For our first trip to see Universal Epic Universe, we knew we wanted to be close to the action. That’s why we went with Stella Nova Resort—one of Universal’s newer resorts and just a short walk from the new park. Read on to find out just how stellar this new space-themed option is! Here’s our review of Universal Orlando’s Stella Nova Resort!
Basics and Related Posts
Stella Nova Resort is one of the newer hotels at Universal Orlando Resort. The hotel is notable for its proximity to the new Universal Epic Universe theme park, which was built a short distance away from the existing Universal Orlando complex.
Stella Nova is categorized as a “Prime Value” hotel, the same level as sister resort Terra Luna and Aventura, and one step above the “Value” tier, which contains Endless Summer and Cabana Bay Beach Resort. These categories should be taken with more than a grain of salt, as I’d consider Cabana Bay Beach Resort superior to Stella Nova by most any measure other than “close to Epic Universe,” and the price at Cabana Bay is often higher than Stella Nova.
Nights at Stella Nova start at $147+tax, but nights in the $200+ range are common. We booked as part of a package that included tickets (via our go-to travel advisor, Lauren Quirk of Travel With Character LLC), so I can’t give a specific rate for our stay (the package was lower-priced than hotel + tickets).
Guests at Stella Nova get the standard perks of staying at a Universal hotel, the main benefit being access to Early Park Admission. Stella Nova guests do not get complimentary Express Pass Unlimited.
If you’re planning a trip to Universal Orlando Resort, I was to highlight some related posts before we get into the review of Stella Nova. We have a Universal Orlando Planning Guide, along with a specific Guide to the Hotels of Universal Orlando. We also have reviews of several hotels:
Now, onto Stella Nova!
Arrival and Check In
We flew into MCO’s terminal C and got a ride from family to the hotel. Returning to the airport after our stay, we took an Uber XL for $46.86. Travel time in both directions was 20-30 minutes.
Arriving just before 3PM there was only a short line to check in. Check in took a weirdly long time—about 15 minutes, including a 2-minute delay while the computers were down. When all was said and done, we were given a room on the same floor as the other members of our party, just down the hall.
We swung by the vacation planning desk (just opposite check-in) to get our tickets printed, a quick and painless process. I was in our room by 3:22PM, exactly 90 minutes after our plane arrived at the gate (no checked bags).
Our Pool View Room at Stella Nova
Our room was exactly what you’d expect from a new central Florida theme park resort hotel.
Our standard practice nowadays is to book a room with two beds. I prefer Zoe to have a pull-out sofa bed or a small roll in bed when it’s convenient (I can’t speak to these options here), but we’ve mostly found that with two queen beds we can rig up a system to keep Zoe from potential falls. In this room, I see those salmon-colored pillows and immediately think “tuck-in bed rails!”
The beds were comfortable, but I found that all the pillows were too stuffed for me. I prefer a little variety, as I don’t fall asleep quickly on the big ones.
While the flooring is laminate, there’s also a rug to add a bit of pop. The rug is at least theoretically easier to keep clean than full carpeting.
The overall aesthetic was on-point without being obnoxious. I think the rooms do better than the rest of the hotel at feeling “space”, but overall the theming still feels like a bit of a missed opportunity (more on this later). The decoration above the beds is cool.
The rooms come with a mini-fridge, which was cold enough for our cold brew overnight. There’s also a Cuisinart machine. I’ll never win my battle to get Keurig Machines in all hotel rooms, I guess.
We wound up not even using the Cuisinart, instead relying on overnight cold brew and breakfast coffee ($). You can see a small stain on the shelf in the above photo—I’m not sure if that was permanent or not, but it was just a tad unsightly.
There was ample lighting throughout the room, as well as ample outlets.
The bathroom had a relatively small vanity with a glass-and-curtain divider from the rest of the room for some reason. The soap had a scent (?) of “Cosmic Ember”, which seems a bit too cheeky given the overall low level of theme at the resort. My only note about the shower is that it took a few minutes to warm up. Also, all these theme park hotels should have clotheslines in the shower (this one doesn’t).
Rooms were serviced every other day, which for our four-night stay meant one day of servicing on our second full day. This is fine by us, as we routinely decline housekeeping at hotels. I also received several check-in texts from the staff making sure we didn’t need anything (like fresh towels).
The view of the pool was nothing notable. Some of the standard view rooms should have a decent (albeit distant) view of Epic Universe, so maybe look into that if you’re big on room selection. At night we could actually see the SeaWorld fireworks and, way off at an angle in the distance, Happily Ever After.
“Space Themed” More than Space Themed
I don’t know much about architecture…or building themed spaces…but it certainly feels like sometimes the architecture dictates the theme more than the theme dictating the architecture.
For example, when you want to ignore the part of theming where you have to work to hide the huge obnoxious ride building, you just call it “studio”-themed and then the big box fits right in. If you want to save money with a few low-cost carnival rides and games, you say it’s themed to a carnival or something similar.
