The boat trip to the parks where a great way to start and end each day.

The opera singers were amazing 
The club lounge staff were great
The boat was excellent 
Just think twice this is not a premier resort the customer service is abysmal.

The onsite Starbucks is great and the boat ride to the parks is a plus.

The boats make it very convenient to get to the theme parks.

Our third trip here such an amazing place theming of the hotel is amazing feels just like italy three amazing pools, the villa pool feels like your staying at a billionaire's Italian villa, such a change from the craziness of the parks, so peaceful and yet only five minutes by boat away, or a 10 minute walk through the tropical Gardens it is truly paradise.

I have told anyone who would listen, this is the best themed luxury service hotel in the states and the fact its a short boat ride from the thrills and adventure of Universal cannot be beat.

There's just so much more to talk about, a quick boat ride to the parks or a stroll along the walkway taking you to the front door of Universal Studios.

So close to Universal walking or by boat.

Location is good and the bus and boat service is friendly and efficient.

The boat is very nice and comes frequently and provided the perfect opportunity to put on sunscreen.

Amazing hotel, very cozy place where the boats leave to the Universal parcs.

The grounds were beautiful, the pool very relaxing and the boat ride to the parks were very frequent.

Boats to the parks were regular and fun to ride (great staff operating them!

The boat crews to take us to city walk were kind and fun.

Great deli at the same site as the hotel, easy to grab dinner there, plus pleasant boat travel to Citywalk from the hotel itself.

We enjoyed the boat rides to and especially from the parks and again everyone was so friendly and the service so efficient .

There is also a boat that leaves the marina to bring guests over and back to Universal Studios which is really nice.

The welcoming of the hotel staff, the room, the captains of the boats , the security personnel, the waiters and waitresses, the staff who cleaned our room, the clerks in the shops, all were wonderful.

We enjoyed the beautiful walk to City Walk and the ferry cruise.

It is so nice to only be a 10 minute walk away from City Walk and the parks.

Beautiful and clean with great transportation to City Walk.

The ferry goes to the City Walk and you just cross the foot bridge to Universal Studios.

Taxi service to City Walk and Universal were convient and made getting around easy.

although City Walk, Islands of Adventure, and Universal Studios is just a short ferry ride away.

The views of the harbor and convenience of the Starbucks made the family breakfasts a breeze not to mention the water taxi which was a convenient way to get to and from city walk

I would text inquiring about dinner reservations in City Walk and the concierge would quickly get everything booked for us.

Loews Portofino Bay Hotel was amazing and provided ease to the Universal Studios City Walk and parks.

There is a water taxi out front and it will take you to the parks and City Walk for free.

So clean, fun, the beds were comfortable, easy access to Universal Studios, island of Adventure and City walk.

Although walking to city walk is also convenient, 10 minutes at a leisurely pace.

It is convenient to the parks and city walk though.

The food options that we tried onsite were great, and with City Walk and the parks close by there are plenty of options to choose from.

Pros: convenient to Universal with frequent boat access to city walk.

The water taxi to Universal City Walk was so enjoyable!

The hotel has boat transportation to the parks / city walk.

Easy transportation to the parks and City Walk.

I also have t worrying if our key cards for thr fast passes will work or not since they refused to fix the issue or if I will spend all day at the park trying to fix this issue or enjoying my day

This hotel should be ashamed of themselves for charging $800 a night and then they have an inadequate accommadations.

As with most hotels room service charges a $3 service fee & a 22% gratuity charge.

There were charges for $600 that I did not make.

but providing two bottles and charging $7.50 per bottle paints a very bad picture.

The rest were broken or loose and could not be used for charging phones, etc.

To make matters more complicated, they had to take 3 sets of daily deposits on my credit card.

Sad they charge $35 for one cot per night, stayed at another resort and they brought us 2 for $0.

Then 2 days later they tack another 631$ so now it 1800+ in charges, later that day the other charges fall off and what I actually owed, which was 631was charged to my card.

