Portofino Island Resort Review

Beautiful resort. Was there for a triathalon, didn't use much of the facilities.

This place is gorgeous!! The room was clean and accommodations were phenomenal! I would highly recommend this place to anyone staying in Pensacola.

Excellant staff, great amenities, and short drives to outstanding resturants make this our go to vacation spot on the Gulf Coast.

Very disappointed.
If location is everything, then they have it. After staying here yearly for several years this was a fantastic place to relax. This past September we were very disappointed. The first suite we refused and went to the desk to complain of the condition. We were given another and told that was all they had to offer. This was a step up from the first but a small step.
The furnishings were old and worn out. Walls were dirty and had stains that looked like a frat party had been there on their worst behavior. The sliding doors fell off the tracks and we fixed that ourselves. The dishwasher kinda worked, the kitchen drawers fell off the slides. The washer looked terrible and the dryer took 3 cycles to dry a load. Suffice to say, I've stayed in 39.00/night motels that were better (albeit less square footage). We had guests with us, so you can imagine the embarrassment. The manager we spoke with on check out was apathetic, as he was leaving and moving to Australia, there was nothing he could do. We got a card for his boss and upon contacting her she sounded shocked and was going to investigate and get back to us that afternoon. That didn't happen. Follow up calls were not returned. That is the truly disappointing aspect of it all. Things can go wrong. It's how you handle those wrongs that a make a difference. To me, this a symptom of a bigger problem. This repeat client won't be back.

Meh....no thanks. Rented something down the way through AirBnB, folks we know rented a place here. Guess who paid less and ended up with a much better spot? The 5 towers definitely have their 'curb appeal', but it's much less impressive close up. Save your money and get a place nearby, down near Navarre, etc.

The service was friendly most of the time, although clueless. With big groups can become disorganized easily. Do not waste your money by going during a raining week, all the beach activities and attractions shut done immediately. Ways they can improve is by having a better laundry service for the beds and towels. All in all, it was a pleasant stay and the rooms felt like home.

The adventure package is definitely worth it. We had a lot of fun. Not all of the rooms have grills.

Wrong key cards, out of date smoke detectors woke us up too early in the morning. Only given 2 chairs on the beach for our 2 bedroom suite with 7 people, additional seats were extra. Can't wait to leave tomorrow

Excellent place is fantastic it's my first time and my family loved coming from Kentucky I hope and allow me to go back to this place again

I have gone every summer, for the past 17 years, with my family and every year we keep coming back. Great for families and couples of all ages.

Reception staff was simply delightful. Resort property is well designed. Amenities are off the charts accommodating.

Great location and good room size. We stayed in tower 2 and faced the bay area. Plenty of activities at the resort itself including the pools, paddle boarding, kayaking, inflatable water obstacle course and a fun boat ride. I'd highly recommend doing the boat ride to go see the dolphins in the bay area. The captain who does the tour is very knowledgeable about the area and especially dolphins since he's done research with them. The beach isn't a far walk as it's right across the road and within a few minutes of leaving your room you'll be there. There's plenty of games to rent and play on the beach also. Overall it's a nice resort to go to and about 5-10 minutes from the restaurants and bars in the area

Wonderful place; pool, beach access, and great staff

Nice beach resort adjacent to the park. Nice pools, but the on-site restaurants are wicked spendy.

Paddleboarded and got chairs/umbrellas for free (w/member status). The view couldn t be better, and the location is great for dinner/drinks.

It was nice place had good ocean views and roomy. The people are nice. The beach was nice place to unwind.

Internet is unusable. It could just be the end of the season but there are a lot of maintenance issues that appear to be overlooked and none of the staff seems to be paying attention to anything.

Great view and within 5 minutes walking distance to beach. Hard to beat. The living space is adequate but could use an upgrade. Overall a pleasant experience.

We stayed in tower 2-809, Aug 14-17, it was awesome. We had a great time, beautiful views from the balcony of the beach, pool and the bay. The condo is very nicely decorated, comfortable beds and we plan to go back.

We have been coming here for years. The staff is friendly and the rooms are always so nice. It is a short walk to the beach but they have a shuttle that will take you right to the boardwalk. There is so much to do, there's no way you could possibly get bored.

Was my first time staying at the portofino or in Pensacola Florida. The staff was 100% amazing and always saying hello any time I passed them. The spa, fitness center, and the two restaurants were beyond my expectations.

