On Universal Stella Nova Resort’s opening day, I arrived in gloomy, rainy weather, which felt perfect for this outer-space-themed resort, almost as if it had been specially ordered for the occasion. From the moment you arrive, the ethereal theme is right there, larger-than-life with the galaxy feel as you pull up to a sparkling design under the porte cochere. After walking through the massive and impressive circular rotating door, you’re in what felt to me like a spaceport, giving me old Future World at EPCOT vibes. It was bright and beautiful and bustling with excited guests.
Here’s a look the following morning when there weren’t so many guests around. See those arcs above the front desk area below? At first glance, I wasn’t sure if they were lights or what they were.
Upon closer inspection from a different angle, you can clearly see that they’re actually light fixtures. Incredible!
The celestial look of the lobby was so modern, and any space fan would get a kick out of all the different doorways, light fixtures, and carved-out spaces.
After a long flight from the other side of the country, my first order of business was to grab dinner, so I headed over to Cosmos Cafe, which is over to the left after you pass the front desk area. Follow this link to read my dinner review.
After dinner, I stopped by the front desk to check in and headed up to my room. There is one set of elevator banks in the middle of the resort, so you might be in for a bit of a walk, depending on where your room is located.
The long hallways, with their carpeting and sparkling room placards, have an otherworldly theme. This definitely sets the tone for what you’ll discover inside the guest rooms.
Walking into the room, you see white closet doors and furniture with a cool-looking area rug that goes under the beds. One of the first things I look for when entering a hotel room for the first time is how much storage there is. First off, I have to tell you that there is no space under the beds to store luggage. There is plenty of room in the closet and the entryway, should you need it. The awkward image below-right shows the space in the entryway.
There is also plenty of space in the closet and four large drawers, so you can completely unpack if you choose to. There is a luggage rack to sit your suitcase on inside the closet, and just leave it open if that’s how you do it.
The room has a few different types of lighting, which I think is fun. In the image below, you can see the soft ambient lighting behind the mural above the beds and the curtains. I noticed that this lighting goes off after it’s been on for a bit and turns back on after about a minute, so be sure it’s off before you head to bed.
The two circular lighting fixtures on either side of the TV were really cool looking but threw me for a loop. After flipping every single switch in the room and looking at the light fixtures themselves for switches, I could not find a way to turn them off and had to call guest services to ask, which was the funniest thing to me. As I was talking to the team member on the phone, I was leaning in a weird way to describe the lights when I FINALLY saw the tiny little on/off switch. We both chuckled because I could barely reach the switches to shut them off – that’s what happens when you’re short. Now you know.
After making sure all of my devices were plugged in for the night, I noticed that there was an on/off button for the display on the alarm clock! I always have to run back to the bathroom area for a washcloth to lay over that display because they’re always so bright, but not here. I switched it off, and it was gone. It was perfect. There was also a Netflix button on the remote, making it easy to access without going through the on-screen options. You do need to sign in using your own credentials.
Speaking of plugging in your devices, there are so many USB (5) and USB-C (3) ports in the room. I was so happy to see the pop-up charging station on the dresser right next to the couch, but I didn’t use it until later in the afternoon and that’s when I discovered a big issue. First off, if your Apple product has a brick attached to the cord that is any larger than the very old square ones, you won’t be able to use this station even though there are outlets there because there isn’t enough room for it. I had it plugged into the wall for the majority of the day then decided to move to the other side of the couch so I could easily reach my coffee. Don’t laugh, that’s important!! I detached the brick and plugged it into the USB-C port and then all the issues started.
After just a couple of hours, I noticed that my computer started moving incredibly slow and that the battery was all the way down to 7% and declining. I started watching it real closely and it wasn’t charging as I was using it either. Then, all the power in the room shut off – lights, TV, and everything. I thought maybe the aliens had come and they were trying to tell me that it was time to leave the room and go eat dinner, so that’s what I did. When I returned, my computer hadn’t charged at all and was down to 2%! That’s when I decided to do my own troubleshooting, especially after last night’s light fixture escapade. I unplugged it from that fancy built-in charger and reattached the brick then plugged it right into the good, old-fashioned wall outlet. Voila! It’s been plugged in for less than an hour and it’s already at 77% charged. And I haven’t stopped using it.
I don’t know about you, but before getting into a hotel bed, I always pull the linens out from being tucked into the mattress. They were about the quality you’d expect at a value-priced resort. I didn’t come here expecting a 600-thread count. There is a super-thin bed cover that I don’t believe is meant to remain on the bed when you’re in it. It’s real scratchy and not cozy at all. Underneath it were the typical two flat sheets with a thin cotton blanket between them. The bed itself was really comfortable, and I probably would’ve had a beautiful night’s sleep except that the walls were PAPER THIN, and I could hear every single thing that went on in the hallways. From other guest room doors opening and closing to the TV next door and lots of talking, it was hard to stay asleep.
I should also point out the motion-activated lighting in the bathroom areas. Most of us are used to this type of lighting in a hotel room, but the difference with the rooms here at Stella Nova is that the light actually turns on when you walk into that area, which is not ideal, especially for those middle-of-the-night visits. I am the one who uses my cell phone to see where I’m going and tries not to wake up too much during the whole thing – do what you need to do, then right back to sleep. So, having these big lights blast on at 3 o’clock in the morning was not my favorite. Thank goodness I’m here alone because if the family were also here, they would be rather unhappy as well. I hit the button quickly to turn the lights off, but for most people, that flash would be enough to wake them right up. Hopefully I’ll find a way to turn off that “feature.” It’d be great if that gray curtain separating the sink area from the bedroom area could be pulled all the way across to the coffee area to block it, but no such luck there either.
My favorite part of the bathroom design is that there’s a bar mounted to the wall below the faucet. I know we ladies appreciate that, as we need somewhere to put our feet when we shave.
The coffee setup in the room is Cuisinart, and there were plenty of supplies. I had four regular and two decaf plus the usual accouterments. I ran down to the Market in the morning to get half and half and Splenda because I don’t care for Sweet’N Low or powdered creamer. The in-room refrigerator makes it perfect for storing the creamer and anything else you have that requires refrigeration.
Overall, I’m finding Universal Stella Nova Resort to be a comfortable hotel, with the exception of the noisy hallways. Even as I sit here in my room in the middle of the afternoon, I can hear a little one who has been crying for the last 30 minutes, again paper-thin walls. Poor little thing probably needs a nap.
I have to say that there is not much to do here at this time, especially with the colder weather in Central Florida right now. The pool area has tons of loungers, but they’ll have to wait for another visit when it’s not so cold and rainy. Once Epic Universe opens on May 22, 2025, guests at this hotel and its sister hotel, Universal Terra Luna Resort, will be able to walk over to the new theme park, which will likely be fabulous as it’s a 20-minute or so bus ride over to CityWalk and the Universal Orlando theme parks.
Be sure to read Chloé’s initial thoughts on the resort for more details, and watch Ryno’s video room tour below.
