Is staying at a Universal Orlando hotel worth it? I found out for you

I’ve stayed in a range of Universal Orlando Resort hotels, from the cheapest to among the most expensive.

All of them offer valuable perks like early park entry and free merchandise delivery, so you don’t have to schlep in-park purchases around all day.

I would stay at any of the hotels again, but here’s why you may want to consider splurging on the priciest properties: They come with free Universal Express passes that slash waits at just about every attraction at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure.

Here’s how I stretched my time and money with a split stay between hotels at Universal Orlando.

What new hotels are coming to Universal?

Universal is opening three resort hotels next year in connection with its new Universal Epic Universe theme park.

Sister hotels Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Luna Resort will open about two months apart in January and March. They'll have otherworldly, intergalactic themes.

Universal Helios Grand Hotel will open by Universal Epic Universe's opening day, May 22. When it does, Universal says it will be "the crown jewel of Epic Universe and the pinnacle of Universal Orlando’s hotel experiences." The 500-room resort will feature its own dedicated entrance to Epic Universe's Celestial Park and theming designed to immerse guests in "a fantastical world within the palace of Helios, the Greek god of the sun, adorned with beautiful details of celestial patterns, dazzling constellations and elegant yet casual Mediterranean design elements," Universal said in a news release.

What are the tiers of resorts at Universal?

Previously, there were fours tiers of Universal Orlando hotels: Value, Prime Value, Preferred and Premier.

But on Aug. 22, Universal announced it was restructuring hotel categories, effective immediately, "to make it even easier for guests to choose the hotel that best fits their preferred style and budget."

Here are the new categories:

• Value: Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites & Dockside Inn and Suites.

• Prime Value: Universal Stella Nova Resort, Universal Terra Luna Resort, Universal’s Aventura Hotel.

• Signature Collection: Universal Helios Grand Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort.

It's worth noting that Cabana Bay had been considered a Prime Value hotel and Sapphire Falls was Preferred, not Premiere. As such, Sapphire Falls guests did not get Universal Express passes with their stay, nor will they even with the new category. Helios Grand Hotel guests will not get Universal Express passes either.

"At this time, the new hotel categories will not change the current collection of exclusive theme park benefits, services, and amenities offered at each hotel," Universal Orlando told USA TODAY.

How much does it cost to stay at a Universal Orlando hotel?

As with just about any hotel, prices vary by date and demand.

Standard rooms at Surfside and Dockside start at about $100 a night, excluding discounts. Meanwhile, rooms at Portofino Bay approach $1,000 a night during the peak holiday season, according to Universal's online booking tool.

This summer, my family spent two nights at Cabana Bay for about $150 a night and one night at Royal Pacific for about $500, before taxes and fees. The latter was twice much as we’ve ever spent staying anywhere else, but the Express passes made it worth it to me with the crowds and stifling summer heat.

What is an Express pass at Universal?

Like Lightning Lane passes at Walt Disney World and Fastrack passes at LEGOLAND Florida, Universal Express passes dramatically cut waits for attractions. But unlike Lightning Lanes, formerly Genie+, there's no need to book attractions in advance. Just show your pass to the team member at the attraction entrance to enter the Express queue instead of the traditional standby one.

There are a couple of rides that don’t accept Express passes, namely Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, one of the most popular rides at the resort, and kid-centered Pterandon Flyers. Express passes will not cut waits for meet-and-greets with popular characters like Shrek and Donkey in the resort’s new DreamWorks Land either. But overall, the passes are a huge timesaver.

The starting price for a standard Universal Express pass is $89.99, but it can rise to $289.99 depending on the date and demand. Standard Express passes can be used once at each participating attraction. Royal Pacific, Hard Rock and Portofino Bay hotel guests get the more expensive Universal Express Unlimited pass, which allows for repeat rides on participating attractions. Universal Express Unlimited passes cost anywhere from $119.99 to $319.99 each.

At minimum, just the Express passes for my family would have cost around $480 a day. I actually got two days' worth because they're valid for each day of your stay, including check-in and check-out days.

How does a split stay work?

My family spent our first two nights at Cabana Bay and our last night at Royal Pacific. You may prefer to start your trip at Royal Pacific, Hard Rock or Portofino Bay, then move to a lower tier, but you should weigh which option makes the best use of Express passes. Because we didn’t arrive until the evening of our first day, it didn’t make sense to waste the passes on a few hours in the parks. We didn't need the passes the next day either at Universal Volcano Bay water park, next door to Cabana Bay.

The morning of our checkout from Cabana Bay, I drove over to Royal Pacific to check in in person and pick up our room keys, which doubled as dated Express passes for the theme parks. Even though we stayed at Royal Pacific only one night, our Express passes were good all day the days of our check-in and departure.

I had a car with me, so transporting luggage was no problem. Travelers without a car may want to use a rideshare service or cab because there’s no direct transportation between Universal’s hotels. You can walk between Cabana Bay, Aventura, Sapphire Falls and Royal Pacific, but it’s not ideal with bulky bags. Hard Rock and Portofino Bay are all the way across the Florida resort.

Regardless of check-in time, rooms are not guaranteed to be ready until late afternoon. Bell services can store luggage in the meantime.

What Universal hotels do you get Express passes with?

Universal Express passes are only included with stays at Royal Pacific, Hard Rock and Portofino Bay.

Guests of those three hotels also get special access to restaurants on property.

All three hotels and Sapphire Falls offer water taxi transportation to the parks. The water taxis drop off closer to the parks than resort buses or parking on your own.

Guests staying at Cabana Bay, Aventura, Sapphire Falls, Royal Pacific, Hard Rock and Portofino Bay may pool-hop across those same resorts.

All Universal Orlando hotel guests get early entry to select parks each day, free delivery of in-park purchases to their hotel, and room charging privileges across the resort.

(This story has been updated with new information.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Universal Orlando hotels can get pricey. Why splurges can be worth it.