Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando Resort, Orlando

Virgin rating

Standard Two Queen Room
Despicable Me Kid's Suite
Sal's Market Deli
Mama Della's Ristorante
MANDARA Spa®
MANDARA Spa®
A video preview image
Standard Two Queen Room
Despicable Me Kid's Suite
Sal's Market Deli
Mama Della's Ristorante
MANDARA Spa®
MANDARA Spa®

The hotel

Experience la dolce vita — the sweet life — at Loews Portofino Bay at Universal Orlando. Set on a stunning harbour, prepare to be transported to the charming, picturesque Italian seaside and cobblestoned streets. Sit and enjoy the views over the glistening harbour waters while sipping on a coffee. Taste traditional Italian food in one of the many restaurants. And, when the sun’s shining, jump into one of the pools to cool off. The parks are only a water taxi or shuttle bus away, and you’ll benefit from amazing extras such as FREE** Universal Express Unlimited ride access, allowing you to skip the regular lines in Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure all day (Valid theme park admission required) and Early Park Admission† to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ and Universal’s Volcano Bay.

Amenities

  • Kids Club
  • Wheelchair access
  • Families
  • Bar
  • Fitness Centre/Gym
  • Games Room
  • Hot tub
  • Restaurant
  • Room Service
  • Safety Deposit Box
  • Spa
  • Swimming Pool

Where is it

Within easy walking distance of Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure plus Universal CityWalk and a quick shuttle bus ride to Universal's Volcano Bay. A water taxi or shuttle bus is also available to reach all 3 parks and Universal CityWalk. Transfer time from Orlando International Airport: 20 minutes.

Hotel information

750 rooms. All with air-conditioning, 42" flat-screen TV, iPod docking station, coffee maker, safe, iron and board, bathrobes, and hairdryer. Nightly turn-down service on-request. Garden View Rooms are 450 sq ft and have views of the lawns and gardens, with 1 king-size bed or 2 queen-size beds, sleeping maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

Bay View Rooms are 450 sq ft and overlook the piazza and scenic harbour, with 1 king-size bed or 2 queen-size beds, sleeping maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children. 

Deluxe Rooms are 490 sq ft and have views of the villa pool or the beach pool, with a larger living space and 1 king-size bed or 2 queen-size beds, sleeping maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children. 

Club Rooms are 490 sq ft and include exclusive club benefits (listed below), with 1 king-size bed or 2 queen-size beds, sleeping maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children. 

Despicable Me Kids Suites are large family suites, featuring two bedrooms and a separate kids room with a small table and chair set, wardrobe and TV. With 1 king-size bed in the master bedroom, and twin beds or bunk beds in the second bedroom, sleeping maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children. (Please note: the children's bedroom only opens into the adult's bedroom). 


Club Level Rooms include access to the Portofino Club Lounge, offering the following benefits:  

Access to an exclusive Lounge for American buffet breakfast, drinks and afternoon snacks 

Access to the exclusive Compass Club Lounge for private breakfast, drinks and afternoon snacks  

Please note: all rooms can have an additional rollaway bed, sleeping a 3rd child. Rollaway beds are at an additional cost, payable locally

  • Book 7 nights or more for travel before 31 Dec '25 and receive up to 30% off your accommodation rates. Any applicable offers have been calculated into the prices shown. Offers may not be combinable.

Complimentary water taxis or shuttle buses to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Volcano Bay and CityWalk™. Self-parking $28, Valet parking $37, both plus tax, per day (payable locally, subject to change).

Bice Ristorante (Italian cuisine, open for dinner). Mama Della's Ristorante (Italian food, open for dinner). Trattoria del Porto (Italian with a modern twist, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner). Sal's Market Deli (pizza, sandwiches and deli items, open for lunch and dinner). Splendido Bar and Grill^ (poolside dining). Gelateria (breakfast items, ice cream and milkshakes). Starbucks®. The Thirsty Fish (harbourside bar with evening entertainment on select nights). 24-hour room service*.

'Musica della Notte' (Music of the Night), an evening musical celebration at the Harbour Piazza.

Beach pool with water-slide, a sandy beach, adjacent children's pool, poolside games, 2 hot tubs and private cabanas*. Villa pool with private cabanas*. Hillside pool (quiet pool). Kids' camp* (reservations required), Mandara Spa®*. Fitness centre with hot tub, sauna and steam rooms*. Games room*.

