Loew's Portofino Bay Hotel Review

We have arrived at Portofino Bay in the water taxi from the Citywalk. The bay was beautiful with the rafts, ducks, and the boardwalk. We have checked several restaurants, but the Sal deli was faster and less busy. The calzone I ordered was excellent! The Caesar salad was more or less. The sauce was sweet and the chicken was dry.

Beautiful hotel, great location/access to Universal.

This hotel is amazing. Very big with lots of amenities. The water taxies to and from the Universal parks are just great. A nice boat ride after a hot, humid day in the park is wonderful. We only visited the one pool with a water slide, but they have three and the one we visited was very nice. The club level services are superb. Loved every minute of it.

Had an excellent experience at this resort! Standard rooms are larger than the Loews Royal Pacific and we loved this resort's architecture and decor. The "bay" and piazza are in the center of it all which makes you feel like you are really in Italy and the grounds are immaculate. It is a little bit of a longer walk to the parks compared to the Hard Rock but this is definitely our "go-to" resort whenever we travel to Universal.

I'll re-review after my stay is over but so far, very impressed.

It's in a secluded area. Very beautiful views and restaurants in surrounded area.

Absolutely amazing! Staff is very attentive and go above and beyond. A nice escape from the craziness of the parks. Feels like you are transported to the Italian Riveria every time the boat docks after a long day at the parks. Our favorite Universal resort!

Was located on the first floor, loved the view. The employees were kind and professional. Will definitely stay here if we come back next time. Although the food at the hotel was okay.

Nice hotel. Nice pool. Good restaurants. Shuttle bus from Universal is horribly slow during times when the boat is not available.

Beautiful hotel with Venetian vibes. Loved itttt!!

Very spaced out, a lot of walking, but nice scenery and aesthetics to go along with the theme of making you feel like you are in Italy

The food was good, not great, and took a little too long. The service was always friendly and courteous, and the atmosphere was pleasing.

We went just for dinner at Mama Della's, it was amazing! Food was great and surprisingly inexpensive. We even got serenaded at the table! Loved it, would definitely go again!

Great service and beautiful luxurious hotel. Delicious breakfast buffet with plenty of options.

Great atmosphere and a multitude of choices for food and drink. Friendly staff as always in any part of Universal Florida.

Excellent customer service boost the otherwise ordinary accomodations.

The character (Minion) rooms are fantastic, and whoever designed them seemed to think of every detail, from the doors to the beds. The bathrooms are spotless, and the restaurants are delicious. The rooms do get quite hot, but that's admittedly to be expected in Orlando. The room is within a mile and a half of the parks, and can easily be walked (or ridden). Although not quite as good the Hard Rock, this is definetely an amazing hotel.

Amazing resort with an amazing staff. Everyone is polite and helpful. They even let you text them what you need!

The hotel is showing it's age, and is no longer the high end resort it once was. After giving away one of our connecting rooms, they had the nerve to call us back from the park with a take it or leave it attitude and put us on a ground floor set of rooms next to people who literally used the patio to dry their socks, bras, and giant granny panties. The elevators have broken rails and have sharp bars exposed. I posted pictures to your Twitter, Instagram, and fb pages......shocking, no response whatsoever. My pictures miraculously do not show up on your page.

The room is great, getting to and from the parks is great by the water taxis. No complaints on that part. The only complaint I have is, that when you check in you aren't given everything, you have to go basically three different counters before you have everything to get you to the amusement parks.

Has a nice pool with a really fun pool slide and a Burger there is definitely better than a Disney Burger.

This resort was absolutely beautiful and the service was excellent. The resort is a short walk from the parks, and a picturesque walk at that. The room was beautiful and the pools were great. We ate at Mama Dellas and I was happily surprised at how delicious the food was.

The only negative was, room service didn t come one day to service the room but when we called the front desk they immediately offered solutions and even gave us a late checkout. There was one other small issue that the front desk took care of quickly and pleasantly.

Overall, it was a great stay and we can t wait to come back again!

The hotel is the most expensive of the on-site properties but also the nicest in terms of room quality. The basic rooms have a Keurig K-cup machine, larger bathrooms and two queen beds, many with good piazza or garden views. The 3 pools offer something for everyone with a beach pool for kids, a villa pool for adults and a secluded hillside pool for peace and quiet. The bars are expensive with slow service and don't offer basics such as free soda refills. The restaurants are all extremely poor with the exception of Mamma Della's which is both fairly authentic and reasonably priced (avoid Bice and Sal's). The square sometimes features live opera but for the most part is extremely quiet and doesn't have much life. As with other hotels, this gives you an hour in the park prior to opening which is the main reason to tolerate the $20 a day parking and continuous price gouging on everything. While it's undoubtedly the best hotel in Universal, it misses the mark on wowing the guest and doesn't quite capture any true Italian vibe (where's a good coffee shop, for example?).