Between pre-booking and pre-billing for rooms and then swapping business guests in and out and trying to get the one night pre-billed back off your personal credit card disaster that I continue to work through today the customer service is just not aimed at business or conference travellers.

I asked to move to a regular room, and I was told they would charge me current rates, so we didn't move.

but Did not honor AMEX Platinum benefits and when requested by amex membership services, refused to change reservation.

Lastly, finding shower curtain with LARGE stain is not what I would expect from a hotel charging these rates.

I’ve also been charged $10 for water that we didn’t drink in the room

The big bummer was that I was charged a hefty amount for a restaurant that I didn't go to.

A minor thing: Additional charging outlets in room would be preferred

but be sure you check you bill as we’d been charged an extra $150+tax per night for an ‘upgrade’ which I knew nothing about.

Your room card opens the lounge door which is open from 7am - 10pm.

however our room, bay-view, was very comfortable 
On check in, charging $200 per day in advance is really not necessary seeing as credit card is provided on check in.

Our room was nicely appointed with plenty of room and nice large bathroom and a mini fridge (no microwave, unfortunately.

We were put in a 1st floor room that I didn't have any problems with; it was large and the bathroom was huge,

All the accommodations were great: the beds were super comfortable, the bathroom was huge and modern, the pools were gorgeous and big enough to not feel cramped, and the staff everywhere was super helpful.

The room was clean and a good size including a nice large bathroom.

Across from the closet is a huge bathroom with lots of wasted space.

spacious bathroom with such a nice shower!

The bathroom is huge which is a huge plus for us.

Spacious bathroom with deep tub/ shower combo and double sinks.

We had a very large bathroom with double sinks and great water pressure in the shower.

The room was massive, beds super comfortable and bathroom big and very clean.

Clean, calm and renovated (refreshed) rooms with comfortable beds and spacious bathrooms.

The bathroom was really big, which was nice and offered double sinks and a full length mirror on the door.

Bathroom was very large, plenty of towels.

The room was spacious and clean, the bathroom was huge.

We had a deluxe 2 queen bed room it was a large room and the bathroom was very big and with 4 adults in a room the extra space was great.

The rooms and bathrooms are big and comfortable.

Water Taxi to the park was very convenient.

The proximity to the parks made it close enough to walk, and the walking path was very pleasant.

Our family love the experience, the express pass at the parks, activities, the well kept and cleanliness.

This lovely hotel is such a calm oasis to retreat to after a fun, busy day at the parks.

We booked a club level room and enjoyed breakfast, dinner and dessert at the club lounge (eating lunch at the parks).

The rooms are quiet and the showers were fantastic after a day at the park.

The pools are so much fun, with the.most comfortable lounge chairs, really great to relax after a day at the park.

Great location with easy transportation to the Park.

The best thing is that it is a short walk to the parks and you receive complimentary Unlimited Express Pass with your stay.

They play fun music and are cheery transporting you to/from the park.

Pool would have family friendly movies at night while you enjoyed pool or hot tub after a long day at the park.

Portofino Bay is located conveniently close to Universal for the Parks,

I’ll say the BEST theme park vacation ever!!!!

Beautiful hotel, great pools, wonderful rooms, close to the park, and comes with the much needed express pass.

We would recommend a bay view room, and ask if they have a balcony available, you wont regret it well worth the extra
Lastly everyone in the room get unlimited express pass to the parks which covers every ride apart from hagrid's motorbike adventure

Sunrise sneaking through the curtains to help you get your day at the parks started.

Location is fantastic for great for getting to universal theme parks. 2.

The pool area was so much fun for the kids.

The onsite food options are amazing, the pool is one of the best out of any Florida themepark hotels.

There is a hot tub and plunge pool there that tends to have less people 
Go to dinner at Mama's it's they have live singers going from table to table and the food is great.

Out of the three pools at Portofino this is my favorite one.

but also have a large beach pool perfect for younger kids.

We really enjoy the beach pool and they have the best servers out of all the property hotels!

We always request a room overlooking the quite pool, it fits us just right.

We had breakfast at the hotel one day, it was good and also ate at the pool bar and Sal’s.

