Completely Disappointing Experience at Portofino

[connorlevismom]

Front desk

Assistant manager on duty

general manager, while Still
A guest

Ultimately, If not satisfied, take notes & contact Loews corporate. They have a great track record of being responsive


That’s been hit or miss for us for years. System obviously needs updated

Sadly, I did all of these and got no more than a "sorry, fill out the review after you check out". We spoke with the front desk, spoke with 2 managers while guests, filled out the survey after checking out AND contacted corporate when we got the canned email from our survey.

 

[patster734]

I'm so sorry that your stay was less than stellar, especially for the cost of those rooms. We stayed at RPR in November and never had one issue with anything. Not the trash, towels or bedding. When we needed to empty our trash, we would just put it outside of our door and by the time we returned in the afternoon it would be gone. I never saw trash bins overflowing or bags sitting out for long periods of time. Anytime we sent a text requesting something, we got a response immediately, and then shortly after their response there would be a knock at the door. I was so impressed with their service during this time that I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. Yes, I'm sure it's difficult during the time of COVID, however, based on our experience it can be done, and it can be done right.

That was also our experience at RPR. The TM handling text messages was always quick to reply, and services were delivered quickly. Probably explains why RPR is our favorite Universal hotel.

 

[cfoxga]

Personally, if I had to complain to someone other than the front desk, I would have given up and just put them on the "do not use again" list. I would rather focus on enjoying what was there (parks, CityWalk, etc), rather than spending my vacation time going up the chain. After the trip, I might consider social media like Trip Advisor, but that would be it.

I can say without hesitation that the staff was fantastic during our Nov 2019 stay at PBH, which made it our favorite theme park hotel. Every one we interacted with from the front desk to the baggage handler really seemed to take pride in the hotel. Even though our Animal Kingdom Lodge Club Suite at Disney was very nice, the "club level" was just not worth the expense and having to spend so much time on busses really hurt the experience.

For our Nov 2020 split stay at HRH/ESS, both hotels did a great job handling towel swaps and garbage collection via text. Always got quick responses. That is why I suggested above that PBH might be experiencing some growing pains as they re-open. Hopefully they get their act together soon, as we are booked for PBH in mid-Feb...

 

[keishashadow]

Sadly, I did all of these and got no more than a "sorry, fill out the review after you check out". We spoke with the front desk, spoke with 2 managers while guests, filled out the survey after checking out AND contacted corporate when we got the canned email from our survey.

Did they at least acknowledge the issues you encountered? no wonder you feel slighted

Just to be clear...You spoke to the below general
manager? Wondering if there has been a shift in management.

below is both Currently stated general mgr info & corporate contact info jik u want to Address/readdress your concerns to a new set of ears

 

[connorlevismom]

Did they at least acknowledge the issues you encountered? no wonder you feel slighted

Just to be clear...You spoke to the below general
manager? Wondering if there has been a shift in management.

below is both Currently stated general mgr info & corporate contact info jik u want to Address/readdress your concerns to a new set of ears

View attachment 548719


View attachment 548721

I did not contact this person - but I will. The manager my husband spoke with at the hotel literally said "sorry about all this, you will get a survey at the end of your stay and I encourage you to fill it out.". That was it.

 

[keishashadow]

I did not contact this person - but I will. The manager my husband spoke with at the hotel literally said "sorry about all this, you will get a survey at the end of your stay and I encourage you to fill it out.". That was it.

good luck

 

[connorlevismom]

Did they at least acknowledge the issues you encountered? no wonder you feel slighted

Just to be clear...You spoke to the below general
manager? Wondering if there has been a shift in management.

below is both Currently stated general mgr info & corporate contact info jik u want to Address/readdress your concerns to a new set of ears

View attachment 548719


View attachment 548721

I cannot message Diane in linked in without premium (which I do not have). I will try another way.

 

[connorlevismom]

Interestingly enough, I posted my review to their Facebook page and they responded with the following:

we always strive to provide our guests with a pleasant stay, so we’re terribly disappointed to learn that this wasn’t your experience during your visit. We hope you can accept our deepest apologies for the aspects of your stay that weren’t as wonderful as they should have been. We would like to assure you that the situations you’ve shared do reflect the superb service we’re known to provide to our guests. Please know that we value your feedback and your comments have been addressed by our management team. We hope that you will accept the resolution offered by our team, and allow us the opportunity to make it up to you in a future stay. Thank you once again for staying with us and for providing your feedback.


The interesting thing is that I have never been contacted by anyone at the hotel addressing my concerns or offering me a resolution. Like I said, the only thing we were told by a manager was to fill out the survey after our stay. So now they are responding by posting something completely false to make it look like have spoken to me, addressed the issue and offered me a resolution. I responded to their post stating this so that others can see that the hotel is putting out false information to make themselves look good.

 

[EveDallas]

You may be right but Im pretty sure it was changed to +300 in Aug (executive order) as far as I know and the state was meant to kick in another 100 (optionally) to make it 400.

That extra 300 only lasted a few weeks (maybe a month) before the money ran out.

 

[keishashadow]

I cannot message Diane in linked in without premium (which I do not have). I will try another way.

I had assumed you’d contact the hotel for her email

sounds like something may have fallen thru the cracks, frustrating but it happens

also sounds as though there is some sort of accommodation in your file. If me, I’d be Very curious as to what it is

suggest you again contact the hotel front desk. Ask to speak to manager on duty, then request the email for the general manager

don’t forget to come back & update

 

[macraven]

When I read their “resolutions” it’s like keisha said, check
your file.

