Loews Portofino Bay Hotel...a True Destination Hotel

Who says that Universal Orlando can't be an actual destination in and of itself?  I am discovering that too many travelers don't give Universal Orlando and one it's onsite resorts enough credit for being its own stand-alone vacation destination.   I must confess that I was one of those travelers a few years back...ok, maybe only a couple of years back.  But I am no longer one of those people.  I am a true fan of Universal and what it offers when it comes to a full vacation package.

Did their rides and attractions change my mind?  Not completely, although The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has aided a bit.  Their resorts are what has sold me.  Universal Orlando has made a smart move in teaming up with Loews and Hard Rock.  Both Loews and Hard Rock know how to run hotels and resorts.  They know what makes their hotels something that travelers will stay at even if a theme park is not adjacent to them.  That to me sets them apart from Disney.

Show of hands...how many of us Disney fans (if we are really honest) would stay at one of Disney's resorts if there were no theme parks to visit?  How many of us would pay the prices at a Disney resort if there were no theme parks, would be a better question to ask.  I am thinking not many of us would including myself.  But in comparison, I would for sure stay at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel even if a theme park visit was not planned.  It is a true resort hotel and a destination hotel.

What makes it a good destination hotel you ask?  Here is my criteria for a great hotel to be a destination hotel:

1) Great pools with attentive staff and good ambience
2) A good variety of food options ranging from grab-and-go to fine dining
3) Lot's of shopping options that cover a lot of different things from art to clothes to souvenirs
4) Great eye appeal in the design and lots of areas of interest (best way I can describe that)
5) Evening lounges for entertainment
6) Large, comfortable rooms preferably with a separate tub and shower
7) A first class spa

The Portofino Bay Hotel offers all of these and does a great job keeping your interest at the resort itself.  You could wake up, go grab a nice buffet breakfast at Trattoria del Porto, enjoy the paper and cup of coffee before putting on your swim wear and heading down to one of their great pools.  You could then eat lunch at the Splendido pool side grill before you head off to your mid-afternoon spa treatment at the Mandera Spa.

Then go back to your comfortable room, relax before getting ready for pre-dinner drinks at either Bar American or the Thirsty Fish.  Let your appetite build there before heading off to a fine dining experience at either Bice or Mama Della's.  Then cap the evening off again with an aperitif and some live music and take in the evening serenade out on the promenade.  That is what I call a vacation!

That is how a stay at the Portofino Bay Hotel can go.  I am speaking from experience and am writing this post as a review of just the property itself, not the parks.  Did we visit the 2 Universal Orlando theme parks during our stay?  Sure we did, but we found ourselves gravitating back to our resort during the day.

Our stay consisted of 2 nights in one of the hotel's club level rooms which gave us access to the private lounge downstairs where we enjoyed our included continental breakfast, afternoon snacks and beverages, evening snacks and beverages and our nightly cookie run before heading back to our room.  We enjoyed the evening snacks well enough that we considered them a meal. Beverages included at the evening snack time were choices of red or white wine, domestic and imported beers, sodas, water and teas.  And the continental breakfast was plentiful each morning.

We enjoyed a pool side lunch at Splendido and utilized their pool servers often for some fun afternoon treats.  One of our dinners was at the wonderful Mama Della's.  The food and atmosphere were wonderful if you enjoy Italian cuisine and being serenaded table side.  The Italian theming of the hotel is well done.  Great theming means you transport the guest from where they really are to somewhere else (mentally) just by good design, architecture and ambience.  As you walk around the hotel's grounds, you do get the sense that you may have taken a longer flight than you had planned and have actually stepped into a nice seaside Italian town.

So here again is where I think Universal has done well by forming this partnership with Loews.  When you are at a Disney resort hotel, you are constantly being reminded that you are at Disney.  Their dining is built around their dining plans.  Their shops are mainly focussed on selling their name and merchandise.  The Disney deluxe resorts have smaller rooms overall.  Disney's argument in return would be...you come to Disney because you want all things Disney and because you will most likely be heading into one or more of the 4 main parks so the room sizes are overlooked.  True! But for those who don't want Mickey staring at them every time they turn around, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel is a great Orlando vacation option.  I think it is time to quit thinking of Universal Orlando as just an add-on to a Disney World vacation.  I think it is time to start considering one of their resort hotels as an actual destination and then you can decide what you want to add to the trip as far as theme park visits or some other Orlando area attraction.  Bravo Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, bravo!

For more photos of the resort...you can click on this link, Portofino Bay Hotel

Universal Orlando...I'm Sold!

Well...back in September of this year, my wife and I visited the Universal theme parks for the very first time. I came away from that visit with the opinion that Universal is a great thing to do at least once, but it just did not leave an impression with me that would make it a "must-do" when planning future trips to the Orlando area.

I wrote my most recent post related to that visit and listed a few of my top things to do when visiting the 2 parks that make up Universal Orlando. I stated at the end of that post that my opinion may change since I was being given a chance to come back down to Orlando and visit their parks again as well as the 3 resorts that reside on Universal property. It's official...my opinion has changed. I am now a fan. I now have seen what Universal Orlando has to offer, in & outside the theme parks.

