Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
A look at Universal’s new Aventura hotel
Universal Orlando is in the home stretch for opening Aventura, its sixth onproperty hotel. The 600-room, 17-story structure — adjacent to the resort’s Sapphire Falls hotel and across the street from Cabana Bay Beach Resort — is scheduled to open Aug. 16.
Among its distinctive amenities will be a rooftop lounge known as Bar 17 Bistro.
We talked with Vince LaRuffa, senior vice president of resort sales and marketing, during Universal’s media event touting additions such as the recently opened Fast & Furious — Supercharged ride at Universal Studios theme park. He has been to the top, and he likes what he sees, he says. Here are some of his observations about Aventura.
ON THE VIEW FROM THE TOP: “On our side of town, it’s probably the greatest view you’re going to get. There’s nothing in the way. Obviously, you can see a lot of details in the parks, which for a park guest, I think it’s going to be exciting. … You know, there’s a golf course across the street that you don’t even know exists. People drive by it every day. But when you’re up there you can actually see specific holes.”
ON THE OPEN-AIR FEEL OF BAR 17 BISTRO: “There is a center portion that is completely covered. It is open on all the sides, so from any seat, you can see the view. There are Plexiglas panels that actually wrap the entire roof, so from up there you can see from floor to sky, basically. There’s no obstruction in the view whatsoever.”
ON WHERE AVENTURA FITS INTO THE PORTFOLIO: “For a guest who’s looking for the entrylevel price point for an on-site Universal vacation, previously Cabana was their option. It was their only option. Now Aventura offers an alternative at the same price point.”
ON WHO MIGHT OPT FOR AVENTURA: “Aventura is designed to appeal to a bit of a different guest, someone who’s looking for a little more quiet sophistication. It is a more modern type of design and execution. It’s more minimalistic. For somebody who wants to go to the park and come back and relax a little in a less animated environment, it’s a great option. … Certain audiences will really like it. I think millennials will really like it because it kind of has that West Elm vibe. It’s that kind of décor scheme.”
ON THOSE CURVED WALLS: “There are rooms at the end of each hallway that have a curvature to the outside wall. But what you also see from the outside is completely glassed. All the outside walls of the hotel are completely glassed, which means you have a full and complete view on that endcap piece of the room. So every room has a more complete view that you would typically get in a hotel room.”
ON THE AVENTURA SIGN UP TOP: “It went up last week. It is really great to have it up there. We’ve been talking about the hotel, but people have been driving by and don’t necessarily know what it is.”
AND ON WHAT’S A GOOD SIGN: “The crane is gone … and no exterior lift. As of last week, the service elevators are functioning. So we are getting close.”