We get it, there are several hotel options when visiting Universal Orlando, but we think we’ve found one hotel that offers quite a few fancy amenities.
Do you want to stay near Disney World or Universal? How much are you willing to spend — do you want a budget hotel or something a little more luxurious? If you’re looking for a luxurious hotel, well, we’ve got a treat for you!
If you’ve enjoyed our resort reviews for a while, you may already know that Universal Orlando’s Portofino Bay ranks pretty highly on our list, but with that also comes some fairly high expectations. We recently stayed here and enjoyed the resort’s restaurants, pools, amenities, and (of course) room.
Resort Atmosphere
The hotel is themed to a luxurious Italian seaside village, Portofino Bay, much like you would find in Portofino, Italy. Room rates here will vary by the season, but range from about $400-$650.
“La dolce vita,” or the sweet life, is the motto when you stay here. We also felt like we were soaking up the best things in life and enjoying the relaxing vibes the resort offers.
Sweet life, sweet perks, right? If you’re a guest of this hotel, you’ll also get an exclusive Universal benefit– free Universal Express Unlimited Pass to skip lines at attractions for EACH member of your room, including the days you check in and check out. These passes on their own will run you at least $120 per person, per day — sometimes lots more depending on when you choose to go. That perk alone could take your stay at Portofino Bay from a splurge to a bargain!
It’s got great proximity to the Universal Orlando parks, making it a short walk over; however, if you prefer, there are also complimentary water taxis and shuttle buses available to you.
We enjoyed the location and the benefits of staying in such a beautiful hotel.
Stores
This hotel is also home to several stores like L’Ancora, Universal Store, and Le Memories de Portofino.
So you can shop ’til you drop — then crash from your spending high back in your cozy room.
Pools And Spa
Portofino Bay Resort is also home to three pools– the Beach Pool, the Hillside Pool, and the Villa Pool.
The Mandara Spa is also on-site in case you’re in need of a little more pampering while on vacation.
Dining
This hotel offers lots of amenities, but there are some fantastic dining options, too. If you’re looking for fine dining, there’s Mama Della’s Ristorante and Bice Ristorante.
There are also a few options for a more casual dining feel at Trattoria del Porto, Splendido Bar & Grill, and Sal’s Market Deli.
If you’re looking for something a little lighter with a few drinks, make your way to The Thirsty Fish. Coffee drinkers can appreciate there’s also a Starbucks on-site at the hotel. You can wind down your day at the pool or close out the evening enjoying some delicious gelato at the Gelateria.
Room Tour
Let’s take a look around our room Standard Bay View Queen Room.
The first thing you see when you come inside is a short hallway that leads to the main section of your room.
Just to the right, as you make your way through the door, is a table with a mirror above it.
This side table also serves as your coffee nook area with a Keurig coffee maker, K-cups with coffee and tea, disposable cups, cream, sugar, stirrers, and an ice bucket. There’s also a cut-out in the bottom section for extra storage room for your belongings.
Right next to this side table is a closet. Inside you’ll find robes…
…hangers for your clothes, a luggage rack, ironing board…
…a hairdryer…
… a clothes iron…
… and your room safe for valuables.
To the righthand side, you’ll find the bathroom — which is quite spacious.
There’s a giant mirror and double sinks, with tons of counter space for all of your belongings.
The sinks have silver faucets.
Right in the center of the sinks are a few hotel amenities like soaps and lotions, along with facial tissue and extra washcloths.
There is a shower and a bathtub here, too, with a shower curtain.
You’ll find shampoo and conditioner, as well as soap inside.
Let’s take a look at the beds. There are two queen beds in this room.
You’ll get plenty of pillows (although one is just decorative).
The table between the beds has a phone, alarm clock, notepad, and pen. There are some outlets here, too.
You’ll find a comfy reading chair and footstool in the corner of the room.
The double doors here lead out onto the balcony…
…which has quite a nice view. You’ll find a table and chairs here, too.
Let’s take another look at what’s across from the bed.
Across from the beds is a large dresser — a TV sits atop it.
Fiji bottled water is available in the room (but it will cost you $7.50).
The room service menu is sitting in front of the water.
You’ll find a mini-fridge inside the middle compartment.
Beside that is a seating area with a table and two chairs, along with a lamp.
Our room was light and bright — would you stay here?
Overall Impression
Portofino Bay is not quite as grand as some of the Disney World Deluxe hotels we’ve stayed in, but we’d say it’s more grand than some of the Disney Vacation Club hotels. We’ll be honest; we didn’t love this hotel at first because we weren’t totally into the lack of theming (some of the details are just painted on rather than fully realized). For example, the brick walls aren’t actually brick — the brick details are just painted on.
However, the theming did grow on us as we walked around the hotel. In fact, we felt like we were in an Italian storybook.
We also loved all the amenities and there are a TON of them. The pools were really nice and each had a different vibe. Also, the food was DELICIOUS, so if you love Italian food, this hotel is a win. The extensive room service menu also blew our minds.
Also, you can hear LIVE opera on the piazza, which is awesome. This area is also gorgeous. This area also gets very lively at night.
As far as the room goes, it wasn’t that exciting, but the beds were very comfortable (always a good thing) and we loved the huge bathroom.
You also have good transportation to the parks with both buses and boats.
We will say that this hotel is a little difficult to navigate — there are all kinds of winding pathways, but it does give that feel that you are wandering around Italy. But it can mean a long walk to get to where you want to go.
We also feel like the price for a theme park hotel at this level was good. It’s priced more like a Moderate Disney World hotel or one of the lower-end Deluxe hotels.
Be sure to check back with AllEars again soon for more Disney and Universal tips, tricks, reviews, and news.
Disclosure: We were invited by Universal to stay at Portofino Bay. This did not affect our review of the hotel — our opinions are our own.
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What’s your favorite feature about staying at Universal’s Portofino Bay Resort? Tell us in the comments!
I unfortunately only stayed at Portofino for one night. But I wish it had been more so I could have explored what it had to offer. I have to say, I believe that was quite possibly the most comfy bed I’ve ever slept in. No question it was the best hotel bed.
The painted details are there because that is how it really is in Portofino Italy. I have stayed at several of Disney’s deluxe hotels, I like Portofino Bay better.
No microwave?