Universal's Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Orlando

My family and I were able to take advantage of a one-night stay at Portofino when the other hotel we had on-site (Royal Pacific---also beautiful) was not able to extend our stay. We pulled up to a big, beautiful fountain, right in front of the portico at the front door. The valet attendendants were very helpful and gracious and offered a nice warm greeting. Portofino is a beautiful hotel with neat little things to see. There are little canoes moored out in the water, and many rooms overlooking the villa that has been created. Our room was located just next to the water-taxi pick-up/drop-off at the West Wing, so it couldn't have been more convenient. One of the employees in one of the gift shops said he's been told by other visitors that the hotel itself is a great replica of the city of Portofino (they had actually been there before), but the hotel is much CLEANER than the city :-). Our room was very neat and we had a set of French doors that opened to a balcony overlooking the water taxi area (not many rooms have balconies). The bathroom even had a pass-through type of window w/ shutters that you could close if you wanted some privacy. Otherwise, you could soak in the nice-sized tub while leaving the "window" and the french doors open and maybe catch a soft breeze. (I don't know for sure if you can look out the bathroom window while you're soaking--you'll have to find out on your own.) I took an opportunity to walk around just a little and see what I could see in a very limited time...check out the beach pool near the Mandara Spa. I didn't get to see the other pools (didn't even know they had 3 on-site until I found this web page). Also, I suggest taking a walk around the front desk area. We found this little gift shop to the right, and beyond that an interior hallway that appears to be more like an outside alley, including strings of lights for "stars." One thing we weren't too crazy about was the feeling we got that the front desk staff may not be as organized as they should be. We were also there just prior to New Year's and they were pretty booked up...there probably should have been at least one more person at the front desk to help expedite the check-in process. The staff was very friendly, despite not having all the answers to our questions. Our price was much higher than what I see on this site (We were about $450 for one night for 4 adults), but it was well worth it when you consider the UNLIMITED express access that your room key gives you to the Universal rides and attractions. (The Express Passes you buy at the park are single-use only and run about $50+ per person.) We were able to use our room keys to go on a couple rides over and over and over....it was a great asset! I know the Portofino Bay description on here mentions using the key for an Express Pass, but I didn't see it also mention another benefit: you can also use your room key to charge your purchases at the park--and the park will even have them delivered to your hotel for free. This saves you not only the hassle of carrying around possibly bulky purchases, but also the worry of carrying cash that may either get lost or wet on the rides.

I had a wonderful stay at this hotel. Its absolutly beautiful. The only problem I had was with the valet service, they lost my car key but it is seperate from the actual hotel.

I liked the locaation. I liked how your room key works as a fast pass for every ride. The price was worth it. I can't wait to go back. I loved it!!!! I went with my cousins. They loved it and there still young. I had so much fun even though i only stayed for 1 night.

this place is amazing the staff was so friendly and so nice to my kids. i cant wait to go back! They are so dog friendly as we brought our two dogs. I can't see why any body would want to go else wherre!

this place is great for romance holiday so quite... and it`s great for kids too we can ride the boat to Universal studio... wow i can`t forget that time...

If you want to go to Universal Studios and/or Islands of Adventure and do not like waiting in longer lines, it is definitely worth the money that it costs to stay at one of the on-site resorts. Out of the 3 available resorts, this one is the most elegant. It really offers the total package! Highly recommended... just make sure to come anytime other than rain season. We went to the park early and went back to the hotel to swim later on. Unfortunately, on two of the four days, we had to eiher skip or wait to swim. Overall, this resort is highly recommended!

This was my favorite vacation...and I've been on many. I have only been here once, and we were lucky enough to get a room with a harbour view, balcony, and a separate shower and tub. It was a beautiful room, and we went in late July, so the weather was gorgeous, particularly at night. Going out to the balcony at night was one of my favorite things-you could see the fireworks from the parks when they had them, which just seemed magical. We ate almost every day at the resort, especially breakfast(belgian waffles are amazing). Sal's Deli was a nice casual diner, probably our favorite because of the nice pizzas and antipastos. The water taxis were very convienient and relexing, we didn't wait more than 10 minutes for them the whole time, and we stayed for a week. The express line skip by using our room key was a huge plus because the normal lines were very long. The beds were quite comfortable and the room was always clean. Although the resort was large, the walking wasn't terrible, and we can all use the exercise. The pools were very nice, especially the Villa Pool because of the quiet atmosphere if you need a break from the noise of happy children. Overall we loved this vacation and I didn't even want to leave. Any traveler would enjoy this magnificent resort and I recommend it.

there is many restraunts and pools and arcades and i am a kid and i am saying that it had all i ever needed And more

it was awesome!!!!!!!!u have got to stay at this hotel. it is amazing. The rooms were very different also how the hotel was very different from others. I felt like if I was in italy.

The location was perfect and the staff went out of their way to assist us with information on ski packages, tours and shopping. The service was great! The complimentary breakfast was a real treat and a money saver. We met other guests from all over the United States and enjoyed visiting with them.