Name: Universal's Loews Portofino Bay Hotel
Address: 5601 Universal Boulevard, Florida Center, Orlando, Florida, United States of America, Orlando, Orange County, US
Price range: US$390–US$2,097 per night
Rating: 8.8

What guests think

At Universal's Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, guests praise the scenic Italian-style setting, friendly service, spacious rooms, and seamless park access with water taxis and included Express benefits, while recurring critiques note disruptive renovations, dated decor, housekeeping inconsistencies, and premium pricing.

Many guests highlight the calm, resort-like feel as a welcome break after time in the parks. Dining feedback is mixed: several praise on-site restaurants and club lounge offerings, while others cite high prices, limited walk-in availability, and slow service at the deli. Operational issues appear in some reviews, including occasional misinformation at check-in and long queues for the boats at peak times. Overall, expect a convenient, comfortable base for Universal with easy transport.

Facilities

Cleanliness

Rooms

Service

Location

Dining

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Facilities

Multiple pools and the water taxi to the Universal parks are widely liked. Ongoing renovations have brought scaffolding, some obstructed views and noise, and longer walks to facilities for some; parking is paid, and club lounge feedback is mixed.

Related guest reviews

10

Scott

26 Sept 2025

·

Stayed 5 nights

Great rooms, clean quiet location with excellent Italian Rivera setting - amazing pools, quick boat access to the resorts or just 10min stroll on the safe walkway and the meal at onsite Mamas was authentic and delicious! We’ll be back

10

Jamie

23 May 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

The room was large. We were on the 1st floor with a bay view. We had a patio door and a table and chairs so we could sit outside. Water taxi to City Walk/IOA/US. The pools were nice.

2

Felicity

1 Sept 2022

·

Stayed 3 nights

The staff here are unhelpful and rarely had the information we needed. Given it is a Universal Studios hotel, they knew very little about Universal Studios and kept directing us to the website for information. Our room was miles away from reception and didn’t get cleaned until 6.30pm every day. The swimming pool gets closed at any sign of thunder - which could be miles away and the staff around the swimming pool are rude and unhelpful. They wouldn’t answer any questions about the pool being reopened, and staff at the front desk had no idea. Communication was poor. The swimming pool staff also were ridiculously strict and wouldn’t allow any splashing of basic fun. Consequently the pool wasn’t much fun to visit for my three children. A real disappointment. Food at this hotel is average and hugely expensive. A bottle of water costs $7.50!!! There is a Starbucks on sight which is helpful if you are going early to the parks but beware, the queues are enormous. Overall our experience here was very average. We certainly won’t visit again or recommend to any friends.

8

Ella

13 Sept 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

Club level was Terrible!! Poor level of food!!

10

Leeann

1 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 4 nights

My two children and I just spent the past 4 days at Portofino Bay. The employees were very kind, accommodating, and extremely helpful. The hotel is gorgeous. Yes, there is construction going on, but the only thing that affected for us, was getting to the pool. It was a hike. Otherwise it was the perfect place. We enjoyed the boat ride to Universal and even tried the path to walk there. It was gorgeous! We would go back.

10

Melissa

30 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Lovely family stay, starting with a great check in experience. Loved the convenience of text notifications when our room was ready, as well as regular touch points to ensure we were having a great stay. We really enjoyed the pool, and the express passes and boat transfers to the parks were a great addition. Highly recommend for a family visit to the parks.

8

Calvin

29 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Neat hotel, but extremely expensive for what it is. At 1000 dollars a night, it should Atleast include parking and breakfast.

10

Rona

28 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

I booked a club level room here for 2 nights for my family of 5. We were on a 7 day trip from the UK visiting Universal Studios and this appealed due to the fast pass and food & drink inclusion. It was at the time of renovation and I was expecting the disruption to be worse than it was . Our room had no view as the window was blocked out and the temporary gym was tiny , but we popped into the one in Hard Rock instead which was amazing . We loved the pools at Portofino ..Villa pool was empty late at night for some family ball games , and we spent a fun afternoon at the Beach pool . My teenage boys loved the DJ, pool games & table tennis . Great idea to have Factor 30 SPF on tap poolside for guests . We enjoyed the lounge food : breakfast had a choice of fresh fruit /bagels and some hot food. Lunch was bags of crisps , salads ,bread cheese & ham. Dinner had some hot dishes , soup and salad. And cans of drinks from the fridge were very welcome . We used the water taxi into the parks then popped back for lunch and went in again in the evening. The fast passes were valid for the day we checked in and the day we checked out . Given the price of food in the Universal complex , for my hungry family of 5 this proved to be a cost effective option with the bonus of it being a lovely hotel and it added an extra dimension to the holiday .

