D'Anna S.
Yelp
I would not recommend staying here if you are black. My encounters with the front desk staff were very bad (to say the least) and I watched hotel staff treat white guests how you would actually expect to be treated when you're somewhere where you're spending thousands of dollars. For example, one of the 3 times I had to stand in a very long line at the front desk, a gentleman (possibly a manager) came to the line and started asking each guest what they were in line for. He went to each guest individually, greeted them and offered assistance. When he got to me, for some reason he decided to address me and the white lady in front of me at the same time. I started to state why I was there, then the lady in front of me started talking about why she was there. He decided to focus his attention on her issue. So basically I was skipped/ignored. This wasn't a simple mistake - it was very intentional. He diligently went to each person behind me but decided not to have the same diligence when he approached me and ultimately decided that the white lady in front of me was more important. So I ended up waiting longer and ultimately just waiting on the next available person at the desk. Fast forward to why I was there and having to stand in that long line for the second time anyway...
I booked 3 rooms for myself, my parents and my sister. I booked all the rooms at one time, paid with one credit card, and used only my contact info for the reservation. I booked this several months in advance of our stay and at some point after the reservation I was prompted to enter the names of the individuals staying in each room. I entered the info as instructed. Later on, I called the number listed on the reservation to make sure that it was noted that I needed a wheelchair accessible room as I was traveling with my 85 year old grandmother and also that I needed the rooms to be connected or at least next to one another.
I arrived on checkin day, gave the front desk rep my ID and credit card and explained that I wanted to check in for my three rooms. The lady immediately told me that she could only check me in for one room because the other rooms were in other people's names and it is their policy to only give out room keys to the individuals listed on the reservation. I explained to her that this was ONE reservation, with ONE a point of contact (me), ONE form of payment (mine), so it didn't make sense why I could not check in the rooms. She kept telling me that this is their policy. After going back and forth with her, i asked to speak with a manager. The manager came out and said he just needed to see my ID and he would make a one-time exception for me and allow me to check in for all the rooms (so kind of him to ALLOW me to check in for rooms I'm paying for, right!?). The lady began checking in the rooms and I asked her to double check that they would be located together. She said they would not. The rooms were all on different floors. I explained to her that this was not what I requested. She then made another call to the manager and then told me they were "fully committed" for the night but would be able to get new rooms that were connected asap the next morning. We waited around the next morning for a call to switch or rooms but the call never came. So on our way out, i stopped by the desk, stood in line again, to find out the status of the new rooms... the rep had no idea what I was talking about although someone else told me it was being noted. After checking with management, they told me to move our stuff to one room and they would text me to pick up keys when the other rooms were ready. Of course that text never came. We arrived back at the hotel around 4/5pm and still did not have the other 2 rooms. I stood in line again, which is the time in which I encountered the man who thought they white lady's issue was more important. So basically we went half the day without 2 rooms that we were paying for.
Other than this huge issue and the staff's constant disregard for me and my family, the wheelchair accessible room itself was subpar compared to the other rooms. The beds were extremely uncomfortable. The bathroom did not look nearly as nice as the other rooms and the location was very far from elevators and exits which doesn't seem very ADA friendly.
I do want to acknowledge the positives about this hotel:
The hotel itself is nice and very conveniently located if you'll be enjoying the Universal parks during your stay. When you walk into the lobby, there is a relaxing and inviting feel that hits you. The lobby is beautiful and although there were many people there when I arrived, it did not feel overcrowded.
The amenities on the property are great. We really enjoyed sitting by the pool and ordering food and drinks. The ride on the water taxi was surprisingly relaxing and scenic, especially at night!