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Hotel overview
Enjoy the beauty, charm and romance of an escape inspired by the famed seaside village of Portofino, Italy. Here, perfectly appointed rooms and suites welcome you home each day. Tasty outdoor cafes and a serene harbor invite you to explore the colorful piazza. A short stroll from the harbor, three amazing pools offer every level of relaxation. Every day and night, stylish lounges let you unwind and incredible restaurants treat you with deliciously delightful culinary tours of Italy. This is truly la dolce vita—the sweet life. Plus, hotel guests receive exclusive theme park benefits including:
EXCLUSIVE THEME PARK BENEFITS:
SKIP THE REGULAR LINES with FREE† Universal Express Unlimited™ ride access for most popular attractions in Universal Studios Florida™ and Universal’s Islands of Adventure™, including your favorites in both lands of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™. That’s a value of $129.99 per person, per day!** (Valid theme park admission required. Not valid at Universal’s Volcano Bay™).
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EARLY PARK ADMISSION* to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ or Universal’s Volcano Bay™ (valid theme park admission required).
FREE WATER TAXIS & SHUTTLES so it’s always a quick hop between your hotel and the parks.
OTHER EXCITING BENEFITS:
- RESORT-WIDE CHARGING PRIVILEGES with your room key.
- COMPLIMENTARY MERCHANDISE DELIVERY to your hotel from shops across Universal.
- COMPLIMENTARY CITYWALK™ ACCESS^ to select venues for the length of your stay.
- PRIORITY SEATING at many restaurants throughout Universal.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ Legal: HARRY POTTER characters, names and related indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © JKR. (s18)
Early Park Admission Legal: *Early Park Admission begins one (1) hour prior to regularly scheduled park opening to either Universal Studios Florida™ or Universal’s Islands of Adventure™ as determined by Universal Orlando and Universal’s Volcano Bay™. Valid at select attractions at each park. Additional restrictions may apply.
Universal Express Unlimited™ Legal: †Based on average price of a 2-Park Universal Express Unlimited™ pass ranging between $99.99 and $169.99. **Not valid for guests staying at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, and Universal’s Aventura Hotel or for Universal’s Volcano Bay. Valid for the number of guests staying in the room for the length of hotel stay. Additional restrictions may apply.
Hotel & Universal Orlando Resort™ Legal: Portofino Bay Hotel TM & © 2018 UCF Hotel Venture. All rights reserved. Universal elements and all related indicia TM & © 2018 Universal Studios. All rights reserved.
Location
Universal Orlando; Resort On-SiteProperty information
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Hotel details
Hotel advisories
General policies & fine print
Check-in Policy -Hotel requires a credit/debit card authorization or cash deposit upon check-in for incidentals; this will place a hold on your funds.
Convention Policy -Individuals attending a convention cannot book this property for their stay. If found attending a convention, guests may be subject to higher room rates upon arrival.
General Information -Room taxes are included in vacation price. Minimum night stay restrictions may apply. Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
- No Show Penalty: 1 Night Applies: Sunday - Saturday 20Feb15 - 31Dec50
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
8616 reviews
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Jan 19, 2025Great weekend stay
We stayed at Portofino Bay for our trip to Universal and Islands of Adventure. We chose this hotel for the unlimited express passes and were pleasantly surprised by how much we loved the hotel. The hotel staff was very friendly from check in to housekeeping, everyone was smiling and kind. The front desk ladies were very helpful in recommendations at CityWalk and best areas to start in at the theme parks. The hotel has a beautiful atmosphere, the piazza is perfect for kids to run and play safely, looking at the boats and ducks was fun for them as well. The opera singer on the balcony at night was a fun experience, and we enjoyed the drinks at the Thirsty Fish, especially the espresso martini. We loved the family pool area with the slide, hot tub, cornhole and ping pong. The beach entrance was great and the whole pool area felt safe for my 7 and 6 year old boys to freely walk about while we watched from the chairs. The poolside bar was very good and the DJ was fun and engaging. Our room was spacious, clean and comfortable. They were renovating areas of the outside of the hotel but it was not messy or distracting. We loved the water taxi option at night to go to city walk, and chose to walk the pathway in the morning for early entrance. The path was beautiful! We will definitely stay again.