Stella Nova’s theming ultimately feels like someone watched 2001: A Space Odyssey and took away that you can just take plain white surfaces, add whiter lighting, and call it “space”-themed. There is some pleasing curvature throughout the hotel.
I don’t really have a problem with the mid-theming. While I can appreciate theming in a hotel, I’m much more a stickler for functionality. Guests who want a little more pep in their theming should probably look toward Cabana Bay Beach Resort.
In any case, I hoped Zoe (not a huge space junkie, but still a kid) would get the “space” vibes a little more. It was a bit disappointing that it basically boiled down to pretty minor decorations here and there.
Amenities
Since we didn’t have park tickets for our check-in day, Zoe got to spend some time enjoying the pool and arcade. The arcade was small, but better than nothing:
I don’t really a hotel—even a family hotel—for a small arcade. Quite frankly, I don’t need to explain to Zoe the comparative marginal costs of the arcade games vs. the non-refundable park tickets any more than is absolutely necessary to fill 20 minutes.
The pool and splash pad were also straightforward:
This is another one of those areas where, sure, I’d like to see more theming, but I can’t really complain. The only pointed complaint I have is the lack of a water slide. Just give the kids a water slide. Or even any extra dimensionality to the splash pad. I don’t think my local park should have a better splash pad than a theme park resort hotel.
I spent all four mornings in the fitness center. I was happy to see new Technogym treadmills (as expected, but I also stayed at a new hotel in the middle of California a few months ago that had seemingly gotten their treadmill from the garbage dump). I couldn’t get my watch to pair with the treadmill, but that could have been a me problem (it never occurred to me to try a treadmill other than the one I picked the first morning). There was a decent crowd even at 5:45AM a few mornings (5-6 people), but it never felt crowded.
There are laundry facilities available for guest use, but I didn’t check these out. There’s also laundry service available. I’m glad I packed enough running shirts, because T-Shirts cost $6 to clean (I just paid $2.50 on the Disney Fantasy!).
Stella Nova Location and Transportation
Stella Nova is a location play, pure and simple. The reason to stay at Stella Nova is that it has a walking path to Epic Universe. To get to Volcano Bay, Studios Florida, and Islands of Adventure, you’ll be relying on bus transportation or your car.
Unlike Helios Grand, which has its own dedicated entrance to Epic Universe, Stella Nova guests use the same entrance as all other guests. You’ll even pass by Epic’s bus depot on your way, and there is an option to take a bus if walking doesn’t work for you.
The walk is about 10 minutes and easy to find—leave the lobby, walk past the buses, and follow the sidewalk toward Epic. You’ve got one wiggle around a bus holding area in the hotel parking lot, then you’ll cross one proper street (Epic Bv.) and find yourself at the bus depot where other guests are being dropped off.
As the months go on, walking will probably offer some advantage at rope drop, as you’re able to control your arrival time and your trip is quite short. During our visit—shortly after Epic debuted—the problem was that guests were still arriving hours in advance of the start of Early Admission.
It was still nice to have a straightforward arrival at the park, and it was particularly nice to just walk back to the hotel in the evening. Certainly if you had multiple days at Epic Universe (something that will become more common as Universal broadens the ticket options), the location will be more valuable.
Our trips to and from CityWalk—the gateway to the other two theme parks—by bus, were also problem-free. We spent two days at those parks, with almost no waits for buses (the buses did linger a bit once we were on, though), and transit times of under 20 minutes. One data point: it took us 34 minutes to get from hotel lobby to Islands of Adventure gate one morning.
While I was very happy with the transportation during our visit, I still have a “prepare for the worst” mindset when it comes to bus transportation anywhere. At Stella Nova specifically, I don’t think the hotel was at capacity during our visit, and I think a substantial proportion of guests were primarily or solely visiting Epic Universe. There’s also always the tempting (to the people in charge of the money) idea of sharing bus service with Terra Luna. There’s nothing to suggest changes are in the cards, but the bottom line is simple—you’ve got more reliable access to Epic Universe than the other two/three parks.
Dining and Lines
I didn’t imagine so much of my professional life would revolve around obsessing about quick service dining at hotels, but here we are. Stella Nova has one pure bar, one poolside bar/grill, and one quick service restaurant.
The bar is the lobby bar, Nova Bar. There’s really not much to say about it—it functions as a typical lobby bar.
Outside, adjacent to the pool (left above), is Galaxy Bar and Galaxy Grill. The food menu is available 11AM to 9PM, and the bar from 11AM to 11PM. The website also appears to have a pickup order option, but we didn’t test that.
Inside is the main dining option at the hotel—Cosmos Cafe and Market. The Market is a small grab-and-go shop that also serves as the coffee shop of the hotel. As we’ll see in discussing the Cafe, both Cosmos locations had trouble with lines in the morning.
We had success just getting cold brew the night before and keeping it in our fridge overnight. If it’s grab-and-go food you want in the morning…you’ll have to wait out the line.
