Universal's Endless Summer Resort - Surfside Inn and Suites Review

This is my hopefully comprehensive review of Universal's Endless Summer Resort - Surfside Inn and Suites. Located on the crossover of International Drive and Universal Boulevard...opposite Endless Summer Dockside Inn. It's a 5 minute drive away from the parks, so not an on-site resort.

Within this review I'll be covering transportation options to Universal Studios Orlando, dining, room features, pricing, hidden fees, the pool area, resort benefits...but most of all, I'll be focusing equally on the pros and cons to booking this resort. I'll be throwing in some tips I've picked up at the end of the video. If you have any tips of your own, it'd be awesome if you could throw some in the comments :)

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My vlog of the endless summer resorts on my other channel:

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CONTACT:

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[TheFrugalBrit]

I thought you guys might also be interested in my vlog tour of the two resorts on my other channel (Jay Jack - Orlando):

[SomethingSomethingg]

Every other channel I find is someone with a selfie stick. Thank you for focusing more on the hotel and less on yourself. I feel like I'm watching an actual travel guide. Thanks to you I booked Cabana and this. Universal should be paying you lol

[stephaniewest]

This was spot on. When I stayed here I loved it, great value for money, and as we were staying for two weeks with a car they offered us at check in a reduced parking fee, didn't even ask. Staff were friendly and really clean rooms. The pool area was lovely and loved the under water speakers. Buses were frequent and when we went to the disney parks we drove to disney springs to park for free and then got a free bus to the nearest hotel to the park we were visiting, had to be organised to do that but saves on travel. Planning to go back and stay there again.

[TheFrugalBrit]

So apparently the gate has very recently been opened 7am to 7pm which will help daytime access to the Walgreens. Special thanks to Lyndsay Booth for the knowledge!

[Klynch]

Endless summer is the perfect hotel for a budget trip to Orlando. I know there is cheaper hotels lower on the budget scale, but endless summer is new, has loads of facilities and its clean and the pool area is fantastic. I'm staying at cabana bay on my upcoming trip and id like to experience aventura but I think id def return to endless summer again

[blaster-zyxx]

I've stayed there and it was a great deal. I'm going back. It was a new hotel and the price was amazing. For Florida residents it was only $78.00 night on weekdays which is what I have spent for an older hotel farther away. Since covid was still going on, and they were trying to get people back into the parks, they removed the parking fee. Since parking was $25 at the park per day, the hotel basically cost me $28.

[MrLadiesman]

Glad you covered this hotel as i’m staying here at the end of September. For what i need as a base, this should be great, international drive access is a huge bonus.

[giftenetienne]

Brilliant video, gave me pretty much all the info I would've wanted. Defo gonna check out your other vids!

[tracistacy]

We stayed at Surf Side in Jan 2022 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Had a suite which worked great for us. We really enjoyed the breakfasts at the Beach Break; they were much better than the ones we had at the Polynesian at Disney later in the week. The only time we ate there was the night we arrived after a horrendous travel day (9 hour departure delay). It was about 15 minutes before they closed; they offered to fix us a fresh burger/pizza, but we were too tired just got something already prepared. So the food wasn't great, but the service was superb. The rooms were clean and very comfortable; didn't have an issue with noise. The bus transportation to the parks was quick and efficient. We are planning another trip in January 2024 and plan on staying here again.

[Ishida]

Love these videos. Very handy and the detail put in is great. Can see these videos becoming the go to vids for Orlando planning!

[meadowstar]

I went here last December, was very clean and great service! The food was awesome too, I definitely recommend it.

[thecoolestdad]

My daughter and I stayed at Dockside the last week of June. We had the suite. I stayed in the bedroom and she stayed in the main room. We were on the 10th floor with no floors above us. It was quiet the entire trip. Our view was facing the front of the Dockside entrance and the bus stops were directly below us. No noise at all. With no carpet, it was extremely noisy in the food court seating area. I wasn't a fan of the elevators, being 4 in the same location. A few times there were crowds waiting to board the elevators to their rooms. The food was mediocre at best. I feel that Disney's value resorts food courts have better foods than Endless Summer had. I mean it was ok, but not over the top. The pool was just a pool. I mean what does adults do in pools these days? We get in, get wet, and squat down in the water up to our necks and go, "ho hum" and get out. I did however enjoy one night just sitting in a lounge chair by the pool for a while at night just watching people; mostly girls. LOL. The room was fine to me. The bed slept good, but I needed more covers. I did get cold in there throughout the night. The buses were great. Just a few minutes away from the hub to City Walk. Very convenient. The buses were never overly crowded either. maybe once, but not like Disney's buses, which I can't stand anymore, because they pack people in like sardines and the whining of small kids because they are tired, and the parents DO NOTHING to quieten them down! I avoid Disney buses as much as possible, but we do still use them when resort hopping during the day. That way they aren't crowded and no whiny kids to deal with. Universal has certainly stepped up their game with the buses. There was literally a very, very short wait time for a bus. They ran like clockwork. Disney buses, can keep you waiting 10, 15, 20 minutes for one. Bottom line: I liked Endless Summer Dockside resort. We never walked over to Surfside to check it out. Looks somewhat the same, with some differences. I enjoyed our stay there. Here's the big question: would I ever stay at Dockside, or even Surfside again? Maybe, and that's a slight maybe, but most likely probably not. But I do want to stay at Cabana Bay and even Sapphire Falls and Portofino Bay.

[MattGamerUtlimate]

Another amazing review! It’s a shame that they cut off easy access to I-Drive but I guess it’s to keep people on property to spend.

[squigglove]

Yeah, I agree with the value; I also agree with the lack of storage/clothing space! We're able to stay longer because of the value pricing so in turn we bring a LOT of luggage....and we leave with even more! LOL

[agelessbeauty]

Today Friday 4.9.21, and I just booked this this resort for our June trip. Thanks for all the questions one may want to know, regarding staying here. I now know to request to be in tower #1 for the convenience of the bus stop. Great tip ideas, to boot👍👌

[ItzTheJLife]

Really great helpful thorough review. Fabulous it has no resort fee. I hadn't realised that and presumes it would have one when others have. Thanks for this review x

[edvaira]

A few reviews I’ve seen on YT for this place were not kind; nice to see an alternate perspective...Nice video, as usual!

[plamoretti]

Disney should reconsider their pricing. Because of Surfside's value pricing, I'm staying an extra week and I'm buying more park tickets + express passes + spending more at City Walk. So if they have any loss at Surfside, they'll definitely make it back at other spots.

[sltsang]

We stayed three days at Endless Summer and three days at Disney All-Star Movies in Summer 2019. I would give my stay at Endless Summer a 7.5 out of 10. It was spanking brand new and clean, the staff were super nice and the onsite restaurant was okay. The towels were small, super thin and nubby - a big negative.
I would give Disney All-Star Movies resort a 8.5 out of 10. My room was newly renovated with a double bed along with a double Murphy bed, along with a coffee maker. It felt a level above Endless Summer. The on-site restaurant was better and had more variety. There was renovation going on at the nearby wing, so the elevators were filthy. We just used the stairs.

[hazelannett-jones]

Thank you for this vlog, very informative 🙌🏻