We just returned from our visit to Universal Orlando. This entry will be specific to our resort stay at Portofino Bay Resort and the perks of staying there.
We stayed in a preferred club level 2 queen room.
We stayed in a preferred club level 2 queen room.
Upon arrival we were greeted by the very friendly staff, given all our resort information, and a card for our room and a separate card for the club lounge. Because I purchased park tickets separately, I had to go to a kiosk to print them. So that is 3 separate cards/tickets to keep up with (more on this below*).
When we got to the club level only snacks like bags of chips were being served along with bottled drinks and lemonade and fruity water. We caught them between services, so it was what it was.
Our room wasn't ready when we got there and it was almost 4PM. They said they would text us when our room was ready and we could go on and use our key they gave us. We checked our bags and decided to head to City walk because we were starving. Upon return, a simple call to the baggage area had them deliver all our bag to our room.
Overall the resort and the room were very nice, quite beautiful, in fact. The resort main areas were lovely and well-themed, especially the outside areas. However, the guest areas, hallways and rooms, could certainly use a bit of freshening up. Just little things like the carpet was bunched up in the hallways on several floors and on our hall it appeared that a leak was coming from the stairway as a section of carpet was always wet stained in from of the stairway door. (yuck)
Our room was clean and well stocked with towels and we had a nightly turn down, no complaints, but nothing over the top or WOW factor. (no chocolate on the pillows though, was kind of a let down, but we are Disney spoiled, so that is our barometer of service and expectation level)
That is all for the room review. Now onto the resort itself.
When we got to the club level only snacks like bags of chips were being served along with bottled drinks and lemonade and fruity water. We caught them between services, so it was what it was.
Our room wasn't ready when we got there and it was almost 4PM. They said they would text us when our room was ready and we could go on and use our key they gave us. We checked our bags and decided to head to City walk because we were starving. Upon return, a simple call to the baggage area had them deliver all our bag to our room.
Overall the resort and the room were very nice, quite beautiful, in fact. The resort main areas were lovely and well-themed, especially the outside areas. However, the guest areas, hallways and rooms, could certainly use a bit of freshening up. Just little things like the carpet was bunched up in the hallways on several floors and on our hall it appeared that a leak was coming from the stairway as a section of carpet was always wet stained in from of the stairway door. (yuck)
Our room was clean and well stocked with towels and we had a nightly turn down, no complaints, but nothing over the top or WOW factor. (no chocolate on the pillows though, was kind of a let down, but we are Disney spoiled, so that is our barometer of service and expectation level)
That is all for the room review. Now onto the resort itself.
The absolute BEST thing about this resort was the park perks that come with it. The early park entry is one, but we were too lazy to take advantage of that one. BUT the absolute BEST was the UNLIMITED UNIVERSAL EXPRESS PASS. This is a must and I can't imagine going to Universal or Island of Adventure without it. Almost all rides, including the Harry Potter area rides, are included. What this is is a 'fastpass' like Disney's EXCEPT it is indeed better because it is UNLIMITED. No need to book in advance. You just get in the universal express pass designated line, as many times as you want, and ride the ride. Now, having said that, some rides are better suited for this than others. Slow loading rides and rider swap (for families with young children) can slow down even the express pass line, but overall it is a great and effective way to ride every single ride and some more than a few times.
*One thing I do have to point out, as a Disney spoiled brat, is the ticket thing. You pretty much have to have a lanyard. You obviously have to have your paper park tickets AND because you are Unlimited Express Pass holders, you also need your plastic room card. Let me be clear...EVERYONE, including your children, MUST BRING THEIR ROOM KEY TO THE PARKS in order to use the Unlimited Express Pass(UEP). We somehow missed that tidbit and on our first day, our daughter didn't have hers, because, well, why does a child need her room key at a park except for losing it purposes, but she DID INDEED need it to prove we were staying at a resort that provided the UEP. The staff was confused as to what we had to do to get her a pass. Some thought we had to go all the way back to our resort, but fortunately another pointed us to guest relations INSIDE the front section of the park. We went in there, they used my card to pull up hers and printed a paper copy for her to use that day. Yes, another thing to keep up with. I couldn't love and appreciate Disney's Magic Bands more than I did while constantly having to pull out and show park tickets (in order to go from park to park) and resort keys (to do UEP). The more you have to pull that stuff out, the more likely you are to lose it. Experience talking here. For the love of all things holy, PLEASE Universal, GO DIGITAL. The ticket thing is a pain in the @#%. And FYI-- that plastic club level lounge card they give you is needed every time you enter the lounge, so you have to have it with you too. GO D-I-G-I-T-A-L PLEASE!!!
At the resort, we used the boat transportation to and from the parks/City Walk. It was fairly quick, very easy, and a nice relaxing way to travel. The only times we didn't take the boat, was our first morning, we decided we had energy to walk to the parks. The second was after leaving the Blue Man Group show, we came out to a torrential downpour with lightening in the area and boats were not running, so walking back was our only option. It was only lightly sprinkling by then and besides being tired, was really a nice walk. The well-lit winding tree covered pathways are worth taking at least once if not more.
