We just returned from our three week Florida vacation (Ft. Lauderdale, Universal and Disney) and I'm so depressed!!
It was our first time staying onsite at Universal and it was well worth it. We were at Portofino Bay Hotel from 8/6 through 8/10 in a Portofino Suite. It was incredible, to say the least. The suite was in the West Wing, ground floor, facing the "bay". The view was absolutely breathtaking and the location was perfect...right in front of the boat dock. Boat transportation was terrific and the walk to HRH for our cabana day was quite easy.
There were 5 of us in the room and the only complaint was the pull out in the living room area...they ended up just putting the mattress on the floor. My daughter has now proclaimed this her very favorite hotel in the world (surpassing all the deluxes at Disney). I would have a hard time disagreeing with her.
Front of the line access and priority seating was well worth any additional price we paid for staying onsite. Dining was mostly good. We ate at Margaritaville (always great), Trattoria del Porto (breakfast outside by the bay..very, very good), Bubba Gumps (a big disappointment), Mama Della's (just OK, but the entertainment was terrific), Hard Rock Cafe (can't really go wrong here), HRH for breakfast (the best breakfast buffet of the entire three weeks), Croissant Moon Bakery (a great quick breakfast choice), Fire Eater's Grill (wonderful gyros) and the kids ate at Mythos (food was good, atmosphere incredible!). We also saw Blue Man Group which was pretty lame. None of us could wait until it was over.
Anyway, it was a great stay and we can't wait to return. Would be happy to answer any questions.
It was our first time staying onsite at Universal and it was well worth it. We were at Portofino Bay Hotel from 8/6 through 8/10 in a Portofino Suite. It was incredible, to say the least. The suite was in the West Wing, ground floor, facing the "bay". The view was absolutely breathtaking and the location was perfect...right in front of the boat dock. Boat transportation was terrific and the walk to HRH for our cabana day was quite easy.
There were 5 of us in the room and the only complaint was the pull out in the living room area...they ended up just putting the mattress on the floor. My daughter has now proclaimed this her very favorite hotel in the world (surpassing all the deluxes at Disney). I would have a hard time disagreeing with her.
Front of the line access and priority seating was well worth any additional price we paid for staying onsite. Dining was mostly good. We ate at Margaritaville (always great), Trattoria del Porto (breakfast outside by the bay..very, very good), Bubba Gumps (a big disappointment), Mama Della's (just OK, but the entertainment was terrific), Hard Rock Cafe (can't really go wrong here), HRH for breakfast (the best breakfast buffet of the entire three weeks), Croissant Moon Bakery (a great quick breakfast choice), Fire Eater's Grill (wonderful gyros) and the kids ate at Mythos (food was good, atmosphere incredible!). We also saw Blue Man Group which was pretty lame. None of us could wait until it was over.
Anyway, it was a great stay and we can't wait to return. Would be happy to answer any questions.