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Jan 18, 2025Not worthy of the price tag/terrible night's sleep
I am literally writing a review from the room. We travel often with our two children and I typically research hotels well before we travel. I did not do my homework and we are paying the price: we are at 30 minutes at 1:20am waiting for security to respond to a rowdy party of people next door to us. This hotel has no right to call itself a luxury brand for its lack of any sort of maintenance of decorum. I was told "if" security deemed it a disturbance they would shut it down. I said "if"- our whole room is awake and cannot sleep bc you are allowing a party. Anyway, our room was not cleaned while we were at the parks and our room service table from breakfast was left here all day, which was gross. The shower water is cold as well. This place is not up to par and I'm blow away that this is considered a top property at Universal. We had a wonderful start to our trip at the Grand Floridian and we are sadly ending our trip in one of the lamest hotels I've ever stayed in. Trust me. Stay away- not worth the money.
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Jan 18, 2025
Terrible Experience at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel
Our recent stay at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel was extremely disappointing. What was supposed to be a smooth check-in turned into a stressful and upsetting experience. We arrived at 11:35 PM, but there was no staff at the hotel entrance or in the lobby to assist us - just one receptionist at the desk, who was helping another family. There was also a woman with two small children ahead of us in line. We waited almost 30 minutes without the line moving. When we asked the receptionist to call for help, she said she was the only one available. The woman in front of us was clearly frustrated as well and made comments like, “This is called a luxury hotel?” Eventually, the night manager, Veronica Stable, showed up and helped the woman in front of us. When it was finally our turn - around 12:15 AM - she didn't apologize for the delay. Instead, she was dismissive and told us, "This is the way it is." When we calmly explained that this level of service wasn't acceptable, she suddenly told us she was canceling our reservation and said we'd have to leave. She also told us to take it up with security. Thankfully, our travel agent was able to step in and convince the manager to let us stay, but this situation was completely unnecessary and very upsetting, especially so late at night. For a hotel that advertises itself as a luxury property, the lack of staff and poor customer service were shocking. This was the most stressful hotel experiences we've ever had.
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Jan 17, 2025
Sprawling resort with ample onsite food options and quick access to Universal Orlando
We chose Loews Portofino Bay because it offered the unlimited express pass to Universal Orlando. We figured that enjoying the park during Christmas break for students, we would need it. We chose Portofino Bay over the other resorts that offer the unlimited express pass, honestly because of price. First off, the resort is very large. None of the buildings are very tall, but they are spread out. Expect a walk from the lobby to your room, or to the water taxi, restaurants, pools, etc. However, none of that bothered us and we actually enjoyed it. If you are looking for everything to be super close, maybe look elsewhere. CONSTRUCTION - there was construction when we were there (1-1-2025 thru 1-6-2025). I do think this added to the walking as some entrances/access points were closed. But other than that, we were not affected by the construction. The PIAZZA is really cool. It does really give an Italian coastal city feel. We enjoyed an afternoon meal at SAL'S MARKET DELI while taking a break from Universal, and it was very good. The pizza was great, the salad was fresh and the sandwich was very good. There is outdoor and indoor seating available. The only "issue" we had is that we were not able to order ahead on the Universal app on our way back to the resort. I kept getting an error message. I don't think it was user error, but it certainly could have been. The water taxi (boat) is convenient, but during a busy period at the park, we did have to wait a bit. The water taxi isn't huge - I would say that capacity is probably around 50ish people give or take. That said, they do run all day and have multiple, so every 5-10 minutes there was another pulling up. We took the water taxi to the park each day, and then walked back. The walk back is not bad at all. It's pretty and scenic and I believe just shy of a mile walk to/from Islands of Adventure. I would DEFINITELY stay here again, but I also would like to try the other Loews resort, Royal Pacific.
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Jan 15, 2025
Little Italy in O'town
Great short stay to go to Universal for all the Holiday things Bell hop went above and beyond with our luggage. Staff was very welcoming and friendly at check in. Renovations look great. Been 10 years since the last visit. Will come back again.