Standing tall along the northeastern edge of the new Epic Universe theme park, the Helios Grand Hotel, a 14-storey hotel built by Universal Orlando, we hope to benefit from its location, location and location.
More than half of the 500 Helios Grand Units, plus the rooftop bar area, offer views of the park. It is a colorful and intricate sight during the day, a dark, sparkling experience at night, separated by a fountain show.
But it’s not just looking. Hotel guests with park tickets have immediate access to Helios’ magnificent universe. Passing through the dedicated entrance, they are an area that leads to the medieval world of Harry Potter and Donkey Kong living in by monsters created by the toothless dragon and Dr. Frankenstein’s great grandson Victoria.
“There’s this big amenity right outside the backdoor, and it’s really cool,” said Russ Dagon, senior vice president of resort development at Universal Creative, in a preview at the hotel this spring.
Magnificent visitors to Helios will see the theme park even before they go to their rooms. The hotel’s lobby overlooks the epic through tall floor-to-ceiling windows.
“From the first day, how can it be seen in the park? How can you make people go out and experience the park?” Dagon said.
Another dramatic angle of the park is at Bar Helios on the top floor, with an indoor, dome-shaped bar with views on either side of the building. This section includes a dining area and an outdoor patio facing the epic.
The signature cocktail continues its starry theme with names such as Athenian Milk Punch, Honey of the Gods, Pandora’s Box, and Iliad & Odyssey. Food options include crunchy crab cakes, burnt octopus, sea scallop clerds, seafood towers, blue crab claws from Florida, poached Florida shrimp, oysters and tuna chili.
Verhelios opens daily at 4pm.
The three meal main restaurant downstairs is named Flora Taverna and leaned towards both Greek and Italian, with menu items such as pancia scallops, grilled lamb chops, bucatini and olive oil cakes.
Helios also offers grab and go options known as the Aurora Market, as well as a poolside eatery named Lotus Lagoon. Notable for its drink menu: Prosecco popsicles, Lotus Blossom, Padova Paloma. The pool area is not actually discovered from the theme park, but it is a wedge next to the Epic Dark Universe area. It comes with a zero entry pool, cabanas and a hot tub.
Helios Grand’s interior and exterior styling is co-owned and operated universally by Loews Hotels, but is Mediterranean in style.
“One of the things we were looking for in design was that we wanted a very sophisticated property, but we wanted to be comfortable and casual,” Dagon said.
The standard room is 325 square feet. Helios Grand offers kids suites based on the theme “How to Train a Dragon” (think Viking architecture, Flying Dragons, Woodworking).
It also offers a fitness centre, an arcade, business centre and a universal studio store. The resort provides bus transport to Universal City Walk, approximately 2.5 miles away, leading to Universal Studios and an adventure theme park and Volcanic Bay Water Park.
Universal Orlando Group Helios appears in the “signature collection” of hotels, a category that includes Hard Rock Hotels, Royal Pacific, Sapphire Falls and Portofino Bay. At the time of opening, the guest was Helios and Sapphire Falls had not received the free Universal Express Unlimited. This is the ability to skip normal lines at Universal Studios and many attractions within Adventure Park Island.
Another unusual aspect of Helios Grand is the $125 parking fee for Day Guests ($128 for Valet). It should discourage the concept of parking in hotels rather than using designated park areas. Registered overnight guests at Helios pay $36 per vehicle per night.
Helios Grand is the third hotel to open in Universal Orlando this year. I participated in Epic Neighbors Stella Nova and Terra Luna Resorts. Adding these resorts will bring the total universal value to 11,000 rooms at 11 hotels.
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