We Just Discovered A Secret Way To Avoid a $125 Parking Fee ? at the NEW Epic Universe Hotel

Universal has quietly announced a loophole to their hefty parking fees at one of their newest hotels!

Universal Helios Grand Hotel

Ever since we got to lay eyes inside Helios Grand Hotel we’ve been enamored by its charms and we can’t wait until we can step inside for our first stays inside their plush hotel rooms and enjoy their gorgeous amenities. But, if you’re familiar with Universal’s hotels you may remember even hotel guests are subject to paying overnight parking fees and we’ve discovered a way around one of the largest we’ve seen at a Universal Orlando hotel yet!

There’s a lot to be excited about for Universal Orlando already this year with even more on the way. Soon, the closest Universal Orlando hotel to Epic Universe will finally be open welcoming its first visitors through its doors on to their hotel rooms, Epic Universe, and restaurants.

Universal Helios Grand Hotel

We’ve already had a chance to step inside for a bit and marvel at its wondrous design, but we’re most particularly interested in the unique restaurants and bars you’ll find here. Helios Grand Hotel is home to some up and coming restaurants meant to send our minds (and tastes buds) to a galaxy beyond our own. We’re itching for the chance to try it all once the hotel opens, and best of all, you can too even if you’re not a hotel guest!

Bar Helios

Reservations for several of Helios Grand Hotel’s restaurants and sought-after bars including Bar Helios and Flora Taverna are now available online through Resy, but no one seems to be talking about how much you can expect to pay to park at this hotel if you’re planning to come enjoy the dining experiences here.

Welcome to Helios Grand Hotel

Parking as a day visitor for Helios Grand Hotel is currently set at $125 plus tax, per vehicle, per day for self-parking, and $128 plus tax, per vehicle, per day for daily valet. OUCH! That’s a hefty parking fee to park at this hotel just to enjoy some eats, but there’s a secret way around this hefty parking price tag you’ll need to know about before you dine here.

©Loews Hotels

Universal Orlando has a very active social media presence and is known to encourage their visitors and Annual Passholders to ask questions that can be answered by their team online. So when reservations for these restaurants became available to book, these steep parking prices made a few folks nervous to book their reservations to shell out money for a nice meal AND such a hefty parking fee, and that’s exactly the question one person posed to Universal online.

Flora Taverna ©Universal

In their post, the question asked on Universal Orlando’s Annual Passholder Facebook page was “Does anyone know if you have to pay for parking if you just want ot come to eat at Helios?” In response, Universal left a comment detailing how you could get parking fees waived when dining at Helios Grand Hotel. In their response, Universal stated, “Non-registered Guests who dine at Universal Helios Grand Hotel and spend a minimum amount at select venues can have their parking validated. To do this, a minimum of $50 must be spent at Bar Helios and $75 must be spent at Flora Taverna”

©Facebook

Their response also outlines that parking for dining experiences is limited to 4 hours. and if your parking time exceeds that, the normal daily self-parking rate will apply (pricing subject to change).

CityWalk

This seems like a fair trade to us. With this hotel being mere steps away from Universal’s newest theme park, it certainly makes it a prime location for everyone to want to flock to and potentially dine at the hotel and linger for a bit. This validation is a trade off to ease the cost of parking to those looking to enjoy the hotel’s dining options while also keeping parking spaces open for hotel guests checking in for their stays and revolving the parking availability for diners. However, if you’re looking just to come over to the hotel and take a look around, your best bet to do this is to park at Universal’s parking garages for the theme parks, and take the hotel shuttle bus round trip to and from your car.

Don’t go far because we’ll be trying out all of these new restaurants as soon as Helios Grand Hotel opens for the first time! Be sure to stay tuned with us right here at DFB.