Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando

This has been the worst customer service I have ever received or experienced. We paid extra for a Lagoon view but we did not get it. Instead, they stuck us in a standard view room with many trees and we could barely see the water. We went to the front desk to complain and they were incredibly disrespectful. They used my birthday as an excuse to put us there. then they moved us to a slightly better room but not by much. I went to a Disney resort a couple of weeks later. Specifically Disney’s Yacht Club Resort and it was a night and day difference between Disney and Universal the service was so much better because we got to see the boardwalk and the friendship boats for the price of a standard view. and all I had to do was ask for a high floor. Read less

This was our third visit to Lowes Sapphire Falls. We had a 10 day stay in a kids suite, the room gives extra space when with your family although you share the washroom and shower facilities (create a bottleneck), I’d maybe go for two connected rooms next time. The hard working staff are what make the difference in this place, Dusti and Zachary by the pool are very pleasant people who made a real effort to assist our family. Also a mention for such great customer service goes to DJ and Kay in the The Dutch Trading Cafe, lovely people. The house keeping is very good and efficient. The hotel pool is great and spacious, we visited at different times and generally always found somewhere to sit. The pool side food and drinks are decent and a good standard for lunch bites and refreshments and etc The early access to Universal is a real plus and negates the over use of express passes (very expensive) as you can pick out key rides to go straight to an hour before park opening. The restaurants are good, we enjoyed the ambiance and tapas at Strong Water. The boat service to universal city walk is regular and a great way to access the parks as well. I had a couple of minor issues but these were dealt with professionally and promptly by the duty manager Eric. It’s at a premium price but this is a very good hotel overall, I don’t recognise some of the recent negative comments on here whatsoever. I’m very particular and this place absolutely delivers for a great family vacation. I recommend this hotel if you desire a brilliant family vacation at Universal Orlando Resort. Read less

Sapphire Falls is really starting to show its age. It does not match the price point of the hotel. Our room was not well-maintained, and it was not cleaned properly, despite letting the hotel know we had allergies to dust. We paid around $500 for 2 nights. The toilet was not flushing properly and the iron was broke in the room. There were stains on the walls and on the sheets. Sheets were itchy and it is obvious the duvet does not get cleaned and had dirt stains on it and markings. Not what I expect at all from Universal Orlando Resorts. There were tons of dogs on property, which means they should be cleaning more not less. Staff did had trouble checking us in and our keycards did not work for parking in the garage throughout our entire stay. We had to use the callbox every time we went anywhere. The coffee shop is awful and needs to be replaced. We had to walk over to Starbucks at Aventura for a decent brew. The pool was really crowded and packed. It was hard to get a table or seat. It's obvious people not staying there are also using the pool, with people standing around the entrance without a hotel key. 18% gratuity is automatically included at the pool by the way. There was a horrible knocking sound on the walls in our room whenever someone showered in another room and it was continuous and disrupted our sleep. There is no dolly for guest usage if you don't use a bellboy which meant we had to haul our luggage, even their budget hotels will do this. We didn't have cash to tip so we didn't want to use a bell boy. This hotel is really showing its age and needs to be renovated. Overall, the hotel was unpleasant, dirty, and customer service was inadequate. I will not be returning. We went to Dockside after our stay and it was 100x better for 1/3 of the price. Read less

My son and I had a great stay at this resort. I chose it because it is a Loews property. It’s very pretty with a great island vibe. Our experience with the cleanliness was fantastic. My only complaint is that they could use with some new sheets, blankets, and bedspreads. Although clean, the sheets had some small stains. The blankets were a bit tattered in my opinion. I believe for what you pay to stay here everything should be crisp, and new. The bedspread on the other hand was filthy. They of course, were replaced instantly when asked. I love the fact that they do conserve. Meaning they will automatically clean your room on the fourth day along with changing all the bedding however, if you want your room cleaned daily, they will also do that per your request. Any garbage we accumulated in our room we just set outside our door, and it was quickly discarded. as far as the restaurants go, they are just OK. Mediocre at best. The food is Very overpriced for what it is. Now, I do not drink tapwater. Any resort I ever stayed at, bottled water was complementary. This resort will charge you nearly $8 for a liter of Fiji water. That being said, there is a Publix grocery store very close by where I went to buy bottled springwater at a normal price along with a bunch of snacks for our room. I noticed lots of people entering the resort with cases of water and drinks. let’s be real. No one’s paying those prices for something that is a necessity. The service at this resort was exceptional. The staff are super friendly and accommodating. If you need anything, and I mean anything, they will provide it for you quickly. The pool area was clean and beautiful. There’s a cute café out there. There are also two fully stocked bars with service, no matter where you’re sitting around the pool area. They also provide free ice water which is in huge spouted containers that you can refill your own container or the cup they provide. I’m assuming it was tapwater though, but nice nonetheless. They also provide towels, and towel chair covers. The fairy to all the parks is right outside the hotel, and very fun and convenient. We loved the fairy. There’s also a walking path from the hotel to all the parks if you prefer to walk. All in all, we had a great stay, and a fun time at the parks. I would definitely stay at this resort again. We flew into Sanford Orlando international airport. We Ubered to the resort. It was super quick. Was only 35 minute ride from this airport to the resort for anyone that is wondering. Uber or Lyft are available everywhere around the universal area. They are never far away. One last thing, you cannot compare the Disney resorts to Universal. Universal is not owned by Disney so it is absolutely going to be a different experience. Read less

The reason I am writing this review is because of the outstanding service I was provided by the bellman Renato , We arrived at the hotel and was checked in by Yuri I believe who was very nice and informative, minutes later we met Renato who provided us with all the information of the hotel and made one of the first impressions of this hotel memorable. This property has a lot of amazing service but it’s rare to find someone who genuinely speaks from their heart and enjoys making others happy. Thank you Renato! The only complain we had during this stay was that valet looked very overwhelmed and understaffed, don’t get me wrong, they were all very nice but for example the first day we used our vehicle about 3 times, every single time we would get back to the hotel there was no one on the drive. We eating about 5 minutes and then would have to go find them in the office where they were sitting down. Other than that, this hotel is amazing and the food definitely captured us. Anytime we are in orlando this will be our go to place. Read less