Portofino Bay

[Scuromorte]

Has anyone done the Harbor Night? Is it worth the price of the ticket?

My wife and I did it years ago and had an absolute blast. We thought it was great time with the food and drink and well worth the price. This was 7+ years ago though

 

[Brian G.]

Universal Orlando has announced that Loews Portofino Bay Hotel is set to undergo exterior renovations beginning June 2023.

Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando set for exterior renovations starting June 2023

Universal Orlando has announced that Loews Portofino Bay Hotel is set to undergo exterior renovations beginning June 2023. The repairs are expected to last until June 2025 as Universal will be working one section at a time. Per the website: Loews Portofino Bay Hotel will be making repairs to

www.insideuniversal.net

 

[Tyr12]

Universal Orlando has announced that Loews Portofino Bay Hotel is set to undergo exterior renovations beginning June 2023.

Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando set for exterior renovations starting June 2023

Universal Orlando has announced that Loews Portofino Bay Hotel is set to undergo exterior renovations beginning June 2023. The repairs are expected to last until June 2025 as Universal will be working one section at a time. Per the website: Loews Portofino Bay Hotel will be making repairs to

www.insideuniversal.net

Has anyone seen what the state of this renovation is so far?

 

[CMM]

Stayed at PB the weekend before Christmas - interestingly, neither Universal nor the hotel reached out to mention anything about renovations prior to our stay, nor was anything mentioned during check-in. I was generally aware of them via these forums but that seems like a major miss, especially as we were taken to our room with bell services and the bay view window was covered in plastic and the room absolutely reeked of fresh paint.

My wife basically said "hell naw" and the bell hop immediately called the front desk and whisked us to a new room which was in perfect shape. I have no idea what they were thinking trying to dump us into the initial room. Major props to the bell hop who was absolutely amazing - and a credit to the resort for empowering him to push through critical decisions as he was very firm with the front desk.

Anyway, I'm not entirely certain where they started but the "end" half of the East Wing was still under heavy exterior renovation with all of the facade stripped down.

 

[UNIrd]

Stayed at PB the weekend before Christmas - interestingly, neither Universal nor the hotel reached out to mention anything about renovations prior to our stay, nor was anything mentioned during check-in. I was generally aware of them via these forums but that seems like a major miss, especially as we were taken to our room with bell services and the bay view window was covered in plastic and the room absolutely reeked of fresh paint.

My wife basically said "hell naw" and the bell hop immediately called the front desk and whisked us to a new room which was in perfect shape. I have no idea what they were thinking trying to dump us into the initial room. Major props to the bell hop who was absolutely amazing - and a credit to the resort for empowering him to push through critical decisions as he was very firm with the front desk.

Anyway, I'm not entirely certain where they started but the "end" half of the East Wing was still under heavy exterior renovation with all of the facade stripped down.

Glad that happened. I did see a warning but when shopping for a stay over New Years and it deterred me from making the res. I mean the $800 a night price tag didn't help either.

 

[biggerboat16]

I’ll be staying at the Portofino in about two weeks, it’s always been a favorite so we’re giving it another go even with the renovations.

Does anybody have any insight on the current state of the renovations? Is it delegated just to one wing? Can I request to be placed in a different wing? Will it severely impact my stay?

We’d like to do Portofino but if the renovations are too disruptive we might decide to change over to Hard Rock.

Has anybody stayed within the past few weeks? If so what was your experience like?

 

[Brian G.]

I’ll be staying at the Portofino in about two weeks, it’s always been a favorite so we’re giving it another go even with the renovations.

Does anybody have any insight on the current state of the renovations? Is it delegated just to one wing? Can I request to be placed in a different wing? Will it severely impact my stay?

We’d like to do Portofino but if the renovations are too disruptive we might decide to change over to Hard Rock.

Has anybody stayed within the past few weeks? If so what was your experience like?

From a few days ago:

 

[Mad Dog]

This is the third major renovation since our first visit in May 2011. It's good to see that Loews continues to keep this resort in tip top physical shape. Their service is not quite as good as it used to be, but perhaps it'll rebound after this renovation is completed.

 

[biggerboat16]

That doesn’t look too bad, seems to be delegated just to that one wing at the moment.

It’s nice to see them updating their existing properties so everything is as polished as can be before Epic

 

[tyro]

They have some really good AP rates during HHN, was able to book for the weekend of Sept 13th for around $360 a night Fri-Monday which is a large chunk cheaper then any other premium hotel right now.

 

[Mad Dog]

Has anyone been at Portofino the past month or two? Renovations are being listed until Dec. 2024. I'm going to Universal in early November and there's some decent rates right now, and I'm guessing the bulk of renovations should be done by then. But I'd like to hear from someone who's been there recently on how the situation is at this point in time. I've been to Portofino over a hundred nights in the past, but I've stayed away since covid cause they jacked the rates up a lot and the service in 2018 through 2019 had regressed a bit from former years. I went at the tail end of the last renovation, and it wasn't too bad, just some touch up stuff and the Thirsty Fish area closed off.

 

[4hartthreat]

Has anyone been at Portofino the past month or two? Renovations are being listed until Dec. 2024. I'm going to Universal in early November and there's some decent rates right now, and I'm guessing the bulk of renovations should be done by then. But I'd like to hear from someone who's been there recently on how the situation is at this point in time. I've been to Portofino over a hundred nights in the past, but I've stayed away since covid cause they jacked the rates up a lot and the service in 2018 through 2019 had regressed a bit from former years. I went at the tail end of the last renovation, and it wasn't too bad, just some touch up stuff and the Thirsty Fish area closed off.