Resort-wide charging privileges with your room key card. Complimentary delivery of merchandise purchased throughout the resort to your hotel. Wake-up call from one of your favourite Universal Orlando characters*. Gift and retail shops. Concierge. Complimentary WiFi. Universal Vacation Planning Centre.

Wheelchair accessible rooms available on request. Please note that these rooms are subject to availability and may be restricted to specific room categories and bedding arrangements. Rooms and facilities vary between hotels so please check at the time of booking. To discover all the special assistance services we offer please see additional information below.

2 nights at all times.

 

Please note: Due to renovation work, this hotel is currenly only on sale for 2025 departures.

WIZARDING WORLD and all related trademarks, characters, names, and indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR. (s23).

Special assistance

Please note: one person must be 21 years or over in each room to check-in

^ Must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to consume alcoholic beverages.

**Requires theme park admission. Valid only at participating rides and attractions in Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Not valid at Universal’s Volcano Bay. Excludes separately ticketed events. Park-to-Park admission required to board the Hogwarts™ Express. Benefit valid only for guests of Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Hard Rock Hotel® and Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, for the number of guests staying in the room for the length of hotel stay. Available during normal theme park operating hours only. Additional restrictions may apply and benefits are subject to change without notice.

†Requires theme park admission. Early Park Admission begins up to one (1) hour prior to regular scheduled park opening to either Universal Studios Florida or Universal’s Islands of Adventure as determined by Universal Orlando. Early Park Admission begins up to one (1) hour prior to regular scheduled park opening for Universal’s Volcano Bay. Valid at select attractions at each park. Attractions are subject to substitutions without notice. Additional restrictions may apply.

Portofino Bay Hotel TM & © 2022 UCF Hotel Venture. All rights reserved. Universal elements and all related indicia TM & © 2022 Universal Studios. All rights reserved.

Please note: the hotel will be making repairs to the façade of the hotel from June 2023 – June 2025 to maintain the immersive experience of the Italian village. All work will be done during business hours 9am – 6pm. These repairs are being done one section at a time and may be visible to guests. Guests can expect noise from time to time. ​Thank you for your understanding as the hotel make these repairs to the distinctive environment created for guests. Areas where repairs are in progress may be visible to guests, depending on the location of their room within the hotel. Most common areas of the hotel and food and beverage outlets will remain available for guest use. There may be modifications required in certain areas as work is being completed. 

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
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Traveller rating

  • Excellent (5145)
  • Very good (1652)
  • Average (808)
  • Poor (447)
  • Terrible (482)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Do not book here!

May 17, 2024 tennislover145 Boca Raton, Florida

When we booked our trip with Universal we did not see anything about renovations on website. MAJOR MAJOR construction going on. Our balcony water view was literally a chain link fence surrounding the water, balcony filled with nails and construction crap, and our balcony window was sprayed with white construction spray. Not worth paying for while… Read more
When we booked our trip with Universal we did not see anything about renovations on website. MAJOR MAJOR construction going on. Our balcony water view was literally a chain link fence surrounding the water, balcony filled with nails and construction crap, and our balcony window was sprayed with white construction spray. Not worth paying for while MASSIVE construction is going on. The hallway smelled of toxic paint. Very disappointed Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Amazing stay in the east wing for a family of 4

May 11, 2024 Infinitepig Minneapolis, Minnesota

Fantastic stay! Definitely will stay again the next time we visit Universal Orlando. Getting the unlimited fast passes alone paid for the price of the hotel. The water taxis helped make the entire stay an immersive experience. So amazing to take advantage of sending our theme park purchases to the room so we didn’t have to haul them around the… Read more
Fantastic stay! Definitely will stay again the next time we visit Universal Orlando. Getting the unlimited fast passes alone paid for the price of the hotel. The water taxis helped make the entire stay an immersive experience. So amazing to take advantage of sending our theme park purchases to the room so we didn’t have to haul them around the park. I was really worried about the construction and that’s the only reason it’s four stars instead of five. We requested to stay as far away from the construction as possible, which put us far far down the east wing, garden facing room (1383). It was a long walk to and from the water taxis each day because we couldn’t cut through the courtyard. It was also far from the pools and fitness center. That being said, we never heard the construction in our rooms. Love the staff. So amazing and attentive. The texting concierge service was so awesome. All my questions were answered immediately. They were so quick with helping us make dining reservations. Lobby was spacious and a comfortable place to wait for our flight after we checked out. Don’t forget to grab a pizza from Sal’s. Overall, great experience and worked out great for our family. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Stay away until construction is done. You'll regret booking otherwise!!