10

Sandra

21 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Portofino has some construction going on, but the area was very clean and the beach pool is wonderful.

10

Garth M Carlson

24 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Beautiful setting. Confused where the restaurant was by the pool and the pool area is still under construction, but they told us that in advance. Fast passes and boat service to Universal make this a wonderful value.

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Cleanliness

Many guests found rooms and common areas clean, but feedback is inconsistent. Repeated reports mention missed or very late housekeeping, stained or worn linens, and occasional mold or tired carpets.

Related guest reviews

8

Martin

2 Sept 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

This was our fourth stay at Portofino Bay, the last being in 2017. Since our last visit we noticed that the rooms had been redecorated and were extremely bland with little theming. The hotel corridors were always dirty with paper (or cotton buds!) strewn on the floor. Our room was not serviced on the third and last night. We made use of the Club lounge and again, since our last visit found this place has had some major works done, and it was not as comfortable as previously. The food and drink offerings in the lounge were good and possibly an improvement on before. The guest services and concierge were polite and helpful. As we had a very late flight it would have been great if they made a shower available (they offered the 'quiet pool' showers but the area was shut due to a storm, so of little use). I do not think we'll return again.

6

Jasmine

20 May 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Not a good stay at all. We had been looking forward to this stay as it’s been one of the universal hotels e have never stayed at. Firstly we requested if possible to have a room close to the harbour on a high floor. Originally we were given bottom//ground floor, we were told they could accommodate a room 10 rooms closer to the harbour on the second floor. This was not the case, we were place in the room furthest away from the harbour on the second floor, not given good directions to get to the room, we got lost. Room was dated, bathroom shower had black mold, tile grout in entry way was out g black with dirt. It just didn’t feel it look like a hotel that’s $600 per night.

8

Michael

16 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 9 nights

We stayed here for 9 nights in Club Level and enjoyed our stay. House keeping is clearly overrun, sometime our room wouldn't cleaned until after 6pm which was a bit frustrating when you'd run out of towels etc.. beyond that all good, Club Lounge is a nice space, you can easily eat a decent breakfast and dinner there.

4

Ricardo

12 Apr 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

The room was not cleaned

6

Jody

31 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 4 nights

We recently stayed at the Portofino resort and wanted to share our experience. We appreciated the theming around the Bay area, and the availability of room service was a nice option. However, we found the guest rooms to be quite outdated and dingy. The bath towels had stains and holes. Additionally, we encountered difficulties in obtaining extra towels for our room. The staff overall was less than helpful. This experience did not meet our expectations for a five-star resort, we believe it falls more in line with a three-star rating.

10

Kris

3 May 2023

·

Stayed 3 nights

The property was very clean. Room was nice and big. Been to some other resorts where room was really small.

8

Leslie

7 Jan 2023

·

Stayed 19,363 nights

We enjoyed our trip and this property very much. We were in one of the Despicable Me rooms and it was super cute. One thing though, I question how well house keeping does it’s job. When I was checking drawers and making sure we were not leaving anything behind the day we left, I found a child’s t-shirt and we found a child’s watch, as well as trash under the mattresses of the kid beds and under the adult bed. We did have daily house keeping and they did a nice job. The carpet felt dirty when I walked on it but I just put on shoes.

10

Lu

8 Oct 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Nice and clean

4

Manuel

18 Aug 2023

·

Stayed 4 nights

Housekeeping never came to our room

10

Syuzanna

21 Feb 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Beautiful, clean hotel

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Rooms

Rooms are generally spacious and comfortable, with some bay views appreciated. Several reviews describe the decor as dated or bland, some rooms far from reception, and renovation work has obstructed views in places or introduced daytime noise.

