TeamPidge
Solo Travel · October 20254/10
Pros: Strikes a nice balance between staying close to the action and not costing as much as other Universal properties; pleasant modern vibe; geared toward adults
Cons: Parking costs, ever-increasing...Pros: Strikes a nice balance between staying close to the action and not costing as much as other Universal properties; pleasant modern vibe; geared toward adults
Cons: Parking costs, ever-increasing room costs, a multitude of room issues made recent stays stressful and frustrating, overall lapse in maintenance
Once (not too long ago) one of my favorite places to stay because of its closeness to the Universal parks and affordability, costs continue rising while quality slides, slides, and slides some more. I am questioning whether or not I'll return for future reservations I booked long ago- a decision that will pain me because I love being able to walk across to Sapphire Falls, hop on a water taxi, and be at City Walk in ten minutes.
On the plus side, Aventura is aimed at adults, meaning this place is quiet at night. Across many stays, I have never been woken up by doors slamming and children running up and down the halls. However, the small and minimalist rooms force compromises, such as painfully tiny refrigerators and very few drawers for clothing. A couple spending more than a few days here will likely struggle with storage limitations.
For the second time in a row, I was given a room with a television that kept shutting off without warning. Unlike last time when I allowed engineering to spend four days attempting to fix the problem, this time I requested a different room. Unfortunately, the new room had an HVAC system that wasn't functioning properly, so I had to change rooms a second time. This got in the way of me going to one of the parks on my first day because I spent three hours dealing with engineering while unpacking, packing, unpacking, packing, and unpacking again. The fact that the property only refunded me $100 for this major inconvenience says much of its desire to provide exceptional customer service.
The Aventura really needs to re-think its in-room technology- most of which is controlled by a bedside tablet. The system of controlling the television (when it works) and most of the room's lighting from a touch screen is unnecessarily complicated and fussy (and I am not one who typically struggles with technology).
The lack of a customer-focused approach permeates most of the Aventura experience these days, from outrageous parking costs (even Disney hotels no longer change for parking), to engineering calls taking upwards of 30 minutes for a response, to a front desk that is minimally staffed (one person to check in guests), to broken lobby lighting that hasn't been repaired in years, to housekeeping reduced to once every two days. This property is a perfect example of something that used to be special, ruined by an endless desire to make more money by cutting to the bone while still raising prices.Show More