May 11, 2024 Marymul23

From pictures, this hotel seems gorgeous. However, the construction is no joke. All the views you see of beautiful arches and picturesque views? It's not real. All you will see is construction tarp lining every hallway on the first floor, dead ends galore, and the beautiful sounds of hammering and drilling while you lounge by the pool. Some… Read more
From pictures, this hotel seems gorgeous. However, the construction is no joke. All the views you see of beautiful arches and picturesque views? It's not real. All you will see is construction tarp lining every hallway on the first floor, dead ends galore, and the beautiful sounds of hammering and drilling while you lounge by the pool. Some other issues: Booked back in January for a 50th wedding anniversary and asked for 6 rooms together--did not happen. In fact, upon check in they said we were near each other (which would have been fine) but instead we were about 50 rooms apart. With little kids this was less than ideal. Website said "minor refurbishments". This is simply untrue. This is MAJOR construction. There was no easy access to pools with scooters or strollers. This is considered a 5 start hotel. Again, untrue in current condition. The closest walkway to the city walk was completely closed. Half the shops and restaurants that are advertised on the site are closed. Doors are not handicap accessible. 1 room needed fridge changed, 2 rooms needed lightbulbs changed, 1 room lost ALL water (toilet, sinks, showers) for hours. On our last day they started painting hallways without putting up any signage that this was occurring. We only realized when our daughter's brand new shirt was covered in paint and finally came across the painting cart, half a mile down the hall. When people showered in the next room, water came up in the sinks. Elevators closed on the scooters and strollers multiple times. When discussed with management the response was simply "sorry to hear that." I'm sure they are fielding issues all day every day. My in laws are devastated after spending $20k to bring a group of 12 to this hotel and have such a terrible experience. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Lovely stay with pleasant customer service!!

May 10, 2024 mcrajan New York City, New York

We stayed at Loews Portofino Bay to visit Universal Parks. Portofino Bay comes with express passes and that is going to make things very easy for you. When you check-in they will print off your room keys which act as your express passes so make sure you bring those with you to the parks. You will also need to show these if you plan on using Early… Read more
We stayed at Loews Portofino Bay to visit Universal Parks. Portofino Bay comes with express passes and that is going to make things very easy for you. When you check-in they will print off your room keys which act as your express passes so make sure you bring those with you to the parks. You will also need to show these if you plan on using Early Park Admission. I like to have my card on a lanyard as you will need to scan it at every ride to use the express pass. Our room was ready when we got there and check in was smooth. We stayed in the West Wing which was right by the water taxi harbor. Every evening we went to Villa pool area and enjoyed the hot tubs/jacuzzi and cold plunge which was nice after running around in the parks. Also you can order food by the pool area. There was lot of construction work going on but it did not affect my family and our trip. We had good and pleasant front desk and customer service experience. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Believe construction reviews..true

May 10, 2024 carrie s

I wish I would have taken the reviews that were written before we went to heart. We have stayed at Portofino 4 times before. This time was a giant regret. I read about the construction online and "poo-pooed" it , we had been in Aug of 2023 and it wasn't bad at all...last trip in April 2024 was awful! The place was more than a construction zone..… Read more
I wish I would have taken the reviews that were written before we went to heart. We have stayed at Portofino 4 times before. This time was a giant regret. I read about the construction online and "poo-pooed" it , we had been in Aug of 2023 and it wasn't bad at all...last trip in April 2024 was awful! The place was more than a construction zone.. should have been labeled a disaster zone. The entire back of the hotel is scaffolded and the construction noise is very loud. We stayed at a club room in Aug 2023 the food was amazing, varied and well executed, April 2024 club room hugely disappointing,no view..windows covered with plastic, terrible food.. same crap for every meal, not worth the extra room fee. Don't mean to dis Portofino but I really think their website should reflect their construction status, I found it very misleading. We will be staying elsewhere next trip! Read less