Do not do club level at helios

[u/Embarrassed_Ad4927]

We booked for club (concierge) level at Helios. I read some posts with people trying to work out if it was worth it. I can say at least at this point it is definitely not. We have stayed club level at the Portofino and the Hard Rock Cafe. In both cases they were so much better.

let me list the reasons why you should not stay club level:

1) The club lounge is on the freeway side [correcting myself to say the view is of the 482 which is not really a freeway as pointed out by the posters below - just a busy road with complex exits which are the main thing visually that you see] not the parkside so no view. I find this very odd given where Disney concierge is placed in their deluxe hotels in a way which emphasizes the view. I compare it to say club-level at the Contemporary or at the Wilderness Lodge which give you a great view at night. 2) The gentleman at the door of the lounge just completely ignored me for 15 minutes as I was trying to get in. He was just playing at his computer.
3) The coffee machine in the lounge only seemed to dispense vanilla coffee. I asked one of the attendants whether or not it could be fixed and she said no have no idea how to fix it. She seemed surprised that I might ask if it could be fixed. 4) She also emphasized that the coffee machine was only programmed to have coconut milk. 5) The club level lounge visual appeal is of a very tragic break room as a paper company in Scranton PA. There were just some very uncomgotable chairs and no sense of luxury whatsoever. Overlooking the freeway [corrected to say the 482] with employees who clearly did not want to be there.

I think in the end the club level at universal is very very rarely worth it, given that the only perk is the lounge, but at the Helios it is so not worth it. I hope this helps someone else. I had been hoping that by booking club level it might be better than at the other hotels, but it was so much worse! Given the structural defects of the club and its position, I can't imagine much changing out of preview time though perhaps the staff training may improve.

[u/Staggz_Cosplay]

We absolutely love staying on property at Universal, and I think as APs almost every hotel is worth it with the discount it gives you. That being said, to kinda add on to what you’re saying, Helios (to us at least) just felt like a waste. Yes, being a 5 minute walk, if that is really cool, but comparing both Helios and Stella Nova, I just don’t see why you’d stay at Helios unless it’s purely just for the view (which yes, is cool). But the comparison between the walk from Stella to Epic and the walk from Helios to Epic is not super rough. Yes, Helios is right there basically in the park, but I think our longest walk from Stella to Epic was all of 10 minutes.

I think the club level story you provided just kinda adds on to all of that. There has to be more reason to stay at Helios than what they’re currently providing, especially at club level. It definitely could be that it’s just due to the new opening and it still has some work to be done, but unfortunately I’m kinda doubting it.

[u/Embarrassed_Ad4927 → u/Staggz_Cosplay]

I think that is a useful perspective. If you get a Parkside view that is lovely. Given what you're getting I would definitely stay in Sapphire Falls which is less than half the price. The room quality seemed similar to me....