Related guest reviews

6

Eugene

18 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

Hotel is under construction so many amenities are not available. Price should have been reduced due to the condition of the hotel. Our lake view room had scaffolding and a tarp covering the window. Courtyard was empty due to construction. Had to walk through construction area to get to the pool. Paid too much for this experience.

10

Patrick

31 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 14 nights

Room was good but building repairs brought area down

8

Leslie

5 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The hotel itself is very nice, but the room was just ok. For the amount of money paid per night, the room was pretty bare, nothing special about it at all. The only thing that made the hotel worth the price, in my opinion, is the fast passes that were included for the parks. Overall, it was clean, ok enough, and I would stay again, but only for the fast passes.

6

Mark

16 Aug 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

We usually end our Florida holiday with two nights at Hard Rock but decided to try Portofino Bay this year. I regretted the decision almost straight away when entering by far the worst and most unwelcoming car-park we’ve experienced in Orlando, dark and dingy and the lift wouldn’t be out of place in the Tower of Terror. Our room was in the East Wing and the hotel is just vast - we had to walk through 3 blocks and use 3 elevators or stairwells to get from our room to the car-park. The wing was characterless with just long corridors, the room was okay with plenty of space for 4 adults although it could do with updating. The bathroom was bizarre, large but with most of the space redundant. The staff were fine and helpful. We were mainly in the parks and so didn’t use most of the facilities. Overall we found this a soulless place and we won’t stay again - the Hard Rock is better presented, more practical for park access and has a sense of humour.

6

James

20 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The Portofino will always hold a special place in our hearts after several visits on 20+ years. But despite the wonderful Italian Portofino facade, the rooms are not as special as the used to be, less well maintained, and definitely not worth $1000 a night. I doubt many people would pay these prices if it wasn't for the theme park express passes that are included with the rooms. It's a shame because in the past, although expensive, the hotel rooms felt special, but this wasn't the case this time. On a positive note, it's great to have a base to relax in when the rain closes the park rides. All staff here go above and beyond, I hope they are well rewarded from that $1000 a night room fee! The boat ride to and from the park is wonderdul, but be careful not to dare stand up before you are permitted to or you may be barked at by an official! They may use please and thank you, but when the words are barked, they kind of lose their meaning! Also, if the boats are unable to operate due to bad weather, expect a lengthy wait for the complementary bus (about 30 mins for us). Again, this didn't feel right for a $1000 a night hotel. I feel this time was our last stay at the Portofino. Regretfully.

8

Lucy

17 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

We checked in early to receive universal fast passes, and dropped luggage off. We then returned later for room check in, unfortunately we were guided to a room that wasn't ready but after a quick discussion with the front desk this was sorted.... The room and bathroom were spacious but the beds were much smaller than expected. It was advertised as queen beds but were doubles. The facilities at this hotel are amazing. And the boat transfer to the universal parks was quick and easy as well. The staff were attentive and friendly... Overall a lovely stay in a lovely hotel

8

Nicole

29 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 7 nights

Selling points: - universal fast passes - beds are comfy - quiet - rooms pretty decent space Cons - price is a bit high but so is everywhere in area - pools at other resorts a bit better for kids

4

John

8 Jan 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Major construction was being done on the outside of the property causing noise and disturbances.

6

Nicole

18 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Large rooms in an older styled hotel. The bathrooms are large with double sinks. Lots of good food options. Our room was a solid ten minute walk to reception. It was a lovely fifteen minutes walk through greenery to universal or you could take a bus.

10

Karen

2 Mar 2023

·

Stayed 5 nights

Beautiful view from ground floor bay view room with outside patio.

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Service

Staff are widely described as friendly and helpful across the resort. Some guests reported patchy communication at check-in or concierge and inconsistent issue resolution.

Related guest reviews

6

Connor

15 May 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

The property was under construction and I was not informed until it was too late to cancel my booking. The staff gave me incorrect information about my early access to Universal, which ended up costing us some valuable time in the parks. I still love this hotel and will stay here again, but I guess I will have to do more of my own research because the staff isn’t very informative or aware of what’s going on.

10

Alex

25 Jun 2023

·

Stayed 6 nights

Great property and atmosphere.