I stayed there Memorial Day weekend. The construction is major and is very noticeable. Giant tarps over buildings. Areas closed off entirely. The walking path to Universal is even rerouted because of it. I wouldn't say to not stay there. We enjoyed our stay overall. But there were some inconveniences and the construction really took away the immersion. But if the price is right, go for it.

 

[Mad Dog]

I stayed there Memorial Day weekend. The construction is major and is very noticeable. Giant tarps over buildings. Areas closed off entirely. The walking path to Universal is even rerouted because of it. I wouldn't say to not stay there. We enjoyed our stay overall. But there were some inconveniences and the construction really took away the immersion. But if the price is right, go for it.

Thank you.

 

[RedButton]

Has anyone been at Portofino the past month or two? Renovations are being listed until Dec. 2024. I'm going to Universal in early November and there's some decent rates right now, and I'm guessing the bulk of renovations should be done by then. But I'd like to hear from someone who's been there recently on how the situation is at this point in time. I've been to Portofino over a hundred nights in the past, but I've stayed away since covid cause they jacked the rates up a lot and the service in 2018 through 2019 had regressed a bit from former years. I went at the tail end of the last renovation, and it wasn't too bad, just some touch up stuff and the Thirsty Fish area closed off.

I’m rolling the dice on a December stay here as well, hoping they don’t fall too behind. When Sapphire is almost the same price for the nights we’re going, it was an easy decision even with potential construction.

 

[Mad Dog]

I’m rolling the dice on a December stay here as well, hoping they don’t fall too behind. When Sapphire is almost the same price for the nights we’re going, it was an easy decision even with potential construction.

I booked 9 nights in early Nov. Though not nearly as good an AP price as before covid (even considering inflation), it was significantly better than it has been. I love the resort, I've been there many many times since 2011, and though services aren't quite as good as in the past, they're still pretty damn good. This is the third major Portofino refurb since my first stay in 2011. The last refurb, we came in during the final stage, and it wasn't bad. So, I'm hoping most everything is cleaned up by the time we are booked. I'm certainly looking forward to it. I'm surprising Alene, and told her we're booked into Cabana. Cabana is great for the price, but Portofino has a special place in our hearts. I surprised her with half the 2021 vacation at Portofino, while I told her we were moving from Cabana to Sapphire. Like always, tears welled up in her eyes as I drove into the resort....With this new refurb, and Epic, I'm afraid the Portofino price will again skyrocket. Though I can afford those real high prices, I refuse to pay those numbers for a hotel. So, at Disney I never stay at their high end resorts. Not worth the extra money. New Orleans is good enough for me onsite at WDW.

 

[RedButton]

I booked 9 nights in early Nov. Though not nearly as good an AP price as before covid (even considering inflation), it was significantly better than it has been. I love the resort, I've been there many many times since 2011, and though services aren't quite as good as in the past, they're still pretty damn good. This is the third major Portofino refurb since my first stay in 2011. The last refurb, we came in during the final stage, and it wasn't bad. So, I'm hoping most everything is cleaned up by the time we are booked. I'm certainly looking forward to it. I'm surprising Alene, and told her we're booked into Cabana. Cabana is great for the price, but Portofino has a special place in our hearts. I surprised her with half the 2021 vacation at Portofino, while I told her we were moving from Cabana to Sapphire. Like always, tears welled up in her eyes as I drove into the resort....With this new refurb, and Epic, I'm afraid the Portofino price will again skyrocket. Though I can afford those real high prices, I refuse to pay those numbers for a hotel. So, at Disney I never stay at their high end resorts. Not worth the extra money. New Orleans is good enough for me onsite at WDW.

I completely agree - the Portofino prices will go up after this. And with where the rates are at for other premier hotels, it’ll be $600/night again in no time. I’ll be popping in for a quick HHN visit in October so I may check on the Portofino progress while I’m there.

 

[Mad Dog]

I completely agree - the Portofino prices will go up after this. And with where the rates are at for other premier hotels, it’ll be $600/night again in no time. I’ll be popping in for a quick HHN visit in October so I may check on the Portofino progress while I’m there.

If you do, post what you see here. Thanks in advance.

 

[RedButton]

@Mad Dog Scaffolding is hard to see unless you go looking for it. It’s not quite as done as I expected but it’s not super visible from the bay. I tried uploading some pics but they’re too large.

 

[Mad Dog]

@Mad Dog Scaffolding is hard to see unless you go looking for it. It’s not quite as done as I expected but it’s not super visible from the bay. I tried uploading some pics but they’re too large.

Thanks for the info, but regrettably I had to cancel the trip since I broke my Hip and Femur three weeks ago. I'm bummed since I figured it would be a sweet spot time with fairly low/moderate attendance, and we absolutely love Portofino. . I had immediate surgery, and I'm recuperating far above my doctor's expectations. Decades of playing soccer have left me with a strong lower body, which the surgeon said was critical in a hip/leg fractures operation and recovery that's considered a very dangerous, and often deadly, surgical procedure. I was walking without a cane by the seventh day after the operation, which the surgeon said is almost unheard of. But it'll be a few months until I'm back to normal. ...Once again, I thank you for your feedback....And, unfortunately we'll be missing the grand dinner that @Disneyhead & Liza were going to cook us.

 

[RedButton]

Sorry to hear that! Hope the recovery goes well!