Universal's Loews Portofino Bay Hotel

We stayed at Loews Portofino Bay last week during a trip to Universal Studios. As someone who travels frequently for work and usually stays at Hilton or Marriott properties, maybe my expectations are too high but for $900 a night, this hotel definitely falls short. Pros: The beds were very comfortable. The Universal Express Passes. For only one day at the parks we consider these a must. Water taxi is convenient to get to the park, only if you time it well. If you don't time it perfectly then you'll save a lot of time by making the 20 minute walk instead to the park. Cons: Our room wasn’t ready on time. Check in is supposed to be 4:00 but they kept telling me ours wasn't ready well past that time. Very frustrating experience after a long day of travel. A round of drinks would go a long way in a situation like that but we didn't even get a "sorry." The room was located at the far end of the East Wing. Very far from the pool, lobby, and water taxi.   At check in we were informed that even though we had reserved a room for 5 people, the hotel was out of roll away beds. Not really sure how they expected us to accomodate all 5 without that bed. We ended up finally getting one after returning to the front desk and asking to be moved to a different hotel that could fit us. No luggage carts. We were informed that only employees were allowed to use luggage carts. Very odd. Overall, Portofino Bay didn’t live up to its luxury price tag. For anyone planning a trip to Universal, definitely recommend looking at Loews Royal Pacific instead. It offers similar perks with better service and value. It's also a quicker walk to the park compared to PB.

This place has everything a horrible resort has: cold staff, extremely slow service, and filthy rooms! Both front desk agents I spoke with were exceedingly rude and impatient. The lady who checked me in was the worst I have ever dealt with in a five star hotel. She was so condescending and impatient that I felt I was being forced to just leave. Order a pizza and be prepared to wait 30 minutes, even when it's not busy at all! See the picture for a pair of dried contact lenses on the night stand left there God knows how long ago. Also a bag of dirty towels that sat in the hall the entire two days we were there.

We had a fantastic stay at the Loews Portofino Hotel in Orlando, but what truly stood out to us was the exceptional service we received from Angel at the hotel gift shop. On April 14, she went above and beyond to help us troubleshoot a toy for our son that wasn’t working properly. Her patience, kindness, and problem-solving attitude made such a difference during our trip. It’s rare to come across someone so attentive and genuinely helpful. Angel’s warmth and dedication left a lasting impression on our family, and we are so grateful for her support. Experiences like this are what make a great stay even more memorable. Thank you, Angel!

Beautiful hotel, well worth the rates. My husband and I are in our 30s originally from florida and it was the perfect get away. The rooms are spacious and the batherroms are HUGE. Romantic feel for sure. Honestly the website pictures dont do it justice. The pools are great we went on a Saturday at 8pm it wasnt crazy busy but was lively. Drink and foods allowed and served. Pools closed at 11pm every night we were there. If I were to suggest one thing if you are smoker like my hubby ask for a bottom floor with a sliding patio door and outside table. its not listed on the site and its not extra but we noticed them the second night we were there after deciding to extend our stay and when our current room wasnt available we asked to move there and it was perfect and MUCH better. Room service was decent but prices with the 22% upcahrge was a bit much. A pasta, small pizza and a kids cheese burger, no extra drinks or sides was over $100 but again if you have the extra to spurge its worth it. Service was amazing, everyone was very nice and friendly. Very clean and comfy. Also its sooo close to universal the convience of the boat was amazing, it runs all night until 2am , every 10 minutes, it was a less then 10 minute boat ride right onto city walk. Also if youre a smoker they sell cigs at thirsty fish!

Pros-Rooms and bathrooms are spacious and main pool area is beautiful. Hotel lobby gives an “old work/hotel” vibe with marble floors and columns. Cons- As you exit the lobby, the hotel corridors are dated and the “Portofino Bay” copycat outdoor space is really lacking in greenery and vegetation. It is just “blah” concrete everywhere. The exterior facade of the hotel is “painted” on with no real architectural details. It is a farce for the cost of this place. There are no comfortable seating areas except by the main pool and there is zero shade around the “bay”. The adult semi-private pool area our room was supposed to be open until 10pm. After getting changed to use that pool, we found it hard locked at 8:15. The three pools are very spread out across the resort so it would have been a long walk to enjoy the other pools, therefore, we missed swimming our first night. There was also a reception in the “bay/plaza” area that went on until 11pm. So that noise was unexpected. Room-spacious but NOT CLEAN!!! My husband found fingernail/toenail clippings in the bathroom as well as a used contact lense stuck to the bath counter. Bathroom door was sticky as well. Food and more nail clippings near the bed. Sink or toilet randomly letting off loud gurgling noises throughout the night. I called to have room cleaned and came back to find dirty black rubber gloves left on the nightstand on top of my phone charger, the nail clippings still on the bathroom floor and the pieces of food still in the corner. Just really disturbing and disgusting! Ended up sick two days later-can’t help but to wonder if they even clean these rooms? Or if they are low on staff. We have stayed at several other Universal hotels and this one does even compare to the newer value hotels as they are far nicer. If you’re looking to receive “express passes” from the top tier Universal hotels then choose Hard Rock or Royal Pacific as they are much nicer and have better atmosphere. I was extremely disappointed in this stay and we left a day early.