Portofino Bay-Better than Disney Deluxes or same?

[DreaminofDisney06]

TIA

 

[Princess Mommy]

Hard to say, I have stayed in 4 Disney Deluxes and the Portofino-
they are a differnt feel... I loved them all

 

[lookingforward]

Equally as good but in a totally different way. The POrtofino Bay hotel is spread out and very quiet. It is more a deluxe hotel than a theme (except for the lovely dock area. The rooms are huge at the Portofino Bay hotel, bigger in my memory than the GF, Poly, AKL, Yacht Club and Contemporary. You will love either!

 

[jim and meesie]

Personally I like Portofino better, they seem to have always upgraded me and the rooms are bigger to start with. The beds were more comfy too! That said I am going to the Hard Rock Hotel in February and the Beach Club Villas in March for a change of pace!

 

[johnvree]

We stayed at the Portofino this past August. Compared to the Poly and Swan, I have to say I give the edge to the Portofino. The rooms are a little bigger and more luxurious.

 

[bellelinus]

I have stayed at all the Disney deluxe hotels except for Yacht and Boardwalk Inn, and thought Portofino beat them all in terms of luxury. As others have mentioned, the rooms are much bigger. The bathrooms are huge! I was really impressed with Portofino, and hope I won't be disappointed that we have chosen Hard Rock for our trip this summer.

 

[webray]

We have stayed in all the disney deluxes and Portofino Bay blows the disney resorts out of the water, easily.

The rooms and ammenities are much nicer. Wonderful comfy beds, beautiful linens. The large bathrooms and wonderful showers. Fresh flowers in the bathroom counters.

None of the disney deluxe resorts come close to being as nice as Portofino Bay.

The disney deluxe resorts, some of them not all...are almost as nice as Universal Royal Pacific resort...that would be a closer comparison. Royal pacific and disney deluxe resorts, but RPR is still a step above them.

 

[Colorado DISers]

After reading this post, I'm so glad that we choose PBH as our Universal hotel.

 

[Lives4Disney]

After reading this post, I'm so glad that we choose PBH as our Universal hotel.

Me Too!!!

This March will be our first Universal stay. We have been to WDW too many times to count and never cared to try UO until now. We have stayed in all the WDW deluxes concierge and are looking forward to PBH.

Happy planning!

Lives4Disney

 

[BAST]

We have stayed at all the WDW deluxe resorts except Wilderness Lodge and have stayed at the Portofino.

The rooms at Portofino are slightly bigger and the bathrooms are also bigger. Overall, PBH was a really nice resort. However, the one BIG difference is that PBH has NO balconies. Since we love balconies, I prefer the WDW resorts. There is nothing better than sitting out at night looking over the Boardwalk or MK while the kids go to sleep.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

We have stayed at all the WDW deluxe resorts except Wilderness Lodge and have stayed at the Portofino.

The rooms at Portofino are slightly bigger and the bathrooms are also bigger. Overall, PBH was a really nice resort. However, the one BIG difference is that PBH has NO balconies. Since we love balconies, I prefer the WDW resorts. There is nothing better than sitting out at night looking over the Boardwalk or MK while the kids go to sleep.

Actually, Portofino Bay is the only onsite that DOES have balconies, as well as patios. Not every room has them and you do have to request one.

 

[barb2626]

We just returned from Portofino. We stayed for three nights in a deluxe club room, two queens and a pull-out sofa. Room #2676, which did have a big balcony overlooking the Villa Pool! I had requested a room with a balcony and was very lucky to get it.

BTW, we thought Portofino's club offerings were nicer than Disney's Polynesian (which we stayed at during this trip as well). We thought Polynesian concierge was great but Portofino was better than great! We are a family of 5 and it was well worth the extra cost for us to stay club level.

 

[antmaril]

Last month we stayed three nights at BWI and two nights at Portofino Bay. Don't get me wrong, we love the Boardwalk Inn -- we've stayed there before and we will stay there again. That said, in terms of the rooms there is no comparison - Portofino Bay wins, hands down. We had a deluxe queen at Portofino Bay (we've stayed there three times before) and it was really lovely. The bathroom is incredible. Disney Deluxe rooms (at least the ones I have experienced) have very basic bathrooms. Our room at the BWI was about 360 square feet. Our Portofino Room was just under 500 square feet - big difference. I paid $284 a night at BWI and $227 at PBH.

In terms of atmosphere, I would say they are a tie. I love them both, but when you are talking strictly about the rooms, Portofino Bay is the clear winner IMHO.

 

[RUDisney]

The large bathrooms and wonderful showers.

Can you elaborate on the showers? Are the regular type showers, or the ones that hit you from all over?

Are there bathrobes and slippers in every room, or only in some?

At what level room do you need to be to hope for a balcony? My DH usuallly takes care of his customers early in the morning, or late in the afternoon from our balcony. The kids nor I want to hear business talk on our vacation... but my DH must do some things while we're away. If we must, we'll banish him from the room to talk.

 

[Motherfletcher]

There are a lot of things to consider when comparing hotel rooms. A number of concerns that have been expressed on this board:
Cost
State of repair
Location (how long does it take to get to the parks)
Room size (PBH 460 s.f., HRH 375 s.f., RPR 335 s.f., Poly 391 s.f., WL 340 s.f., AKL 340 s.f.)
Architecture
Décor
Cleanliness
Livability (I’ve stayed at a hotel in Orlando that you couldn’t open the closet unless you shut the bathroom door.)
Room quality
Quietness of room
Theme
Check-in efficiency
View
Dining
Size of your party
Amenities/Recreation
Nightlife
Spa services
Fitness Center
Shuttle service
Self parking
Childcare
Pool facilities
Balcony (9% of PBH rooms have balconies)
Distance to guest rooms
Pet friendly
Lounge
The number one reason to stay at Universal Resorts is FOTL!