10

Mandira

25 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Beautiful hotel with great service. The staff was warm and friendly and very helpful. It was great to enjoy the lovely ‘Italian’ hotel after the hectic pace at the Universal. The included Universal Express unlimited and the boats to the parks made the entire stay seamless.

8

Angela

1 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 6 nights

Trip was good. Communication could be better. First we were told our key card was our fast pass for Universal Studios…..only to find out later this did not include Epic Universe. Then we were told a shuttle ride to the airport was included only to find out this is only the case if you made reservations through the hotel directly and not through Hotels.com. We had to pay for a ride.

2

Mathew

5 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

The hotel is a building site with construction noise from early morning until 5pm. Please do not waste your money here, service equally appalling and despite my complaints they really do not care offering to refund only my parking as compensation even though they conceded the ongoing construction was an issue! Absolutely appalling customer service. This was our 5th visit and will never stay at a Loews property again.

6

Amber

12 Jan 2023

·

Stayed 19,364 nights

The resort is beautiful, the transport to the parks was great. Our room and view were nice. But we checked in after a long day at the parks, and the front desk staff didn’t even bother telling me that our bayview room had been overbooked. She just sent us to a room that was literally the longest walk to things we could get. She gave us our room number, but didn’t indicate on the map where it was. She said she would send a welcome text I never received. When I looked outside our room, it was a view of a pool. I walked back to the front desk and was met with, “You can switch rooms tomorrow if you want, but we can’t do anything. Your room was already upgraded.” We switched hotels 3 times this trip, and I didn’t want to be without a room for the 11-4 period the next day. If the front desk staff had told me what was happening when we checked in, I would have told her one person in our party had a broken toe, and less of a walk was more important than an upgraded room. I did have issues with doing laundry that the front desk resolved as quickly as possible. Housekeeping did not come on a day we were out of the room from 12:45-21:00, although it was requested daily. And so, as much as I would love to give a 5 star review, I only gave this resort 3 stars.

10

Alison

9 Jan 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Loved our room and all of the special extras. But what really made it five star was that every staff person we interacted with was helpful, friendly, eager to do what they could to make a memorable stay for us. Keep up the amazing work!

10

arran

11 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Awesome hotel from start to finish. The service, staff, location, everything….

10

Paul

27 Jun 2023

·

Stayed 3 nights

The service was amazing! Everyone went out of their way to accommodate and be friendly

10

Leora

12 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 6 nights

Amazing service, beautiful grounds, nicest staff!

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Location

Excellent for Universal access via a short boat ride or 10-15 minute walk, and many enjoyed the tranquil, themed setting away from the crowds.

Related guest reviews

10

Scott

26 Sept 2025

·

Stayed 5 nights

Great rooms, clean quiet location with excellent Italian Rivera setting - amazing pools, quick boat access to the resorts or just 10min stroll on the safe walkway and the meal at onsite Mamas was authentic and delicious! We’ll be back

10

Smruti Soumya

20 Nov 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Great location

10

Jeremy Lewis

29 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Great location to parks. Hotel great.

8

Subash

2 Sept 2023

·

Stayed 10 nights

The Loews Portofino Bay is situated very conveniently a short walk/water taxi from Universal Studios. It is a great base for those theme parks and the express pass functionality makes it exceptionally good value for the speedy theme park access.

10

Jason

31 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Great location

10

christina

26 Apr 2023

·

Stayed 9 nights

Really feels like a port.

10

ryan

9 Feb 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Excellent, everything was great, beautiful hotel, pool and scenery. The express pass and early access were nice inclusion, as well convenience of water taxi to and from the park. Only wish they inlcuded on demand movies in the room like disney. 20$ to 30$ to rent a movie is kind of ridiculous when you spend 500$ to 1000$ on a room.

10

Sharon

26 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

The location is excellent to Universal Studio. Love the boat ride and the walkway around the lake. The area is so beautiful. I wish I can stay there for much longer.

10

Simon

31 Aug 2022

·

Stayed 1 night

It is a calm oasis away from the bustling theme park areas and City Walk. Rooms are large and clean.