Give us a heads up how it turned out since your complaint went to a higher level.

 

[connorlevismom]

I had assumed you’d contact the hotel for her email

sounds like something may have fallen thru the cracks, frustrating but it happens

also sounds as though there is some sort of accommodation in your file. If me, I’d be Very curious as to what it is

suggest you again contact the hotel front desk. Ask to speak to manager on duty, then request the email for the general manager

don’t forget to come back & update

Oh yes, I have contacted the hotel twice now for the contact information of the general manager. I actually contacted
UOPreferredDesk@loewshotels.com and they sent an email back right away asking which hotel manager I would like the information to. When I responded Portofino, I got nothing back. I again messaged for the contact info for the general manager for the Portofino and again, nothing. I will be calling Monday as this is getting to be ridiculous.

 

[connorlevismom]

When I read their “resolutions” it’s like keisha said, check
your file.

Give us a heads up how it turned out since your complaint went to a higher level.

I am planning on calling Monday to see what that is all about. I prefer email though as then I have something in writing. But they do not seem to want to give me the email information that I need.

 

[damo]

I am planning on calling Monday to see what that is all about. I prefer email though as then I have something in writing. But they do not seem to want to give me the email information that I need.

Did they delete your post on the Portofino Facebook page or did you post somewhere else? I couldn't find anything that resembled your situation and I'm very curious to see what they have to say for themselves.

 

[connorlevismom]

Did they delete your post on the Portofino Facebook page or did you post somewhere else? I couldn't find anything that resembled your situation and I'm very curious to see what they have to say for themselves.

I thought they did, but then I found it. If you look under their December 1st pinned post, it is there. They have nothing to say other than what I posted. I actually called today and spoke with a manger (Kayla) and she said they gave me $100.00 credit on my room. I said it was not on the portfolio that I get after check out and she said she would send it to me. Have not seen anything.

 

[crabbymom]

I thought they did, but then I found it. If you look under their December 1st pinned post, it is there. They have nothing to say other than what I posted. I actually called today and spoke with a manger (Kayla) and she said they gave me $100.00 credit on my room. I said it was not on the portfolio that I get after check out and she said she would send it to me. Have not seen anything.

Just as an FYI - I had an issue a while ago with RPR and the manager gave me a credit on my room. Since they had already run my credit card, they actually issued a refund to my card, but it took a week or two to reflect on my credit card account. Keep an eye out for that, they may have done it that way.

 

[keishashadow]

I thought they did, but then I found it. If you look under their December 1st pinned post, it is there. They have nothing to say other than what I posted. I actually called today and spoke with a manger (Kayla) and she said they gave me $100.00 credit on my room. I said it was not on the portfolio that I get after check out and she said she would send it to me. Have not seen anything.

I’d not expect them to discuss specific terms on FB.

IMO a $100 refund is far more appreciated than a credit on your next stay...which seems to be commonplace with many companies.

At least they have acknowledged your concerns. No idea if the compensation satisfies you. I realize, often, it’s not about the money, people just want to be heard. However, it was good to hear that they did reach out to you, even if you did have to be very persistent. File it under better late than never I suppose.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I’d not expect them to discuss specific terms on FB.

IMO a $100 refund is far more appreciated than a credit on your next stay...which seems to be commonplace with many companies.

At least they have acknowledged your concerns. No idea if the compensation satisfies you. I realize, often, it’s not about the money, people just want to be heard. However, it was good to hear that they did reach out to you, even if you did have to be very persistent. File it under better late than never I suppose.

They said they issued her a credit, but she said she didn't receive a $100 credit so far. Maybe it will show up in a couple weeks but from what I have reading the whole thing was not cool. What about all the time and endless work she had to do, did not make me want to ever go there, very sad. We have never been to PB and from that post won't anytime soon. For us if I paid that kind of money and was treated like that, I would be very upset, just no excuse.

 

[macraven]

I have credits issued back to my cc.

Sometimes it misses the cut off date but it all catches up for my cc eventually.

 

[keishashadow]

They said they issued her a credit, but she said she didn't receive a $100 credit so far. Maybe it will show up in a couple weeks but from what I have reading the whole thing was not cool. What about all the time and endless work she had to do, did not make me want to ever go there, very sad. We have never been to PB and from that post won't anytime soon. For us if I paid that kind of money and was treated like that, I would be very upset, just no excuse.

Credits to credit cards can take up to two billing cycles. Happens often with WDW hotel reservation cancellations.

The OP did complete the steps needed to speak to somebody with the authority to resolve her issues. Certainly not an ideal scenario always a good thing to handle while still at the property, even though it can take substantial time & effort while you are supposed to be ‘on’ vacation.

We’ve enjoyed the onsite properties for decades. As I stated earlier, have had a few (to me) major issues crop up both with Loews as well as other chains in Orlando & otherwise. All part of being frequent travelers...my thought the more you do travel, it increases the likelihood things will go south. Will say though, Loews has always owned it & come through for us.

Admit that we’d then usually start to book one of the other properties to shake things up until we got over ‘our mad’. Certainly, not about to let a rare incident keep me away from staying onsite at Universal.

Everyone’s tolerance level is different & so their personal experience. OP sharing her’s will likely be helpful to many who may find themselves in the same situation.