Universal Helios Grand Hotel

Universal Helios Grand Hotel welcomed its first guests on April 16, 2025, ahead of its original May 22 booking date, becoming the marquee hotel of Universal Orlando's new Epic Universe theme park. At 500 rooms and suites, it is the flagship of Universal's new Signature Collection tier, and the only hotel with a direct, dedicated entrance into the park.

The place

The hotel sits at 8505 S. Kirkman Road in Orlando, rising directly over Celestial Park at the center of Universal's Epic Universe, the theme park that opened alongside it in May 2025. Its position is the whole point: Helios Grand is built into the park's layout rather than beside it, with a lobby-level entrance that lets guests walk straight from their room into Epic Universe without going through a turnstile queue. That access, paired with early park admission that extended to Epic Universe on May 23, 2025, places the hotel at the center of Universal's bet that Epic Universe would draw guests willing to pay for proximity over the resort's older, more budget-oriented properties.

The concept

Helios Grand is the debut property in Universal Orlando's Signature Collection, a new premium tier the resort created to sit above its existing Preferred and Prime Value hotel categories, offering full-service amenities and what Universal calls "distinguished service." Loews Hotels & Co. co-owns and operates the property, its latest and largest addition to the Universal Orlando hotel portfolio. Universal has called it the "Crown Jewel" of its hotel collection, a designation that reflects both the room count and its physical centrality to Epic Universe. The design draws on Helios, the Greek god of the sun, translated into what Universal describes as a Mediterranean-inspired palace: celestial patterns, constellation motifs and a light, coastal material palette running through public spaces and the 500 guest rooms, 35 of which are suites. Family theming extends to a set of How to Train Your Dragon Kids' Suites modeled on the Viking village of Berk, tying the hotel directly to one of the intellectual properties anchoring Epic Universe next door. The overall register aims for resort-scale grandeur rather than boutique intimacy, consistent with a property built to anchor an entire theme park rather than simply house its visitors.

Dining & wellness

The hotel operates four dining venues. Flora Taverna is the full-service restaurant, serving Mediterranean comfort food and wood-fired pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with indoor and patio seating overlooking Epic Universe; it also supplies the hotel's 24-hour room service. Bar Helios is a rooftop lounge with tapas and cocktails and a 360-degree view of the park. Aurora Market functions as a grab-and-go coffee shop, and Lotus Lagoon is the poolside bar and grill serving the resort-style zero-entry pool, which has underwater speakers and private cabanas.