Epic Universe: Say hello to new Helios Grand, theme park neighbor

[Disney4me]

Standing tall along the northeast edge of the new Epic Universe theme park is the Helios Grand Hotel, a 14-story hotel built by Universal Orlando, that expects to benefit from location, location, location.

More than half of the 500 Helios Grand units — plus the rooftop bar area — have views down into the park. It’s a colorful, complicated sight by day then a dark and sparkling experience by night, punctuated by fountain shows.

But it’s not just for looking. Hotel guests with park tickets have all but immediate access to Epic Universe from Helios. Through a dedicated entrance, they’re mere steps away from Celestial Park, the area that leads to themed worlds populated by Harry Potter, Donkey Kong, a dragon named Toothless and the monster made by Dr. Frankenstein’s great-granddaughter Victoria, among others.

“We’ve got this great little amenity right outside the back door, which is so cool,” Russ Dagon, senior vice president for resort development for Universal Creative, said during a hotel preview this spring.

Helios Grand Hotel is situated within Universal Epic Universe. The new 500-room Loews Hotel overlooks the new theme park and provides a dedicated entrance. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Helios Grand visitors will see the theme park even before they get to their rooms. The hotel lobby looks out onto Epic through tall floor-to-ceiling windows.

“From Day One, it’s how do we get that view out to the park. How do we get people energized to go out and experience the park?” Dagon said.

Another dramatic angle of the park is found at Bar Helios on the top floor, where there’s an indoor, domed bar with views of both sides of the building. This section includes a dining area and an outdoor patio facing Epic.

Bar Helios, a 10th-floor bar at Helios Grand Hotel features high-up views of Universal Epic Universe. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Signature cocktails continue the starry theme with names such as Athenian Milk Punch, Nectar of the Gods, Pandora’s Box and the Iliad & Odyssey. Among the food options are crunchy crab cake, charred octopus, sea scallop crudo and the seafood tower, built with Florida blue crab claws, poached Florida prawns, oyster and tuna sashimi.

Bar Helios opens at 4 p.m. daily.

The three-meal main restaurant downstairs is named Flora Taverna and leans both Greek and Italian with menu items such as pan-seared scallops, grilled lamb chops, bucatini and olive oil cake.

A standard queen room (325 square feet) on the sixth floor of Helios Grand Hotel provides views of Epic Universe theme park. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Helios also offers a grab-and-go option known as Aurora Market and a poolside eatery named Lotus Lagoon. Notable on that drink menu: Prosecco Popsicle, Lotus Blossom and Padova Paloma. The pool area can’t really be spotted from the theme park, although it’s wedged beside Epic’s Dark Universe area. It features a zero-entry pool, cabanas and a hot tub.

Helios Grand Hotel, which is situated within Universal Epic Universe, has an expansive outdoor pool area with lounge chairs and cabanas. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

The interior and exterior styling of Helios Grand, which is co-owned and operated by Loews Hotels with Universal, is Mediterranean-inspired.

“With the design, one of the things that we were looking for is we wanted a very sophisticated property, but we wanted to be comfortable and casual,” Dagon said.

In the Helios lineup are kids suites themed to 'How to Train Your Dragon.' (Universal Orlando)

Standard rooms are 325 square feet. Helios Grand also offers kids suites themed to “How to Train Your Dragon” (Think Viking architecture, flying dragons, woodwork).

It also offers a fitness center, arcade, business center and Universal Studios Store. The resort provides bus transportation to Universal CityWalk, about 2.5 miles away, which leads to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure theme park plus Volcano Bay water park.

The Celestial Park fountain is illuminated at night with the Helios Grand Hotel in the background at Universal Epic Universe. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Universal Orlando groups Helios into its “signature collection” of hotels, a category that includes Hard Rock Hotel, Royal Pacific, Sapphire Falls and Portofino Bay. As of opening, guests are Helios and Sapphire Falls do not receive free Universal Express Unlimited, a feature that allows holders to skip regular lines at many attractions inside Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure parks.

Another unusual aspect of Helios Grand is the $125 parking charge for day guests ($128 for valet). That should discourage the notion of parking at the hotel to scoot right into the park rather than using the designated park area. Helios’ registered overnight guests pay $36 per night per vehicle.

A Celestial Park fountain puts on a show with the Helios Grand Hotel in the background. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

Helios Grand is the third hotel to open at Universal Orlando this year. It joined Epic neighbors Stella Nova and Terra Luna resorts, which each have 750 rooms. The addition of these resorts brings Universal’s on-property total to 11,000 rooms at 11 hotels.

Email me at dbevil@orlandosentinel.com. BlueSky: @themeparksdb. Threads account: @dbevil. X account: @themeparks. Subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters.

A dedicated park entrance is available to guests at Helios Grand Hotel in Orlando.(Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

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