A brand-new addition is coming to Universal Studios Orlando, and fans of the theme park resort will soon have a new place to stay when they visit.
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According to plans filed on January 24 with Orange County, the Maryland-based Buccini/Pollin Group, Inc., is working to bring a beautiful new luxury hotel to the Central Florida area on a ten-acre piece of property located at the northwest corner of Destination Parkway and Universal Boulevard, near Universal’s newest theme park, Epic Universe, which is currently under construction.
The new property will be a Marriott W Brand Hotel that includes 400 guest rooms nestled in a structure that stands 22 stories high. The new hotel will also feature a two-story, 30,000-square-foot music venue and a parking garage with space for 624 vehicles across six levels.
At the time of the publication of this post, the new Marriott W Hotel is still making its way through the approvals process, but plans include breaking ground for the new project before the end of 2023, according to the co-president of the Buccini/Pollin Group, Inc., David B. Pollin.
Pollin further said that the new hotel could open as early as mid-2026. The architect currently listed on the project is Atlanta-based Cooper Carry, Inc. The civil engineering group is listed as Raleigh, North Carolina-based Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc., and the land surveyor is listed as Orlando-based Leading Edge Land Services, Inc. LandDesign, Inc., based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the landscape architect for the project.
“We have spent tons of time in Orlando trying to find the right opportunity, and this is it,” Pollin said. “Obviously, tourism is a key industry, and we’re introducing a new type of offering–luxury lifestyle–that doesn’t currently exist. Orlando is a growing tech hub and home to hundreds of national and regional headquarters, so there are a lot of business transient travelers a W Hotel will appeal to.”
The new Marriott hotel will also be a perk as it will be located within one mile of the Orange County Convention Center.
The debut of Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe in 2025 will also provide a steady flow of patrons for the hotel and for other businesses that populate Universal Boulevard. Pollin says the new hotel will offer the perk of being among the closest, and he says the new Marriott will be a new option for travelers, not one to take the place of current hotels, like, for example, the Universal Partner hotel offerings.
“We will be one of the closest hotels,” Pollin said. “We want to provide a new option in the market (W Hotel brand), not slice up the current market or impact existing hotels.”
