorite Foods at Epic Universe & Must-Eat Restaurants.)
There is something to be said for rolling out of bed and having an easy and efficient breakfast before rope drop. There’s also something to be said for actually enjoying the restaurants in the #1 food park at Universal Orlando. If I had to choose between ~$100 in spending money each day for Epic Universe restaurants or unlimited food in the Club Level lounge at Helios Grand, I’m choosing the former every single time.
In a way, Club Level actually felt like it diminished my Epic Universe experience. Not breakfast–that was great–but leaving for dinner while my friends dined in the park just felt wrong. Your mileage may vary on that, though. Epic Universe also has long wait times for counter service dining, so the convenience and lack of friction around this Club Level could be another selling point.
The convenience of Helios Grand Hotel to Epic Universe cannot be overstated, and this is doubly advantageous when leaving the park for meals. This is something we struggle to do when staying Club Level at Walt Disney World, as the commute time for the “free” food is too great of a cost.
At least in my experience, doing meals in the Club Level lounge at Helios Grand was actually a time-saver. As noted above, I’d part ways with my friends, who would eat wherever in the park, and then meet back up when we were done.
Every single time, I met them at a counter service restaurant where they were still finishing up meals. And I didn’t particularly rush or anything–I’d even stop back at my room to grab my tripod, change shoes, charge my phone, etc. (It “helps” that the most popular counter service restaurants at Epic Universe get slammed at dinner.) The Club Level lounge actually being time-neutral to time-saving is an underrated benefit at Helios Grand Hotel.
Is Club Level at Helios Grand Hotel Worth the Cost?
It’s impossible to make an across the board assessment of whether Club Level at Helios Grand Hotel is “worth it.”
This is because Universal Orlando/Loews use dynamic pricing for their hotels. What this typically means is that prices increase as dates draw nearer. That’s not always true, but we’ve seen it happen at least 80% of the time. Even during the off-season. Universal usually offsets this by offering discounted rates to Florida residents and Annual Passholders.
Regardless, demand-based pricing can produce quirks…such as Skyline Club Level rooms costing the exact same price as standard rooms, or being literally $1 more expensive. I’ve seen a lot of this when searching last-minute in the months since Epic Universe opened, and it’s honestly perplexing. You probably don’t need me to tell you whether Club Level is “worth it” for $1 per night. (Spoiler alert: it is.)
These quirks mostly emerge last minute. When searching further in advance, it appears to me that Club Level pricing starts at about $75 to $175 more expensive per night. I won’t pretend to be an expert on standard pricing at Universal Orlando/Loews, but that strikes me as the average price disparity. The gap grows around peak season dates, and can close in the off-season with AP or FL resident discounts. All of this is more or less consistent with Walt Disney World, minus the dynamic pricing part.
Split stays also work really well with Club Level at Helios Grand Hotel. You could do a couple of nights here and a couple more at the main campus of Universal Orlando to leverage Unlimited Express Pass, or even split time between Epic Universe and Walt Disney World. There are a ton of different ways to leverage split stays and Club Level to reduce costs, optimize for location and meals, and so forth.
Booking early is the optimal approach for Helios Grand Hotel, and then circling back to see if any discounts drop later. Our expectation is that won’t happen until the ‘new hotel smell’ wears off, which could take years. Reviews have been rather glowing of Helios Grand Hotel, so demand will likely remain strong.
Given all of that, we highly recommend requesting a quote from Be Our Guest Vacations, a no-fee Universal Preferred Travel Agency. They can assist booking Helios Grand Hotel for you, comparison shopping among the various hotels, helping determine which packages will work best for your family, and finding ways to optimize a Club Level stay at Helios Grand Hotel!
Ultimately, this is one of the best Club Levels we’ve done at Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando. The food at breakfast, dinner and dessert is good to great, and lunch is sufficient.
Service is another high point, with Loews clearly pulling the best of the best to staff the new hotel; the employees I encountered all took pride and ownership of their resort. The lounge is nothing special thematically, but that’s par for the course with this hotel.
The only real downside is the view of the lounge, and that’s remedied by booking a Park View room. Obviously, that comes with a cost, but if you’re looking at Club Level as a fun splurge (which is really the only way to justify it–there value proposition rarely pencils out unless you win the $1 upcharge lotto booking last-minute), then pairing it with Park View is absolutely the way to go.
That’s what sold me on Club Level at Helio Grand Hotel and why we’ll probably return as a family if we can score a competitive rate. (That, and Epic Universe not offering much for toddlers, so two members of our party would get a lot out of the lounge.) There was something to be said for going to the lounge and grabbing food and drinks to take back to my room.
Sitting in the window, enjoying delicious sliders while decompressing during a park break or a morning ‘wake up’ coffee or late night desserts while gazing at the glimmering lights and fountains. Those experiences are all among my most memorable, and it’s tough to put a price on that. Club Level is my new favorite way to stay at Epic Universe, especially since it adds a degree of convenience, comfort, and ease to an experience that otherwise can be lacking those things!
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of the Club Level at Epic Universe’s in-park hotel? Does this lounge or its food look appealing or unappealing to you? Would you prefer $100 spending money for eating at Epic Universe or unlimited “free” food in the lounge? If you’ve already stayed at Club Level at Helios Grand Hotel, what do you think of it? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
