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ORLANDO, Fla. - If you plan to visit an Epic Universe, you might as well stay at a grand hotel. Welcome to the upcoming Helios Grand Hotel at Universal Epic Universe theme park.
"We're basically told just unleash," said Russ Dagon, Universal Creative SVP, "do what you've wanted to do forever and have fun with this property, and that's exactly what we've done. We've worked hand-in-hand with our creative studio from the onset to create that synchronous experience between park and hotel."
Named for Helios, the Greek sun god, the hotel will offer visitors direct entrance to the Epic Universe Theme Park.
"It's going to be an in-park hotel. So guests staying there are going to have an exclusive entrance into the park and some amazing views. Whether you're dining there or staying there, it's going to be fantastic," said theme park expert Annie Wilson, of Adventuring with Annie (@AnniesUniUpdate).
Universal said the Mediterranean-styled hotel would be the new park's crown jewel. "They said the design is going to compliment the design of Celestial Park, the central hub of Epic Universe that the hotel directly connects to," said Blake Taylor with Attractions Magazine.
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Among its 500 rooms are suites featuring How to Train Your Dragon decor, especially for kids, matching the Isle of Berk theme park outside its windows.
"That was one of those that, as soon as I saw that, I was like, why are there only a handful of those rooms? They need to have much more. Give me a Dark Universe room, and I would stay there for a week," said theme park expert Jeremiah Good with LaughingPlace.com.
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Dark Universe is another theme park in EpicU, dedicated to villains and monsters. Helios is co-owned and managed by Loews Hotels, which runs other hotels at Universal Orlando Resort.
"We've been involved with our partners at Universal for close to 30 years, designing 11 distinct hotels. Once again, Universal is stepping-up their game to another level," said Jonathan Tisch, Loews Hotels Chairman.
Helios has all the restaurants, pools, and amenities one would expect from a hotel of its class. It's set to open next year, along with the rest of Epic Universe. There's no word yet on pricing or when guests could start booking rooms.
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