We’re only five months away from May’s official opening of Orlando’s first brand-new theme park since the turn of the millennium, and the buzz building around Epic Universe is becoming deafening.
After spending years scouring through construction permits, press releases and aerial photographs in order to write a guidebook about Universal Orlando’s eagerly anticipated expansion, last week I finally got my first opportunity to set foot on the new campus, located on former Lockheed Martin land near the Orange County Convention Center. The occasion was a media preview of Stella Nova Resort, the first of three new Loews-operated hotels located alongside the upcoming park, which welcomes its first paying guests Tuesday, Jan. 21. And although I didn’t get to stay overnight, if my first impressions are accurate, these celestial- themed properties are about to raise the bar for value-priced hotel rooms into upper orbit.
Both Stella Nova and Terra Luna — its sibling hotel across the street that opens on March 25 — are instantly identifiable by the 144,000 color-changing dichroic glass tiles covering their curved exteriors, which rotate through a rainbow of hues as you shift your viewing angle. That show- stopping exterior will get all the attention from influencers, but once I stepped inside the inviting lobby, my eye was instantly drawn to the arching white walls, elaborate overhead lighting fixtures and gleaming terrazzo floors. The gorgeous Googie design flourishes extend outside, from the expansive organic-shaped pool (the 10,000 square feet of water was delightfully warm despite the winter weather) to the comfy curved couches gracing the Galaxy Bar and Grill.
All these elevated architectural elements appear influenced by the same “Space Age” aesthetic that birthed Disneyland’s beloved House of the Future. Such inspired adaptation of mid-century aesthetics in service of affordable accommodations has become a signature of Russ Dagon, Universal’s senior vice president of resort development, who led the creation of Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort and Endless Summer Inn and Suites, among many others.
“We work hand in hand with Loews on all that, because everything we do, they’ve got to be able to maintain and keep clean and make it a compelling guest experience, so that it’s compelling a year from now, not just on day one,” says Dagon, regarding Stella Nova’s use of vintage finishes to evoke a timeless retro-future.
That subtly extraterrestrial vibe extends to the 750 standard 315-square-foot guest rooms, which all sport double queen beds, cosmic images from the James Webb telescope, and iconic spaceship-esque curved windows that are certain to go viral in vacation selfies. “We had challenges pulling that off, but they look spectacular and it does set the tone for the room; you don’t feel as if you’re in a traditional hotel room,” says Dagon. “We played with that five years ago in the model room to make sure that we could do it right.”
When Terra Luna comes online, Dagon says it will offer a “different color palette” that focuses on earth tones like green and brown, rather than Stella Nova’s celestial teals and purples. But otherwise, he says guest rooms at both hotels “from a functional standpoint, identical; from an experiential standpoint, I’d say they’re parallel.”
However, there will be a couple key differences between the two properties. First, only Terra Luna will offer a dedicated vegan menu in its café; they’ll run a separate kitchen dedicated to preparing plant-based food. I didn’t get to sample the vegan dishes, but I did sample some pancakes, hot honey chicken pizza, and cornflake-crusted croissants stuffed with cream cheese and berries (my favorite) from Cosmos Café, Stella Nova’s casual three-meal restaurant.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, although pedestrian access is possible from both hotels, only Stella Nova advertises a direct walking path to Epic Universe. I wasn’t able to walk that path, but the hotel’s parking lot lies tantalizingly close to Super Nintendo World, providing backstage views of Mount Beanpole and Donkey Kong’s Mine-Cart Madness roller coaster. Guests staying here might be even closer to that groundbreaking ride — which will likely garner long lines as soon as early entry hour starts — than those coming from the upscale Helios Grand Hotel attached to the rear of the park.
Stella Nova’s proximity to 2025’s hottest new attractions should be enticing enough to fill its beds this summer and for months to come, which makes it somewhat shocking to see Universal offering rates under $150 per night (with a four-night minimum). In fact, under Loews’ revamped hotel classifications, pricing for Universal’s Prime Value properties like these overlaps with Value Inn & Suites like Cabana Bay. Add in the fact that only three of the top-tier Signature Collection resorts include unlimited Express passes — which won’t work at Epic Universe anyway — and everything you previously knew about where to stay on-site at Universal Orlando is about to be upended. Assuming that Stella Nova clears its pre-flight checks and launches successfully, it could become Orlando’s smartest spot to spend your next staycation without spending the sun and moon.
