Universal has shared new details about Epic Universe’s in-park hotel, Universal Helios Grand Hotel, including concept art.
Universal Helios Grand Hotel Details
Universal Helios Grand Hotel will be Universal Orlando’s 11th hotel but their first attached to a park. It acts as the backdrop of Celestial Park.
“This hotel isn’t just theme-park-adjacent, it is at the theme park,” said Russ Dagon, senior vice president of resort development for Universal.
“It’s definitely going to be one of our most immersive hotels with the park views and its own dedicated entrance directly into the theme park,” said David Bartek, senior vice president of operations for Loews Hotels at Universal Orlando.
Because the hotel is part of Celestial Park, the creative teams behind both entities worked closely together during the development process so even elements as specific as the hotel’s color palette aligned with the land, ensuring a coherent transition from park to hotel and vice versa.
“This hotel is always going to be part of the backdrop of the theme park experience and interwoven into Epic Universe,” David said. “It’s a completely immersive experience that is integrated as part of the overall theme park destination.”
Universal noted the gold cartouche on the building facade of the hotel is directly on axis with the central tower of the Kronos gate at the theme park’s entrance.
“We like to refer to Universal Helios Grand Hotel as a different book in the same series as Celestial Park,” said Jessica Iaconis, assistant director of facility design for Universal. “We took the same language and style and made an extension of the story, so it really is a seamless experience.”
If Celestial Park is a world between worlds, Universal Helios Grand Hotel is a palace for its namesake, the Greek god of the sun. The creative team approached this concept not necessarily in a literal sense but in capturing celestial and terrestrial feelings through Mediterranean-inspired floral and fauna, constellations, the passage of time, and both futuristic and fantastical details.
“As you’re going through a process like this, it’s not as simple as creating a [vision] board and saying ‘we want a hotel that looks like all these things mashed together,’” Russ explained. “But there are some images you find that are inspirational and you can start with.”
Like Celestial Park, Universal Helios Grand Hotel will transition from day to night. In the elevator lobby will be a show element displaying the sun and moon, stars, and clouds. When guests head out in the morning, they will see the daytime, sun-forward iteration. When they return at night, they’ll get a different, twilight experience. This is just one example of how the team aims to set a tone within the hotel and create different atmospheres throughout the day.
“I think one of the things that we’ve always done well with our hotels is theming them,” Jessica said. “It’s not just a hotel, there is a theme to it and that’s what you get from a theme park company, right? That’s what we do every day and we bring that to the hotels. And I think that this is at a different level than we’ve ever done before.”
“I get nervous when I hear the word ‘theme,’” Russ added, “because it sounds applied and it’s not — it’s woven throughout.”
“Yes! It’s thought out,” Jessica said. “It’s not characters, it’s not props. It is the material, the finishes, the atmosphere. Our goal whenever we start on one of these projects is to create a relaxing space outside of the theme park but connected in attention to detail — down to the nametags, the wardrobe…we even smell the soaps!”
Rooms & Suites
“We put the guests first every step of the way in this design process,” Jessica said. “We always approach every facet and decision based on how we can enhance the guest experience. The impact of that is felt the moment you walk in the door and throughout the entire hotel.”
Universal Helios Grand Hotel will have 500 rooms and 35 suites. The majority of the rooms will have two queen beds. The suites include King Suites, Hospitality Suites, Presidential Suites, and more.
Russ describes the rooms as “sophisticated and comfortable at the same time” while Jessica mentions the gold accents throughout as a “nod to Helios, god of the sun.”
One of the most notable accommodations is the How to Train Your Dragon-themed Kids’ Suites.
“The main kind of bedroom and living room area will look like a typical suite, but there will be a double-twin room for the kids behind a rustic, wooden door,” Jessica says. “Inside there will be a graphic with Toothless and Light Fury. It’s like sleeping in a dragon’s house; it’s really awesome.”