I was given the opportunity to stay in one of the 3 Universal hotels; The Loews Portofino Bay Hotel. The hotel is impressive! Naturally I was comparing Universal's onsite properties to that of Walt Disney World's the whole time I was there which was for a total of 3 nights. The Portofino would be in the same class as one of Disney's Deluxe properties such as the Yacht and Beach Club, the Contemporary, the Polynesian etc. When comparing room sizes and decor, the Portofino comes out on top. The room was quite spacious and the bathroom was gigantic. The only negative about the room layout or size would be the tiny stand-up shower in the bathroom. The bathrooms are designed similar to those you see down in some of Cancun's all-inclusive resorts; double vanities, large bathtub and a separate shower. But the shower could use some expansion and heaven knows there is room for it in the bathroom's existing space.

The hotel offers an abundance of dining/lounge/bar options. They offer a gelato venue, a seafood restaurant, a pizza and more of a grab-and-go option and some higher end venues such as Bice and Mama Della's Ristorante which offers excellent Italian food and a fantastic atmosphere and is now on my "must-do" list. Shopping was plentiful and centrally located near the food choices. I liked the layout of the resort. The grounds and architecture made you really feel like you had been whisked away on an vacation to a quaint seaside village in Italy. They even have opera singers come out to the outdoor piazza area each evening and serenade the crowd with some beautiful Italian music.

The staff...A+. The front desk remembered my name after a couple of visits to inquire about some different things. That sort of attention to detail is important to me when I am considering higher-end properties for my clients. Everyone I came in contact with greeted me with a smile and was courteous. I do hope I get a chance in the future to enjoy another stay at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel.

During this trip, I also had the chance to tour the other two Universal Orlando hotels; the Loews Royal Pacific Hotel and the Hard Rock Hotel. All 3 of Universal's hotels offer a unique experience and ambience. The Royal Pacific hotel is a little lower in price point which makes it great for families. It also appeals to the convention crowd so it can be a little "busier" than the Portofino Bay Hotel. The Hard Rock Hotel...well...it's the Hard Rock. When "Hard Rock" is in the name, that should give you a clue as to the clientele that it appeals to. It should also give you a clue that it is not the place for some quiet R&R. It is perfect for the young or the younger at heart who want a fun and exciting vacation with a hip crowd. Who knows, you may even run into one of your favorite rock stars while you are there like we did when we saw Vince Neil saunter through the lobby.

Each Universal Hotel offers a wide variety or eateries from the casual to the more upscale.  I am attaching a link to my pictures so you can see more of the theming and public spaces of each hotel.  Click HERE!

Now...let's get to the benefits of staying onsite at Universal.   First, each guest gets "Universal Express Unlimited" ride access in both Universal Orlando theme parks as a part of their stay.  That is a huge benefit if you happen to be visiting Orlando during peak times of the year.  Each guest also gets early admission into Islands of Adventure and into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  

You also get room charging privileges when inside the parks or anywhere else on Universal property.  No need to carry a lot of cash or credit cards around with you during your stay.  Each hotel is on the free water taxi route so park your car and enjoy the free transportation from your hotel to the Universal City Walk and theme park area.  You also get priority seating at any of the Universal Orlando restaurants where reservations may be needed.  And here is one that sometimes gets overlooked...you also have the ability to have purchases sent back directly to your room.  If you are like me, you hate to have to carry around your souvenirs after you purchase them.  If you are an onsite guest, simply have your package delivered back to your room at no extra charge. 

Those are some of the great benefits of choosing to stay in 1 of the 3 Universal Orlando hotels.

Now let me get to some things that I think need to be addressed by Universal and their hotel partners.  These would not sway me from wanting to go back and stay, but they are differences that some big Disney fans are going to notice if they choose to do a split stay.  And they are differences that may cause some to decide to stay elsewhere.  First...there is no free wifi in your room.  When you pay as much as you do per night to stay in one of their hotels, it is becoming a common expectation to have free wifi.  Now I will say that they do offer free wifi in their lobby areas and it does work fine.  But for some of us who need to do a little work occasionally during our trips, free wifi in your room is becoming a must.  Parking is also not free.  That was a bit of a shocker at first to me.  Again, you are paying somewhat of a premium for staying onsite and you expect some of these things to be added benefits, but they are not.  And last but not least, no mini-fridge.  There is a mini-bar stocked to the hilt with snacks and drinks.  And if you want to pay a small fortune for a bottle of water or a bag of chips, that may be a good amenity for you.  But vacationing families these days want some sort of mini-fridge area so they can keep some milk on hand for their kids and not have to pay a small fortune for those items since they are already spending so much for their vacations as a whole.  

Now you should know that some of these things are out of Universal's hands.  Unlike Disney, which owns their own onsite properties, Universal is a partnership with Loews and also Hard Rock.  That simply means that the hotels are looking for areas of profit just like the airlines do.  They know some will pay for wifi and some will use the mini-bars and those are areas of profit for the hotel chains.  Universal Orlando knows that these differences are not in line with their large competitor down the street, but their hands are a bit tied right now so it is what it is.

And again...those areas of difference would not deter me from wanting to stay onsite at Universal in the future.  So with all of that said...I hope you see that I am a fan now.  I have not even got into some things I learned about their 2 theme parks.  But this post is long enough and probably even too long, but hopefully you can see that I can fully recommend a stay at any one of the Universal Orlando onsite hotels.  You will have a great time and become a fan if you are not one already.