The nice thing is you are right at the bay and the beach!

amazing place, the service is amazing with the staff and it was very clean!

Love this place.. Beautiful spacious condos.. Gorgeous views of the beach.. Can't wait to visit again...

Amazing resort. We planned a last minute trip. It was worth it. Staff is super friendly. Very close to the beach and the amenities are awesome.

on a thousand dollar rental they want a 5000 dollar security deposit....obviously if your name doesn't sound white enough...the higher the deposit they want ...and they want you to mail the deposit to some off address in Pensacola they don't collect it there at the condo themselves....wouldn't go there if it was free....oh yea I have the emails to prove it... somebody ought to sue them.....

Very much enjoyed our stay. Room and amenities were very nice. Would stay again.

Absolutely fantastic resort hotel! Private beach and to many amenities to name!

Beautiful resort! The only negative is that we didn't find this place sooner!! Excellent!

It was great I skinny dipped and they were cool with it

Portofino is a wonderful resort. This is our fourth time here. For this visit we are in a penthouse in tower five. I don't know if we will do the penthouse again, the floor plan is the same as the other three bedroom selections. The view is wonderful from the top though. Service is a little worse than previous visits. This can be attributed to the many new employees in training. Beach access is great and the many options the resort provides is top notch. The next time we are in Pensacola, we will definitely stay here again.

This place is extraordinary!! Very relaxing atmosphere

Beautiful area with breaks on both the ocean and bay sides. Plenty of food options on site as well as a market.

Expensive, yet worth it. They spared no expense making this a lavish, 5-Star, all-inclusive destination.

The location is fantastic ! The beach is amazing with white sand. On a hot day, it doesn t seem to burn your feet and it s like stepping on the pillows :))
The building is very nice with many pools, gym, restaurants, tennis courts and Starbucks ;)
We stayed in the one of Hosteeva apartments.
The Apartment was very clean, lovely furnished, with fully equipped kitchen and spacious balconies.
We enjoyed our stay and will definitely come back :)

Very nice Beach resort. Multiple amenities but nothing like an all-inclusive as you are close to town and have a kitchen. Very good for multigenerational family vacays.

Beautiful, relaxing, great atmosphere, breath taking view, and just a short walk to the beach

Had a great evening here. Enjoyed the pool and music as it made for a great evening.

Perfect location and a great place with a lot of amenities and facilities on site.

Really enjoyed your stay! Really nice & conveniently locates

It's a lovely resort (despite/because of the visiting raccoon in the restaurant). However, the COVID-19 policies are lacking and it's packed. (Example: No more than 6 people per elevator.) So, under normal circumstances, I highly recommend. During the pandemic? Maybe not.

One of my favorite places for a family beach vacation!

what a wonderful place! so accomadating. everyone was so helpful and pleasant. wish I could stay forever.

Tower 1, Unit 801 review: For frequent vacationers, if you're looking for a more expansive view of the beach, definitely go with the 3 bedroom condo rental as opposed to the two bedroom. The 2 bedroom view isn't as nice, it's much smaller. Having said that, Portofino rentals are all owned by 700+ different owners so every unit is going to be different in regards to furniture and cleanliness. Our rate per night was $488.94. That does NOT include numerous daily fees which should be taken into consideration before making a reservation. The fees IN ADDITION TO the daily rate include:

Daily Resort Fee - $22.30 (paid daily, not one-time and only includes the pool and fitness center. It doesn't include bikes, electric scoot coupes, kayaks, paddle boards, kids activities, water park etc. Those are all ADDITIONAL costs)

Reservation Fee - $66.90 (For making the reservation online)

Limited Damage Waiver - $83.63 (should any damage occur during your stay. This fee is NOT refunded should nothing be damaged at the end of your stay)

Departure Clean - $180.63 (Yep, you guessed it, you pay for the condo cleaning upon your departure so the room rental is pure profit for the owners. Moreover, the condo was very dirty.)