The club level lounge was nice. If you are comparing it to Disney (for us the Yatch Club) then you might be slightly less impressed, but generally it is very nice with plenty of choices. We visited for breakfast every morning and it was a nice way to start the day. A variety of muffins, scrabbled eggs, pastries, sausage or bacon, potatoes, coffee, juice, etc. It was also nice to be able to take what you wanted with you. Bottles of water were great to bring to the parks.
We seemed to be gone during most serving hours, except for one night when we made dinner. They served a pork roast that was really good and always had a salad of some sort. Cheese trays and fruits were also plentiful.
I only managed to snap photos from the dessert layout.
*One thing I do have to point out, as a Disney spoiled brat, is the ticket thing. You pretty much have to have a lanyard. You obviously have to have your paper park tickets AND because you are Unlimited Express Pass holders, you also need your plastic room card. Let me be clear...EVERYONE, including your children, MUST BRING THEIR ROOM KEY TO THE PARKS in order to use the Unlimited Express Pass(UEP). We somehow missed that tidbit and on our first day, our daughter didn't have hers, because, well, why does a child need her room key at a park except for losing it purposes, but she DID INDEED need it to prove we were staying at a resort that provided the UEP. The staff was confused as to what we had to do to get her a pass. Some thought we had to go all the way back to our resort, but fortunately another pointed us to guest relations INSIDE the front section of the park. We went in there, they used my card to pull up hers and printed a paper copy for her to use that day. Yes, another thing to keep up with. I couldn't love and appreciate Disney's Magic Bands more than I did while constantly having to pull out and show park tickets (in order to go from park to park) and resort keys (to do UEP). The more you have to pull that stuff out, the more likely you are to lose it. Experience talking here. For the love of all things holy, PLEASE Universal, GO DIGITAL. The ticket thing is a pain in the @#%. And FYI-- that plastic club level lounge card they give you is needed every time you enter the lounge, so you have to have it with you too. GO D-I-G-I-T-A-L PLEASE!!!
At the resort, we used the boat transportation to and from the parks/City Walk. It was fairly quick, very easy, and a nice relaxing way to travel. The only times we didn't take the boat, was our first morning, we decided we had energy to walk to the parks. The second was after leaving the Blue Man Group show, we came out to a torrential downpour with lightening in the area and boats were not running, so walking back was our only option. It was only lightly sprinkling by then and besides being tired, was really a nice walk. The well-lit winding tree covered pathways are worth taking at least once if not more.
The club level lounge was nice. If you are comparing it to Disney (for us the Yatch Club) then you might be slightly less impressed, but generally it is very nice with plenty of choices. We visited for breakfast every morning and it was a nice way to start the day. A variety of muffins, scrabbled eggs, pastries, sausage or bacon, potatoes, coffee, juice, etc. It was also nice to be able to take what you wanted with you. Bottles of water were great to bring to the parks.
We seemed to be gone during most serving hours, except for one night when we made dinner. They served a pork roast that was really good and always had a salad of some sort. Cheese trays and fruits were also plentiful.
I only managed to snap photos from the dessert layout.
The pool, and we only visited the main, large pool, was VERY nice. They had activities for kids starting around noon until late afternoon. A lot of fun. BUT what I really was most impressed by was the lifeguard staff. I have never seen such attentive lifeguards. I spoke with a woman named Susie that shared very good information regarding the seriousness of their job and their procedures. Every lifeguard I saw was alert and literally scanning the pool in a systematic way. I always watch my child in pools, but it’s nice and reassuring to know how seriously they are taking the job. Good job to the staff!!
Susie was a wealth of information. She also shared with me other good-to-know extras associated with Lowes Resorts. All Lowe's Property Resort Guests in Universal Orlando, can resort hop, with complimentary Town Car service, from their resort. You can go to the concierge at your resort and request a complimentary car to take you to any of the Lowes properties. Upon arrival, check in by presenting your room key card and get access to their pools and amenities.
Unfortunately, we did not have time to sample the restaurants at our resort. I do know folks that have and they say they are delicious. We just didn't have time or were too tired or had just grabbed something in the parks, OR at the club lounge. If you are a foodie, the restaurants here have certainly been recommended by plenty of other guests.
That about sums up our stay at Portofino Bay. I would stay here again, but I think our next visit we will try another deluxe resort like Hard Rock.
Unfortunately, we did not have time to sample the restaurants at our resort. I do know folks that have and they say they are delicious. We just didn't have time or were too tired or had just grabbed something in the parks, OR at the club lounge. If you are a foodie, the restaurants here have certainly been recommended by plenty of other guests.
That about sums up our stay at Portofino Bay. I would stay here again, but I think our next visit we will try another deluxe resort like Hard Rock.
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