We’re getting our first official look yet at what the two Universal hotels across from Epic Universe will look like once completed. Thanks to the hotel company posting the official website early, we now have a full rundown for one of these new hotels, including a possible opening date of January 21, 2025.
Let’s dig into all of the new concept art, hotel descriptions, and more to see what we can learn about the Universal Stella Nova Resort. See the video version of this story below for additional visuals.
Hotels at number 1, Super Nintendo World seen at bottom, Photo: @Bioreconstruct
Known in permits as Projects 912 and 913, the two hotels being built now will be located on the south side of the new “Epic Boulevard,” which will connect existing roads to Epic Universe.
Built by Finfrock, which specializes in building precast concrete structures, the main buildings for these two hotels were completely constructed within the last 12 months. This is the same contractor as the Universal’s Endless Summer Resorts, which were built in a similar style.
A look at tiles installed on one of the two hotels, Photo: @Bioreconstruct
We saw trademarks for what we presumed would be the names for these two hotels back in September of 2022. And with today’s news, we do have confirmation that they will in fact be called “Universal Stella Nova Resort” and “Universal Terra Luna Resort.”
In recent weeks, colorful reflective tiles have been installed along the exterior of the Project 912 structure, which we now know is the Stella Nova Resort.
Tiles installed on hotel exterior, Photo: @Bioreconstruct
Official rendering shared on loewshotels.com
Thanks to the Loews Hotels official website posting the official landing page for this resort early, we can now see what both of these hotels will look like once completed.
This rendering was found at the top of the landing page for the hotel, and shows both of the buildings with their completed tile designs.
Closer look at Stella Nova Resort in art shared on loewshotels.com
This official website, which was live for several hours, describes these two new hotels as the “new gateway to Universal Orlando Resort.” We can even see a new Universal entry sign in the rendering, on the corner of Universal Blvd at the start of the extended Kirkman Rd., as if this will be the new entry road leading to all of Universal Orlando Resort.
Universal Orlando sign seen in art shared on loewshotels.com
The website goes on to say:
“The all-new Universal Stella Nova Resort was inspired by the infinite vastness of the unknown universe, and the wonder of what lies beyond our world. Opening January 21, 2025, it’s where you’ll take off for amazing adventures and exclusive theme park benefits at the parks; it’s also where you’ll touch down for relaxation and recharging between the fun.”
View of website landing page, loewshotels.com
This possible opening date aligns with the construction timelines seen in permit information, which has the punch list for Project 912 completed by January 2025. If the sister hotel follows the same rule of thumb, that could mean we could see Terra Luna open by the end of March 2025. Of course, since this Loews website page is no longer live, that January opening date is subject to change.
Official concept art for Epic Universe, Image: Universal Orlando
According to the site, the Epic Universe theme park will not be open when this resort opens to guests. Its says that the Universal Epic Universe theme park will open at a later date in 2025. However, they do stress that “convenient and complimentary shuttles” will be able to take you from the hotel to the current theme parks and CityWalk—and that early entry for an hour for select experiences will be available, same as the existing Universal Orlando hotels.
Official rendering shared on loewshotels.com
Looking back at the official concept art for the hotels above, it is worth noting that the Epic Universe theme park is missing from this image. It should be visible in the background at the top of the image, behind the Kirkman Rd raised circle ramp.
The park may be missing from this image so guests booking this hotel do not assume it will be open when they check in, or simply because new concept art for the park has not been released yet.
Official rendering of the pool area shared on loewshotels.com
What we can see in the art, is a pretty good look at the two resorts’ pool areas, which appear similar to the Endless Summer Resort pools at first glance.
The pool for Stella Nova is described as a 10,000 square feet resort-style pool, and will also include a nearby kids’ splash pad area, hot tub, and outdoor fire pit, which seem more in line with offerings at Cabana Bay or Aventura than Endless Summer, making it hard to pin down a price point.
Official rendering of the lobby area shared on loewshotels.com
And that is something that was not yet visible within the landing page for the Stella Nova Resort: pricing. We can assume from the amenities, (and being conveniently located across from Epic Universe,) that these resorts may fall into the Prime-Value category, like Cabana Bay or Aventura, but that is still not confirmed.
Other amenities include a fitness center, game room, gift shop, and dining options.
Official rendering of dining shared on loewshotels.com
The official site says “Throughout the resort, there are restaurant and lounge options sure to fit the palette of everyone — including a pool bar and grill, and pizza delivery.” Permits we’ve seen for the hotel describe a restaurant with 203 seats, as well as a bar/lounge with 113 seats.
As for the rooms of the Stella Nova Resort, of which there will be 750, it says “You’ll enjoy endless family fun with a massive pool, standard rooms that sleep up to four, multiple dining options, and tons of recreational fun.”
Standard Room floorplan shared on loewshotels.com
An example floorplan image is included in the image gallery, which shows an almost exact duplicate layout as the standard rooms at Cabana Bay.
Standard room image shared on loewshotels.com
Images of the room itself, including the bathroom, were included too, showing what the unique rounded space-porthole style windows look like from the inside—as well as the celestial-style wallpaper behind the bed and art-deco carpet.
Bathroom image shared on loewshotels.com
According to permit documents, it does not appear that this resort will feature any multi-bedroom suites like the Endless Summer Resort, although connecting doors can be opened between adjoining rooms to create larger shared space for families.
Bookings for Universal Stella Nova Resort are rumored to open as early as next month, which will be just about a year out from its possible opening, giving guests time to plan their next vacation. This could explain why the official website is being prepared now.
Official concept art for Epic Universe showing hotel at the back of the theme park, Universal Orlando
No details were included about the hotel at the back of the park, the 500-room Universal Helios Grand Hotel, but we expect that one to open with the theme park, and to cost quite a bit more.
That’s all for this update, but be sure to check out the video version of this story for additional visuals. And don’t miss our latest construction update around the Epic Universe theme park from this week for more information!
Subscribe to the news feed or enter your email address below to never miss an update. Official Epic Universe Art: Universal Orlando | Aerial Photos: Bioreconstruct | Other Images as Captioned