The unit we stayed in, Tower 1, #801, was a 3 bedroom and by far one of the worst. The furnishings are very, very old, with the cherry wood tones. The water heater we noticed was installed in 2002, close to 16 years ago. The washer and dryer were also 15+ years old and VERY noisy due to the lack of technology. The double beds in the 1st bedroom slant terribly it feels like you're sleeping on a slope all night. We noticed a makeshift piece of wood underneath holding up the middle. The mattresses are EXTREMELY cheap, the linens are dollar store scratchy. There are very, very limited towels so you are CONSTANTLY having to run loads to wash them. The bunk beds are cheap yard sale beds and the kitchen table is antiquated, and filthy dirty (and sticky!) Moreover much too large for the space.

There are Walmart style pool chairs on the balcony which isn't much to be desired for taking in beautiful gulf views and waves. The garbage disposal sink stopper falls out of the drain and food flys everywhere when the disposal is turned on. There are no salad bowls, only plate type bowls, no potholders either. One of the freezer shelves doesn't stay up and the refrigerator drawers are missing the glass tops rendering them useless. The recliners in the living room are very, very old and smell like dirty unwashed hair at the top part of the recliners. You can't help but notice the smell just sitting there. The throw rugs, are the filthiest, dirtiest rugs I've seen in my lifetime. Just beyond old and filthy. The master bedroom had all the broken furniture sitting in the closet! Lastly, the TV in the living room is extremely small and none of the TV's in the unit are smart TV's. Lastly, if you have housekeeping services at home, don't plan on having any during you're stay here. There are none. So plan to spend some vacation time cleaning, making beds and doing laundry.

Bottom line the place hasn't been maintained. In talking with other owners, this particular owner is a woman who owns two other units. She never comes to inspect her rentals and everything is left up to the management company. She needs to come and LIVE in one if her units for a week to realize this. For the record there are other "people of wealth" like ourselves and when we go on vacation we have a certain caliber or level of expectations. This unit was not up to our level of standards for what we're used to in the price point we spent to rent this place and would not rent here again. Not even enough toilet paper!

To get out to the pools or rentals (bikes etc.) you have to navigate through utilty fire doors and into a parking garage. It's the worst design ever. For all the millions spent on these towers didn't anyone think of a catwalk so vacationers don't have to meander around a parking garage to get out to the beach etc.?

I stayed here over the Labor Day weekend while house hunting in the Pensacola area. Absolutely loved it! Condos were very high quality with excellent views and a beach across the street! Traffic was a tiny bit of an issue and the parking garage was a bit cramped, but that didn't stop me from having fun!

On vacation with the family, we've been here countless times and always have a great time. There's plenty of places to eat about 30 minutes away from the resort, as well as a bar and grill on site. They rent jet skis and other things in the bay area. The beach is across the street on the other side, but it's owned by the resort and keep up as if it was on the same side of the street as the resort.

Very nice place to stay. Great beaches and pool area

Our large group of tennis players recently had the pleasure of staying in Tower 2 in April for the weekend and was pleasantly surprised at the friendly staff, the comfortable accommodations, and the view of the island looking east. Wow. Portofino has done a superb job of positioning the towers to capture the most spectacular views, and filling every condo with windows on three sides. Everyone had such a great time that we will make this an annual or semi-annual outing (and we are all locals!). But next time--less tennis to take advantage of all of the amenities there. My only real complaint, which isn't, really, is that Terracotta's, the fancy restaurant, is very "live"--the sound bounces around and you can't have a conversation easily. The poolside restaurant is fabulous--best fresh grouper sandwich I think I've ever had. Oh, and there is NO recycling, which is a county-wide problem, but Portofino is large enough they should be able to contract out with someone themselves. Also would like to know that they are greener than they are--not changing towels every day, putting recycling bins in each unit, etc. Overall, well done.

Much improved since I owned here 5 yrs ago. Better management.

I did not go in the buildings I went to the beach it was fun but our car got stuck in the sand

This is a very nice resort directly across the beach road from beautiful Gulf sand and surf. The resort is large enough that there is a high energy vibe, but small enough that the amenities are easily accessible.

It's awesome. Except for "no skateboards on property." Otherwise fantastic.

Room was a little abused for the price but views and employee service was worth it

Fun place. Plenty to do for the family. It's like they have their own town with plenty to do.

Staff is always friendly. My company visits there almost weekly and have never experienced an issue with the staff.

There so much to do from left right up and down the resort is full of activities and there is no place you cant go there and say it wasnt fun

the grounds are always kept nice and clean and so are the units, however, some units could use a bit of updating. always a nice time when we visit.