PORTOFINO BAY HOTEL INFO...FAQ`s and more.......

[Toy Story Fan]

We just got back from Portofino Bay last night and while we were there, they were putting on the new doors to the club lounge. I snapped a quick photo before they blacked out the windows.

 

[kbelle8995]

We just got back from Portofino. Great service. We had a wonderful room overlooking the quiet Pool. My sister wants to go back. We went to Trattoria del Forno. And had two great meals. Just lovely. My only issue is that self parking is a bit tight.

Relaxing and so nice. Got to see the Opera Singer and he was fantastic.

 

[kkbookmom]

We returned Sunday evening from our trip to Florida. Spent the last 3 days at Portofino Bay. Our room was in the Villas section & overlooked the beach pool. We opted for club level (at the time I booked, it was our only option).

Random thoughts:
- Room was lovely. The beds were to die for.
- View was wonderful. Did get loud Saturday afternoon with music from the pool.
- It was quite the walk whenever we wanted to go anywhere - lobby, restaurants, boat to Universal, club lounge.
- We'd been to WDW prior to moving to Portofino & mask rules were more relaxed. That can be good or bad depending on your personal comfort level.
- Club lounge offerings were good. I have a dairy allergy so that was a challenge. Staff were great about it but seemed thrown by what to do. They did reach out to the chef each time I asked about ingredients or preparation. The evening beverage service was great. I'm pretty sure I had my share of Pinot Grigo.

We would definitely return.

Now I need to find out what kind of pillows they have. My husband wants them. Badly

 

[Bgriff]

Hi all,
I have a stay coming up at this hotel next week booked through Amex FHR. Does anyone happen to know what the "dinner for 2" amenity on FHR bookings at this hotel consists of? (e.g., is it only valid at certain restaurant(s), is is a set menu vs. just a general $ credit, etc.? Would be nice if it was just a $ credit though usually the Amex website would just say "$100 F&B credit" rather than "dinner for 2" if that were the case.) Just trying to plan out our meals accordingly. Thanks!

 

[chimo2u]

The club rooms are in all different wings and on all different floors. To be close to the club lounge, request the Villa wing.

Can you have views of the harbour in the villa wimg??

 

[wdwrule]

Can you have views of the harbour in the villa wimg??

Yes we ended up with a bay view villa room.

 

[bloomjes]

Wondering if anyone who has been recently and stayed club level can confirm if the original renovated lounge is back open or if it is still hosted in the ballrooms? Thank you!

 

[kkbookmom]

Wondering if anyone who has been recently and stayed club level can confirm if the original renovated lounge is back open or if it is still hosted in the ballrooms? Thank you!

Depending on what you mean by "recently" .... I can say as of 12/12/21 the club lounge was in the ballrooms.

Hopefully someone who has been more recently can help.

 

[jujubiee4]

Wow! I thought you had to book via FHR to get the benefits. Heck of a lot better price booking the APH rate instead of via FHR.

Did you ever get any clarification on this? I had a friend who booked through Universal and got the
perks but that was quite a while ago. I called Amex and they said you have to book through their portal.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Did you ever get any clarification on this? I had a friend who booked through Universal and got the
perks but that was quite a while ago. I called Amex and they said you have to book through their portal.

Alas I never pursued it. Booked through Amex instead.

 

[mickeymom22]

We stayed at Portofino Bay on 12/23/21. The resort was beautiful. We loved the boat service to the parks. We walked the path to the parks one time and it was lovely. Sal's had good pizza. The room had plenty of room. We are a family of five and made use of the roll away bed. We arrived early in the morning to check in. Here is where it gets annoying. We had done check-in online, but it seemed when we went to the check-in to get our express passes, it took forever because they literally had to input everything back into the computer. Our room wasn't ready so we headed to the parks. When we received the text that our room was ready, we headed back to the room. The text said we could use our express passes to open the door, but none of them worked. I texted we needed help getting in our room. We had all our luggage so we sat outside our door on the floor and waited about 15 minutes for someone to come. The gentleman that came was very nice and offered to go get new room keys for us. We took him up on his offer.

Overall, we had a nice stay. Check-in

 

[crazywig]

Stayed at PBH Dec 16-18th. Excellent stay as usual but want to mention that since our last cabana rental in 2019, the villa pool cabanas are now $100 while main pool is still $250.

We got the villa pool cabana for our check out day.

 

[cschaaf]

Our room wasn't ready so we headed to the parks. When we received the text that our room was ready, we headed back to the room. The text said we could use our express passes to open the door, but none of them worked.

We've learned this the hard way, too. Even if the text says we can use the keys they already issued, we still go back to the front desk before heading to the room.

 

[mickeymom22]

We've learned this the hard way, too. Even if the text says we can use the keys they already issued, we still go back to the front desk before heading to the room.

Yes, if we go again we will definitely go to the lobby first!

 

[iona]

Hi all,
I have a stay coming up at this hotel next week booked through Amex FHR. Does anyone happen to know what the "dinner for 2" amenity on FHR bookings at this hotel consists of? (e.g., is it only valid at certain restaurant(s), is is a set menu vs. just a general $ credit, etc.? Would be nice if it was just a $ credit though usually the Amex website would just say "$100 F&B credit" rather than "dinner for 2" if that were the case.) Just trying to plan out our meals accordingly. Thanks!

I hope you enjoyed your stay! Did you find out the answer to this? We’ve got an Amex FHR stay booked there in 2022 so any experiences you have to share would be really interesting. We know the hotel well but have never booked it through Amex before.

 

[iona]

Stayed at PBH Dec 16-18th. Excellent stay as usual but want to mention that since our last cabana rental in 2019, the villa pool cabanas are now $100 while main pool is still $250.

We got the villa pool cabana for our check out day.

I’m glad you had an excellent stay. I can’t picture the cabanas at the Villa Pool, could you let me know what they come with please (seating, etc). Also, is there any wait service? Thank you!

 

[hhoope01]

Try this: PBR Villa Pool Cabana

 

[crazywig]

I’m glad you had an excellent stay. I can’t picture the cabanas at the Villa Pool, could you let me know what they come with please (seating, etc). Also, is there any wait service? Thank you!

That link above is exactly what you get, 4 chairs and table, ceiling fan, large tv and 2 loungers. There is wait service, our waiter said the cabana came with 6 non-alcoholic drinks so that was new, but nothing else. Waiter always around, very attentive. You book the cabana at the main pool towel shack.

There are 6 cabanas right now (I swear there were more in summer) and they're close to the bathrooms/hot tub. Bathroom has lockers so perfect for having to change before flight. No showers.

 

[IzzyBella]

We’re here now and can confirm the renovated club lounge is open and beautiful! Not sure if we just got lucky but our room is in the same building so we walk by it coming and going to our room. So convenient!

 

[Wolfli]

We’re here now and can confirm the renovated club lounge is open and beautiful! Not sure if we just got lucky but our room is in the same building so we walk by it coming and going to our room. So convenient!

awesome! Could you post pictures if you get a chance ?