Enjoyed our stay for the night and 2 days of Express Passes at the park the hotel literally pays for itself it s a wonderful atmosphere and terrific service thanks for a great time!

Excellent place for romantics. Taxi Boats are a great way to get to Universal Studios! . Rooms are clean and comfortable. .Staff are great !
Cons; Business Center closes early. WiFi is sketchy. . No microwave in room, No kids area.

It s old and dumpy was expecting much more for the price. It s not a typical Loews Property.

Fun place to walk around and swim. Close to city walk so very convenient.

The staff is incredible! They went above and beyond in every way to accommodate me and my team.

Stayed 4 nights in an expensive suite and had a personal item taken from our room during our stay by house keeping. Filed report with security and was told we would hear back in 2 weeks. Three weeks went by and heard nothing so I called. I was told I would hear something in a week. Still haven t got a call back. Will not be back.

Fabulous place, ideal for visiting the Universal studios parks.

Great atmosphere is still wonderful singers we loved.

Very nice. Excellent staff and rooms. Pet friendly sets it apart.

The Portofino offers a wonderful resort experience. The staff always treat us like royalty, and the amenities are lovely. Rooms are spacious, and the central piazza creates a beautiful sense of being away from it all.

A nice place and tasty pizzas at Loews hotels resort

Nice hotel Italian theme with access to Universal Studios theme parks via boat ride.

The service was amazing and the hotel is beautiful. What more can you ask for?

This is the only way to do Orlando. We lived it. They will even hold your luggage after checkout so you can weed not the park. Actually a great deal if you have more than 2 people because it comes with fast pass and a bypass of public security. Will do this again.

Very nice rooms and facilities, lots of dining and drink options on site, along with the ferry that takes you right into City Walk. Robes provided in room were a great addition, though my favorite perk was the free express passes for both parks. Made our time in the parks allot more enjoyable and efficient. Wonderful overall resort

Great hotel. Extremely clean! Employees went above and beyond expectations. Rooms were clean and comfortable. Love how you can stay there and have your room key double as an Express pass and an early admittance pass. I was there for a birthday and the wonderful young lady at the front desk gave us a button. everyone was wonderful which made it an even better birthday! :)

Nice room, good service but a bit pricier than it's worth.

Our Honor Guard presented The Colors for a conference there!! Great place for gatherings!

Fantastic luxury hotel. This place is designed to give you a venice - Italy kind of feel.

Really beautiful and amazing and clean anf just wow

That double book a room and someone can get into your hotel room with a key the desk said was their room key. Safety is a big issue. Lock the door with the metal bar provided.

This beautiful place to conoser, walk and take pictures and walk.

The room was lovely but the staff were slow and unhelpful. The parking garage is small and poorly laid out.

Way to expensive for all the issues. We were sent to the wrong room ( walking in on another family - that could have been really bad), the shower did not work after a hot day at the park, and the room safe would not work either. All three issue were eventually taken care of, but I am still waiting on a call from the manager.

I was really disappointed in the whole experience. Save you money and stay off site when you go to Universal Studios!

Great hotel, fantastic service, and I am glad they are getting rid of the nasty cats. Who wants their kid bitten or scratched by a feral cat... instead of bad reviews by tree huggers, they should be praised for being responsible... and standing up to hippie bullies... cat feces can really stink up a place as well... good riddance kitties!!!

We have stayed at the Royal Pacific and Hard Rock as well and the Portofino is our least favorite of these. The rooms are nice enough here but the service and the staff are not as good as the other two. The Hard Rock is the best and closest. This property is big and spread out and is difficult to find your way around. The signage is not good and it's very confusing. It is the furthest away from the parks. It's a 15 min brisk walk or use the water taxi to get to the parks. We've stayed here twice now and will not again, but it's still not a bad choice if you are considering it.

The portofino never disappoints. Wish the lobby beverage was out for longer though.

so convenient when visiting universal. water taxis and included fast pass is incredible

Always have a great time at Loews portion resort.
Prices are reasonable as we get complimentary express passes for universal studios and island's of adventure whigh works out great when you have kids

Pricey but definitely the best resort on universal grounds. Pet friendly and there's plenty of area to walk them.

Super comfortable beds, convenient water taxi to the parks, and included fast pass with your stay. Our favorite of the Loews resorts.

Staff was awesome, all of them. Rooms were large with exceptional decorating. TV was very large. Convenient and fun. Nice having a water taxi right up to Universal City Walk!