All the guest rooms will have tablets for guests to digitally control elements of the room like drapes, lights, thermostat, and room service. They will also have the standard partition between the bathroom and vanity area. The headboards were created by one of the artists the team drew inspiration from in their early creative stages.
Dining
“We’ve been working all summer curating what our food and beverage experiences are going to be and we’re really emphasizing very authentic, fresh dishes that are Mediterranean-inspired,” David said. “Our goal in this whole process is really creation not imitation.”
“The dining experience will play right into the theme park,” Russ explained, “and there’s no better place to watch the fountain shows than our rooftop bar.”
Bar Helios is a rooftop bar and restaurant that leans into the Mediterranean approach with sliders, salads, lamb and chicken gyros, tapas, and antipasti. It will serve “sunny-type” cocktails like spritzes, bellinis, martinis, and negronis, in addition to typical cocktail, beer, and wine options.
Flora Taverna is a three-meal restaurant. David said of the food, “It’s all authentic, high-quality, fresh ingredients, leaning heavily into grilling. It’s simple flavors made with exceptional ingredients and complemented by bringing in olive oils, citrus and herbs and just emphasizing that Greek/Italian style of cooking and dining. Think fish, seafood, lamb, roasted chicken and steaks. But of course also flatbreads and a great burger because we know some of our guests like that.”
The pool bar, Lotus Lagoon, is a casual spot offering burgers, salads, and familiar poolside far as well as cocktails, beer, and wine.
Lastly is Aurora Market, a grab-and-go station. “We want to make sure theme park guests have a simple, artisanal, grab-and-go option throughout the day, but especially in the morning,” said David. “This will have freshly roasted coffee, paninis, wraps, salads… everything to really get people started for their day and in and out of that space quickly.”
David also hinted at a “new way to enjoy an ice cream sandwich.”
Pool
The pool at Universal Helios Grand Hotel is in the front — that is, the side that is not occupied by Epic Universe.
“It’s going to be well-landscaped and bring in this serene experience so guests won’t necessarily feel like they’re just steps away from a theme park,” David said. “It’s going to be a very serene, tranquil place to take a break and fit in a pool day during your theme park vacation.”
“This hotel will be interesting with that idea,” Russ added. “Because it’s so close to Epic Universe, you can do a partial pool day. You can do half a day in the theme park, half a day back at the pool. It offers more flexibility.”
“You could take a midday nap!” Jessica said.
In addition to all the above amenities, Universal Helios Grand Hotel guests can enjoy a dedicated entrance to Epic Universe (with theme park admission), transportation by bus to the other theme parks and CityWalk, and benefits like early park admission.
The Path to Opening
Universal Helios Grand Hotel is the culmination of a 25-year partnership between Universal Orlando and Loews Hotels.
“This is a once-in-a-career-moment,” David said. “That’s what I keep telling my team — we have the privilege of being part of everything coming to Universal in 2025. It’s a transformational year for Loews Hotels but also for Orlando. It’s that next big step forward, and to be part of that — it’s been really exciting and we want to make sure that we take that in and understand our role in that.”
“I agree,” Jessica said. “I think, because we’ve been working on this for so long we’ve just learned a lot about ourselves and our resilience along the way. There are ideas that we started with six years ago that are finally being implemented today and to go out on the site and see the plan all come together, and know that we’ve accomplished that design vision that we started out with… it’s incredibly rewarding.”
“On the operational side as well as the design side we have been able to do all these big things with Universal Helios Grand Hotel that we’ve thought of over the years,” Russ said. “You hear about bands having trouble with their second album because they do it all in their first — that’s not the case here. We’ve had ideas building up that we’ve been waiting for the right hotel to be able to say OK this is it. This hotel is it. It is absolutely gorgeous. It was gorgeous on day one on the drawing board and it’s going to be gorgeous the day we open it for our guests.”
Watch a fly-through of Universal Helios Grand Hotel below.
Bookings will be available soon.
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