TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

When we booked our trip with Universal we were told there was minor construction going on. Well the lie detector determined “That was a LIE” more like major exterior construction. Our water view was completely blocked by plastic tarps, by the end of our stay all of the entrances to the pool and fitness center were blocked off besides one which was stair access only. Which in my opinion is horrific…what if a handicapped guest wanted to go to the pool? Wheelchairs do not climb stairs!! Sparks from the construction workers saws were flying into the walkway. It was just all around a nightmare and not worth $800+ a night in a regular dbl queen room. We left and went to Sapphire Falls for $300 a night. It was 1000% better and such a nicer resort with lots more to do, but I must give credit to Sal’s deli downstairs in Portifino. It was amazing!!! Construction is planned to continue until December 2024 so BEWARE!!

Hands down, the worst lodging experience in 40 years of vacations. I write this on just the first night of a three night stay for our family group of eight. This hotel is under construction and our first floor room looks directly into a temporary fence covered with tarp and strewn with trash bags, construction debris, and what appears to be some type of cement mixer. When I complained, I was offered a $40 discount. Then we realized that our first floor exterior slider door was broken and would not lock. After a repairman finally appeared at 10 pm and drilled nonstop for 30 minutes, we received a text telling us that our door is “irreparable because of the fragile construction project.”. Seriously. Our first floor room is open to whomever and that was the explanation from Lowe’s. Oh, and we also had to call the front desk 5 times for the cot we reserved. That too showed up at 10 pm. God help us as this is only day 1.

First of all, this hotel has gorgeous grounds but it's also currently under massive renovations so it's a little hard to do a comprehensive review of its facilities. However, I felt strongly compelled to leave a review after just day 1 of 5 because of the horrendous experience I had trying to feed my kids after a long day at the pool. My review is harsh because this hotel bills itself as the Flagship hotel for Universal Orlando so I had big expectations coming in about the quality of their service. But after being forced to go look for dinner following a 70 minute wait for our order to appear at the only restaurant that's still open due to renovations (Mama Della's), I'm extremely underwhelmed and disappointed by the hotel's inability to deliver on the most basic guest need, food. To be fair, the waiter was apologetic and even said the manager wanted to speak to us (we left 5 minutes later and never saw the manager) but it's hard for me to remember the last time I waited over an hour after placing an order. We eventually went and grabbed cold sandwiches from the Deli next door because warm sandwiches had a 41m wait time. Needless to say, we are already planning to start making dinner arrangements off-premise for the rest of our visit and advise others to consider this limitation carefully before making their plans.

Our weekend stay at Loews Portofino in FL was made even better by the fantastic service from the valet parking team. When my friend lost her credit card and driver's license, Edwin from Orlando, FL, and Jan from Puerto Rico jumped in to help. They not only searched for the lost items but also made sure our kids were comfortable and reassured us during the stressful situation. Even though it was late and we were tired, their positive attitude made a big difference. We're grateful to Edwin and Jan for their kindness and excellent service. They truly made our experience at Loews Portofino exceptional

1. They are doing major renovations on the hotel which they didn't disclose when I was making the reservation. You will have film over your window if it faces the bay, and there's sounds of hammering from 9am-6pm. The whole eat on the terrace by the bay is ruined because of this. One of the pools and one of the restaurants are closed because of this. 2. Front desk staff are exceptional. When we expressed disappointment upon checkin that our room window was to be covered in plastic, the moved us to a villa room which I think is an upgrade? It is right by both the beach pool and villa pool. If you plan to go to the pool at lot, stay in a villa room. 3. Beach pool slide looks small in pics but is actually really fun and fast. Everyone in our party from young kids, teen, to adults liked it. The pool is clean and spacious. The lifeguards are on alert and taking their jobs seriously which is appreciated. 4. Poolside restaurant has good option of kid friendly food. But the service is very slow. 5. Movies playing on screen by the pool and music on speaker made for a fun environment. 6. Water taxis were fast and easy to use. 7. Beds very comfortable.