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Doubletree Universal Hotel Review, International Drive

An affordable yet classy Hilton owned hotel ideal for couples looking to stay at the North end of International Drive. A 10 minute walk to Universal and next to an I-Ride bus stop, which serves all of International Drive.

Doubletree is a chain of hotels owned by Hilton, so there's a standard that you can expect from this chain.

The Building

The outside of the hotel is decorated in green shaded glazing that by day is one way privacy glass. At night, it's easier to see into the rooms although each room has a net curtain that can be drawn to ensure privacy as well as thick curtains.

Hilton Doubletree

The Room

Upon check-in, we were presented with a couple of large warm cookies. This is a Doubletree quirk and a great one at that :-)

Room 1508 was on the 14th floor (none of the lifts we used in Orlando had a 13th floor) with super sized suites above us. We overlooked the Universal park entrance. There's a road that passed between the two which was fairly quiet. There was enough to look at at 3am (pesky jet lag) whilst not being too busy to hear anything.

The room had two large beds, a large flat screen TV, several lamps and a coffee maker. Hats off to the person who made the decision to buy posh coffee! We had the cookies and coffee as breakfast for the first morning - the best coffee in all the trip.

Floor to ceiling windows made the room feel light and airy. One noticeable point was the lack of ceiling lights in favour of small lamps dotted around.

Hilton Doubletree Room 1508

A Neutrogena set of toiletries was displayed on a tray in the bathroom and the handset from a Playstation was placed underneath the TV. Having crammed a lot into our week, we hadn't time for games on a Playstation but the idea would be great for keeping kids occupied in the evening.

Hilton Doubletree - Neutrogena Set, Fresh Cookies, Playstation

The Location

This hotel is described as being at the entrance of Universal Studios which technically is correct but is also misleading. We have read reviews of people complaining that it is not across the road.

The truth is, you cross one road to get onto the Universal grounds but it is a ten minute walk to the park entrance. As Orlando is as flat as a pancake, there's no hills to worry about but it can be exhausting for those not used to a lot of walking. Also consider the heat and sun when walking around.

We found the walk interesting as there's loads of lizards that jump on and off of the pavement as you walk along.

There is a courtesy shuttle bus to Universal Studios but for us, it was quicker and easier to walk.

Hilton Doubletree - Universal Entrance

Our Review

This hotel is at the far end of International Drive. The I-Ride trolley bus has a stop right outside the hotel thus connecting it to the remainder of International Drive.

The area was peaceful and quiet which suited us. We could imagine families complaining about the distance away from the centre of I-Drive so would highly recommend this hotel for couples or for those that want to have somewhere out of the hustle and bustle of Orlando to rest at.

The outdoor pool area was quiet when we went at 10am on the day of checking-out. The disadvantage of the pool is simply that you have to walk through the posh reception to get back to your room, so you'll need to tidy yourself up.

This was our second favourite hotel but only just second. If we were to go back to Orlando again, we would have no qualms about staying in the DoubleTree Hotel At The Entrance To Universal Orlando.

Summary

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