When we got in the room realising there was only one bottle of the expensive water my husband walked down to reception to say it was missing, I also texted

I would say YEAH definitely don't stay at Portofino for the price that is charged.

but an insane cost for portion and quality
Hallway at my room was hot and musky
Workers will paint walls near your room and put fans that blast paint fumes into your room
Front desk are not knowledgeable on their own amenities such as when the pool closes

I have been coming to Universal for years and its sad to see how far Portofino has dropped in quality.

I think someone in charge at this particular resort wants this fragrance in overabundant amounts and I want to tell this person that you are making some of your guests sick.

$28 plus tax a day to park your car is not necessary and the car park is underground very poorly lit and not very nice.

Paid for 2 rooms and one was a pull out couch that adults slept on (this was a very expensive room to sleep on a pull out couch).

The hotel is badly outdated and grossly overpriced.

In fairness we were given one night of compensation…after having a fit…which i think wasnt enough….the thing is for the price you shouldn't run into these issues for the price paid. Unbelievable.

Food sucks for what you have to pay for it and at every turn someone wants a Tip jor just doing there job.

Yes, sodas and bottled water are expensive (around $5)

We were put in a lessor room than the one we paid for and it took 2 hours of bickering with management before they reluctantly put us in our correct room.

even though their website says it is, you have to pay additionally.

Food was over priced service was terrible no one really seemed to care, I understand it’s a theme park

It’s very expensive and the rate doesn’t match the quality.

Breakfast at Mama Dellas was super expensive and not good food.

but, the rooms are way overpriced and the experience in general is not what I expected.

There are several great food options on site.

Sal’s market deli makes gluten free pizza that’s good it’s best to go there for food.

The restaurants choices are great to our taste buds

It's a Two second walk to the ferry to universal and great restaurants on site.

Our dinner at Mama Della's was amazing & definitely our favorite meal of the trip (come hungry!

Communication was awesome 
Bellmen are superb fast
Concierge was very helpful with dinner reservations.

The food and wait staff at the restaurants  were great and friendly.

Bice was the best restaurant of what we experienced.

The Margherita pizza at Sals Market Deli, was light crispy and dripping with cheese and basil, fantastic.

Great food at BICE and good drinks at Thirty Fish.

The best part of the stay was our server Tina at the poolside restaurant.

Nice to wander across the piazza for some pizza when tired.

Very welcoming and helpful staff from front desk, room service and Faith in Concierge.

The food, pool, staff, water taxi was wonderful.

Fresh fruit and the best grits I have ever eaten!!!

Kind staff and many beautiful areas to wander.

I took a photo sent to the front desk so the offered to
Change rooms ok good.

The pool activity coordinator had many events planned that EVERYONE enjoyed, with several of them being scavenger hunts awarding a free small smoothie to the winners.

The staff are knowledgeable and friendly.

No detail was overlooked in designing this resort and all the staff was amazing our entire trip.

Our room was beautiful and room attendant was awesome.

The staff of the hotel was attentive and helpful and the hotel was exactly as expected.

Staff was very friendly and helpful, especially the bellmen.

Everyone was extremely helpful, and the hotel was very nice.

The cleaning crew were friendly and helpful.

The Staff are clever, witty and extremely helpful  and genuine,  they all seem to enjoy their jobs here.

Everything was perfect - the staff, cleanliness, and ease of access to Universal.

Housekeeping staff was attentive and responsive to our needs.

The pools were clean and the staff at the pool was great.

They are friendly, personable, entertaining, and harbor a genuine desire to make your stay as comfortable and fun as possible.

I liked the convenience of having a Starbucks in the Piazza which is very conveniently located for me to get my coffee on the way to Water Taxi.

The water taxi was also a good experience.

Great transportation(bus and water taxi) to and from Universal Studios.

The water taxi made travel to and from the parks super easy, and we never waited more than 5 minutes.

We loved everything about the trip- the atmosphere, friendliness of the staff, always available for communication via texting with the front desk, beautiful pool, water taxis, restaurants.

The taxi service between the hotel & Citywalk is such a great perk.