The Cafe is the full quick service dining option. You’ll place your order in the aesthetically and functionally disappointing side area, take a buzzer, and go grab your food from the pickup window when it buzzes. (This one also seems to have a pickup option I wish I’d gotten the chance to try.)
First, the positives—we loved the Cosmos Cafe food. For lunch and dinner our vegetarian options were somewhat limited, but we also only ate there for dinner on our arrival day since we were at the parks for lunch and dinner the other days.
More importantly, the breakfast food was awesome and plentiful. I indulged a bit and loved both the French Toast and Belgian Waffle. Emily got more than enough from the (rather large) side of Oatmeal. When time permits, I love to eat a big breakfast before I head to the parks because (1) I’m gonna walk it off and (2) I can delay lunch until park strategy says it’s the right time to do so, which could be late. In this regard, Cosmos Cafe crushed it.
But the lines. Oh, the lines. Our first night I was a bit disappointed to see a line several parties deep, but it was quickly resolved with the opening of a second register. Breakfast went similarly three of the four mornings—waits, but nothing awful. But Saturday morning’s breakfast line was inexplicable:
Well, it was maybe partly explicable. My theory is that Stella Nova is currently primarily appealing to guests on short (2-night, probably) stays with the sole purpose of visiting Epic Universe. Staying from Friday night to Sunday night makes the most sense, and that makes an early breakfast on Saturday morning, before visiting Epic (and its epic waits), essential.
This line was being serviced by only one register. That could be the problem, or maybe the kitchen didn’t have the capacity to handle multiple registers worth of orders. In any case, this was wholly unjustifiable from my perspective.
Complicating this was the fact that the Market line was also quite long, so it’s not as if we could just grab some snacks to go. Instead, we settled on just eating breakfast in the park after a few rides. This worked out fine since we were heading into a “chill” day parks we were very familiar with. But this would have really caused us a headache if we were going to Epic, where checking off rides is imperative to start the day.
Conclusions
As you can imagine, the breakfast sitution left a bad taste in my mouth (ironically, because the food was so good). Quite simply, it’s a shortcoming that suggests the hotel is resting on its location—it’s close to Epic, you’re paying to be close to Epic, you’ll settle for whatever else they hand out.
That’s dramatizing, of course, but there’s truth in it. When it comes to hotels, you’ll usually only get two of: good price, good location, good everything else. Stella Nova has great location and great price. The pressure is going to be on everything else.
Right now, the hotel is new. The rooms are great and the hotel is in great condition. And the staff were eager to make sure we had a good stay. But the shortcomings are there. The store, arcade, and dining all feel a little underdone. The pool is a little plain. And I didn’t even mention the line for the elevators one night:
But part of the problem is just hype vs. reality.
Stella Nova and Terra Luna were part of the Epic Universe hype. They weren’t as hyped as Helios Grand, but anyone following Epic Universe development had one eye on these hotels, too. And people (us included) were booking the lower-priced Stella as part of their “big Epic Universe debut trip!” In that regard, Stella Nova falls short—it doesn’t satisfy the hype of the larger project. Universal’s new space hotel isn’t epic…but it is a good hotel.
In a different Universe where Stella Nova was built a year or two after Epic, I’d be hailing it as an “awesome value option with a prime-level perk: walking access to the newest major theme park in the world.” It has its clunky aspects, to be sure, but it’s a good hotel that puts you at the doorstep of something Epic. That’s plain to see when you disconnect it from the hype.
I think that’s the right perspective on this one. I wanted something special, and I didn’t get it. And for what it’s worth, I think Cabana Bay Beach Resort is special. I think Portofino Bay has its special aspects. I can’t really say anything like that for Stella Nova, but there weren’t any huge faults, either.
Four nights is longer than we stay at most hotels (Zoe has 111 hotel stays, only 17 of which were 4 nights or longer). And, in that time, there were only two significant issues—the line for breakfast one morning and the elevator line one evening. In all other respects, we had a good, if underwhelming, stay. Overall, Stella Nova gets the job done—just be sure you focus on enjoying something Epic.
All Your Other Universal Orlando Planning Questions Answered
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Just starting out? Start with our Universal Orlando Resort planning guide! If you’re considering a Universal hotel, read our Review of Universal’s Aventura Hotel!
You’ll want to know what rides the parks offer, so we’ve got a Universal Studios Florida Rides Guide and a Universal’s Islands of Adventure Rides Guide. And to know how to get on them without the long waits, read all about Express Pass at Universal Orlando Resort.
If you’d like an idea of how to plan a day at these parks, we can help there, too. Our One Day Universal Studios Florida Itinerary covers a full day at the original park, and our Universal’s Islands of Adventure One Day Plan covers that park.
Early risers always have the best theme parks days (well, we think so). Read about Early Park Admission at Universal Orlando to learn how to get an extra hour in the parks. And read about rope drop at Islands of Adventure, including getting on the brand new Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.