10

Joe

17 Feb 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

We stayed here for our 3 days at Universal studios and it was very convenient. The water taxi to and from the park was short and readily available. I would recommend staying here again. The breakfast buffet right on the grounds and made it easy for us to grab a bite before heading to the park for the 1 hour early access. Also the express passes was also included for the stay which was a huge bonus and made our trip even better!

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Dining

Restaurants and club level offerings receive praise from many, but prices are high, walk-in tables can be hard to get, and the deli/pizza outlet drew repeated complaints about long waits and service.

Related guest reviews

10

Brittni

17 Nov 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Love the club level dining and breakfast

10

Kristin

18 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Very nice property. probably needs some paint work on outside looks dated, One of the restuarants known for pizza which is also a deli had horrible service we waited over 1 1/2 hrs and finally cancelled the pizza order . They were too busy taking mobile orders. Customers on site were upset. Location is perfect. Everything else was Awesome!

10

ALLEN

18 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 7 nights

Besides the construction that was going on we had a wonderful stay. The food at the onsite restaurants was high, recommend walking off property to other restaurants.

6

Vincent

3 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

The food at the restaurants was overpriced and bland.

8

Pamela

26 Jan 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Sal's was wonderful.

8

Stefano

26 May 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Great pools. Bice was excellent for dinner. Overall very comfortable stay

10

Katie

11 May 2023

·

Stayed 9 nights

The hotel is charming and beautifully decorated and it really feels quality. The express passes are a huge bonus. The restaurants are exceptional and we enjoyed everything about our stay, the only criticism is how hard it was to work the machines in the laundrette! We will definitely be back!

10

Joe

17 Feb 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

We stayed here for our 3 days at Universal studios and it was very convenient. The water taxi to and from the park was short and readily available. I would recommend staying here again. The breakfast buffet right on the grounds and made it easy for us to grab a bite before heading to the park for the 1 hour early access. Also the express passes was also included for the stay which was a huge bonus and made our trip even better!

10

David

27 Apr 2023

·

Stayed 7 nights

Fabulous hotel! Really comfortable beds. Large rooms. Housekeeping brilliant. Gelato and Sal’s pizza are delicious! Staff really helpful. The parks are a lovely boat ride or 10 minute walk away. Handy direct bus to Volcano Bay. Can’t wait to stay again!

10

Jennifer

17 May 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Staff at check in was great and was able to get us adjoining rooms. We had dinner on property and it was delicious and convenient.

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Month	Average price
January	US$673
February	US$791
March	US$802
April	US$758
May	US$604
June	US$677
July	US$640
August	US$586
September	US$538
October	US$773
November	US$686
December	US$767

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14 $473	15 $467	16 $466	17 $503	18 $623	19 $703
20 $390	21 $496	22 $494	23 $521	24 $595	25 $776	26 $674
27 $592	28 $505	29 $560	30 $565

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
				1 $611	2 $823	3 $843
4 $725	5 $708	6 $696	7 $723	8 $828	9 $1,866	10 $2,097
11 $742	12 $921	13 $914	14 $1,064	15 $895	16 $1,035	17 $815
18 $687	19 $716	20 $708	21 $736	22 $835	23 $927	24 $820
25 $752	26 $751	27 $734	28 $692	29 $750	30 $886	31 $926

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Monthly average prices

About this property

Location

Room options

Room, 2 Queen Beds, Roll-In Shower, Garden View (Universal Express Unlimited^ Included)

Deluxe Room, 2 Queen Beds (Universal Express Unlimited^ Included)

Club Room, 2 Queen Beds (Universal Express Unlimited^ Included)

Deluxe Room, 1 King Bed (Universal Express Unlimited^ Included)

Suite (Despicable Me Kids Suite), Universal Express Unlimited^ Included

Room, 2 Queen Beds, Hearing Accessible, Garden View (Universal Express Unlimited^ Included)

Room, 1 King Bed, Bay View (Universal Express Unlimited^ Included)

Room, 2 Queen Beds, Garden View (Universal Express Unlimited^ Included)

Room, 2 Queen Beds, Bay View (Universal Express Unlimited^ Included)

Room, 1 King Bed, Garden View (Universal Express Unlimited^ Included)

Guest reviews

Fabulous

Who stays here?

What guests think

Property policies

Check-in instructions

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