We loved the water taxi to universal and  the little restaurants around the resort.

The water taxis to the resorts were so convenient.

but several Italian themed varied menus
Water taxi easy to use for main park access but also shuttle coach available if you dont like the water!

The price included so many extras that we saved money, not having to buy the Express Line Tickets, having the Water Taxi take us to and from the park every day, great food, great pools.

The water taxis made getting to the parks so easy and the on-site services were great.

Convenient water taxi to the parks, plenty of restaurants to chose from without having to leave the property, and the room was lovely with a view of the bay.

We really liked the convenient water taxi to the parks.

Place is huge - lots of water taxis and buses, staff really kind and helpful, very clean and tidy (room service and turn down every day and very good) and a bit of a chilled oasis from madness of the parks!

There is a free water taxi that takes you to the parks.

The room is great, food is good, water taxi is so convenient to the parks.

Loews Portofino Bay Hotel

price

creditcard

large bathroom

staff

restaurant

park

pool

boat

taxi

city walk

We found the rooms to be dark and a bit beat up in the Kidani 2 bedroom villa that cost around $1500 per night, with quality and comfort was equivalent to a 3 star hotel.

but the area with the toilet was dark and had zero decor, not a big deal but I was a little surprised, was like the bathroom area was overlooked.

but kind of dark because of the themed decor.

Absolutely loved Jambo   hated Kidani   Our room  was  no lie at least a mile from check in, dark gloomy hall ways , was in a back corner  I think like room 7655?

Unfortunately, this time of the year it gets dark early, so we had to catch them in the morning before heading to the parks.

It appeared a bit run down, the shower was terrible, the lighting in the bathroom was way too dark and overall, just did not feel Disney in quality.

Understanding the theme of the resort, I still found décor dark and very tired looking.

The African theme resulted in the rooms being dark and the necessity of taking buses everywhere was time consuming.

-night vision goggles for kids to look for animals after dark
-covered parking deck
-lots of dining options

CONS - 
-distance from Epcot, MK 
-bus-only transportation
-I can see where the layout is a bit more like Coronado (read: you can end up with quite a hike from your room to, say, the bus or lobby).

I think the rooms could stand a little updating as it was very dark and the carpet had a musty smell.

So they take a little to get going in the mornings after they are released and have breakfast and of course you aren't going to see them in dark from your room.

but very dark due to all the dark furniture.

It’s a little dark and there’s no view of the animals (as in the main dining room)

While the rooms in the past were a bit dark they have just undergone refurbishment and are now lighter.

It is not my preference because the overall tone is dark.

We asked if they were going to Kidani & they said no & since we had arrived in the dark in the morning we had no concept of how close they were.

My only complaint would be it was a bit dark for my taste, I know it was part of the African jungle theme

Just lamps, so in the dark may be hard to find the switch on the lamp coard.

We stayed at Kidani Village as we wanted to stay on Disney property and we had family group of 7.

but you have to rely on the Disney app to keep track of the schedule, the staff aren’t able help with that.

However our stay here in a 1 bedroom villa Savannah view was nothing short of spectacular and my worry about buses being infrequent and this place being farther away was quickly dispelled due to this place being closer to Epcot and Hollywood studios and just an all around nice resort.

Staying onsite is such a convenient, wonderful upgrade to a Disney trip.

The staff here were exceptional, especially Mary at the front desk who provided us with so much Disney magic.

It was my husbands first time at disney and I hadn’t been back in many years.

Room was absolutely spotless, spacious, and had all the amenities of home with a Disney touch.

Bus service was excellent our whole stay and Disney transportation is important to us as our son is in a wheelchair.

There are too many nice Villas outside of Disney that are much nicer and MUCH less money.

Besides having an absolute awesome time in Disney itself, we loved it here we stayed in Kidani villa’s.

The slide at Kidani is one of the best ones we have tried at a Disney resort.

It is a 20+ minutes bus ride to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Disney Springs.

We also were able to see the Magic Kingdom’s fireworks from our balcony at night!

Disney runs the property efficiently and provides great service.

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