In the hospitality industry, the word “resort” refers to a hotel that offers not just a high standard of luxury and extra amenities, but special recreational opportunities, either natural or man-made. Well, two world-class theme parks surely qualify as a recreational opportunity.
Of course, if the visionaries at Universal had done nothing more than add Islands of Adventure and CityWalk to the existing Universal Studios Florida they would have had a vacation destination that could challenge Disney World in appeal and popularity. Fortunately for us they set their sights much higher than that, seeking to turn Universal Orlando into a true resort destination with five distinctively themed hotels surrounding the theme parks. To accomplish that they have partnered with Loews Hotels to provide the hotel part of the equation.
If you’ve never heard of Loews Hotels, you’re forgiven. Loews has forgone the current craze of hotel consolidation, with big chains devouring small chains to create ever larger chains, to concentrate on operating a small portfolio of one-of-a-kind hotels of the four-diamond variety that seek to become the dominant hotels in their marketplace. The plans for Universal Orlando Resort fit in perfectly with that strategy and Loews made a $560 million commitment to see the vision through.
The Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, and the Royal Pacific Resort, described in this chapter, are the first of five planned hotels. The fourth and fifth hotels are reportedly in the development stage. They do not yet have names or announced themes (although an Egyptian-themed hotel has tested well in focus groups according to some reports).
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