Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Studios Orlando offers much more than a convenient on property location. It’s an oasis for everyone in the family after a day in the parks. Days filled with rides, tasty treats, and laughter at Universal Orlando are within water taxi distance to Loews Sapphire Falls Resort. When the fun at the parks is over, the resort offers everything a family needs to extend the bliss of vacation.
Traveling as a family is something we always enjoy, but do you know what makes it even more enjoyable? Space.
With a light and airy feel, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort feels spacious throughout the entire property. We arrived at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort after a five day Disney cruise and the space the resort offered was a welcome sight. Booking two adjoining rooms as we normally do offered us all a bit of extra space, but even the walkways between furniture in our rooms were larger, making us all that much more comfortable.
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The Rooms
The rooms themselves featured two queen beds with a desk, spacious bathroom, large console dresser and a chair. We spend our time traveling out exploring and experiencing all our destination offers, so the layout was just what we needed.
Location, Location, Location
When we were deciding which resort to book for our trip to Orlando and Universal Studios, staying on property was key so we did not have to rent a car or pay for transportation back and forth. The location of Loews Sapphire Falls Resort simply can’t be beat both in relation to Universal Orlando and to the airport. The water taxis run frequently so you don’t have to wait long, if at all, and it is a short five minute boat ride to the park entrance. If boats aren’t your thing, the resort offers shuttle transportation to and from the parks as well.
If the weather had been better, we were planning to head to City Walk, which is where you exit the water taxi, for some live music and margaritas. The mini bars that framed the waterway were calling us to sit and enjoy a cocktail while we took in the scenery and people watching.
The Pool
Just as location can’t be beat, the pool is pretty amazing at Loews Sapphire Falls. Our kids are used to being in the pool; our daughter trains 7 hours a week and our son trains 18 hours a week. Thus, the pool is like home to them, and this pool had all of the room they could ask for and then some.
With a water slide at one end, various depths that allowed for swimming and playing, free beach balls to play games with, and enough space that you didn’t need to rub elbows with complete strangers to enjoy it all, we spent all of “free time” outside the parks at the pool.
The pool was also staffed by what are by far the best lifeguards I have ever seen in all of our years of travel. The lifeguards had clearly been trained on and used specific strategies to ensure every inch of the massive pool was watched over.
Poolside Dining
My husband and I were 100% ready to relax together with a cocktail after a long day in the parks. The kids swam and played together in the massive pool. The Drhum Club Kantina is situated right by the pool and offers a full bar with premium liquor (Bonus!). Enjoying happy hour was easier than ever.
After a few hours it became clear that our kids weren’t in the mood to leave the pool. In fact, they wanted to close it! Staying up late and partying while we stay on our normal time zone schedule adds a bit of thrill to our east coast vacations. It has become a bit of a tradition.
We ordered salads, a few appetizers, and dessert to share from The Drhum Club Kantina. The pool side service was just what the doctor ordered. Dining poolside was relaxing for us. The kids enjoyed more time in the pool. They bonded with the “cool water slide lifeguard” as they went down the slide repeatedly.
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Restaurants at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort
Amatista Cookhouse is one of the restaurants at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort we enjoyed. While the menu at Amatista Cookhouse is smaller, the variety was perfect. More importantly, the quality was outstanding, especially for an on property hotel restaurant. After having snacks at the parks, freshly prepared dishes with an assortment of vegetables satisfied our palates nicely.
Strong Water Tavern is also located on property, but we found the menu to be a bit too creative. We were just in the mood for some basics. Strong Water does have a rooftop patio that we sadly could not enjoy because of the rain and inclement weather.
We did not use the gym on this trip. However, it’s important to note that it was huge with a lot of different equipment. Across the hall from the workout center is an arcade that the kids certainly enjoyed. Everyone in our family enjoyed our stay at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort. We’d happily stay there again when we visit Orlando.
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