Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort

The Hotel Overview

Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort opened in 2014, transporting guests back to the retro beach resorts of 1950s and '60s Florida, complete with vintage typography, mid-century modern furniture, and nostalgic pastel color schemes throughout its Tower and Lighthouse buildings, later expanded in 2017 with the Beachside and Bayside towers.

Its signature feature is Galaxy Bowl, a ten-lane bowling alley paired with a full-service restaurant — a genuinely unique amenity not found at any other Universal on-site hotel, and a big part of why Cabana Bay has built such a loyal following among value-conscious repeat visitors.

Dining & Amenities

The Bayliner Diner is Cabana Bay's main food-court-style eatery, with separate stations for deli sandwiches, pizza and pasta, burgers and shakes, build-your-own salads, and rotating international dishes — enough variety that most groups can agree on something. Poolside, the Atomic Tonic bar serves the Cabana Courtyard pool, while the Hideaway Bar & Grill serves the Lazy River Courtyard.

Cabana Bay is the only Universal Orlando hotel with a lazy river, found in the Lazy River Courtyard alongside a sand beach and fire pits. The separate Cabana Courtyard pool features a dive-tower-themed water slide and its own sand beach. Add in Galaxy Bowl's bowling lanes and nightly poolside movies, and Cabana Bay offers the widest range of on-property activities of any value-tier hotel.

Booking Strategy

• Cabana Bay's dual-pool, lazy-river setup routinely gets rated as one of the best hotel pool experiences at Universal Orlando, budget hotels included — worth factoring in even if you're comparing against pricier hotels.
• The Cabana Courtyard pool (with the water slide) tends to get more crowded than the quieter Lazy River Courtyard side, so pick your pool accordingly if you're there during peak season.
• Compared to Endless Summer Resort, Cabana Bay costs a bit more but adds the lazy river, bowling alley, and a genuinely walkable path to Volcano Bay — a worthwhile upgrade for families who'll use the pool and water park heavily.
• The walk from Cabana Bay to CityWalk takes 15-20+ minutes over a pedestrian bridge, so budget extra time if you're not planning to use the shuttle.