Saturday, July 29, 2017

A Day in the Cabana Life

It seems only fitting that since our summer is starting to wind down, less than a month until my little nerdy's are back to school, that I start dishing on our annual big summer blowout.  Two glorious weeks visiting my homes away from home.  Universal Orlando Resort and Walt Disney World.

This trip was a big one for us in the sense that while we had a lot of amazing firsts, we had some pretty big lasts as well.  The growing up of our little people was so evident on this trip and it was as phenomenal as it was bittersweet.

Today though I'm going to talk about the awesome first that was a highlight for this Mama.  The Beach Club Pool at the Hard Rock Hotel Universal Orlando is my happy place.  Seriously, no exaggeration.  Well, truthfully the whole resort is my spirit animal.  If a resort could be a spirit animal that is.



I could spend all day at this pool.  Sun, absolutely amazing food, music piped in and live music for part of the afternoon. Oh and beverages. While my kiddos love the pool, it's me that you have to drag away kicking and screaming to go play at the park.  Don't think I haven't toyed with the idea of letting Hockey Nerd take them to the park and let me just soak in the vibe. But FOMO is real and I don't want to miss that fun just for a little extra piece of zen for me.





So in that vein, we decided to splurge and rent a cabana for one day of our stay.  We called the Body Rock Spa at the Hard Rock in March to book our cabana for June.  Our one request was that we be close to the slide, we got the second cabana away and it turned out to be the perfect location.



Pool days are a good thing, but why be happy with a ten.  When a cabana rental can take your pool day up to eleven?


That being said here are my top four reasons why you should consider a cabana day on your next vacation at the Hard Rock Hotel Universal Orlando.  Or really anywhere.  But some of what I discuss will be specific to what I know.

1. Location.
This will be your home for the whole day.  No looking for a spot, no jockeying for a better location. Once you are there you are home.  Our cabana came equipped with four lounge chairs a table and a couch in the shade.  Also a TV, a ceiling fan, piped in sound.  You could soak up the sun or chill out in the shade and never had to worry about trying to find a different spot.






2.  Service
We had a designate server all day.  She would check on us regularly when we were there.  A big shout out to Kristen from the Beach Club, she was a rock star.  Super friendly and personable. She was amused by my taking pictures of my food and when I told her I had been counting down since Thanksgiving to have it again.  She later came by and asked me how my pictures turned out.   Whenever we saw her after our cabana day she remembered us and our preferences.  If you are going to have a cabana be prepared to be totally taken care of while there.  I know we were in good hands.


3.  Food
Oh guys, I dream about the Beach Club food.  For real.  Reasonably priced (for a resort) and you definitely get what you pay for.  Hands down my favorite is the loaded nachos and I am not going to tell you how many days I had them (and maybe shared) while we were there.  The sampler is amazing also.  With our cabana rental we received a 50.00 food credit.  Which was a great start to the day as well.  This was a big plus for us when factoring whether the cost was worth it. Additionally, our cabana came with a refrigerator which was stocked with soda and water.  We also received a fruit tray and another big bottle of water during the day too.



4. Relaxation
It was nice to have a day with no big plans just playing in the pool,eating and having fun. Mighty and Mini got to play and be kids.  Hockey Nerd and I got to hang out and talk. Even though it was right in the middle of everything we still felt like we were able to have conversations and just be.  We meven put our devices down and just enjoyed and people watched.  There may or may not have been singing and or rocking out depending on the song.  It may or may not have been me.


If you want to try something different for a pool day.  I cannot recommend a cabana rental enough. For us it was a splurge, but it has turned into something that we will do again when we head back. The entire experience was well worth the cost and we all ended up enjoying it.  We also ended up getting an unplanned poolside portrait session when we were there.  New professional pictures of my favorite people at my favorite pool in the world.  What can be better than that?



Have you ever rented a cabana? If not have you thought about it before?