ufgator
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2004
- Messages
- 1,894
We stayed at Portofino Nov. 21-26, and our group included myself, DH, my mom and her 2 cocker spaniels. This was our first time staying at one of the Universal hotels. DH and I go to Disney a lot and we love it. We've been to both Universal parks but it's been at least 6 years.
We checked in Monday night, and they upgraded us to a bay view room (I signed up for the Loews First card before we left so that might be the reason? Plus it was pretty dead at the hotel then). We requested rooms that were close to each other and they gave us connecting rooms. Our rooms were 1178 and 1176 in the east wing on the first floor. The rooms are huge, especially the bathroom (like the double sinks). We had king beds in each room, which we requested. I like the tall ceilings in the rooms. We had a big balcony with rails that our 2 rooms shared, which was nice. Being on the first floor was really helpful with the dogs. Waiting in my mom's room were 2 bags of goodies for the dogs. The bags included place mats, a travel dog bowl, treats, etc. Very cute. The maps they gave us showed where we could walk the dogs, and the dog trails were nice and close to our rooms. There were other dogs in our hallway, and it was fun to see other dogs walking around. The man who helped us with our luggage was very nice and helpful. The lock on our door was broken and he sent someone to fix out. We had to wait awhile for it to be fixed and we were starving. But it was finally fixed after 9:30 pm and we rushed to go eat dinner.
We ate at Mamma Dellas. The restaurant has different rooms. I really like the decor and atmosphere. There were only 2 other parties there. A singer and 2 others playing instruments sang us a song we requested. The food was good. I had the gnocchi with eggplant and mushrooms in bolognese sauce. I forgot what DH had. My mom had chicken marsala, which she liked a lot. After dinner, we got some drinks at the Thirsty Fish and then went back to our rooms.
On Tues, DH and I went to the parks with some of his family who were staying in Orlando. We went to Universal Studios first. The park wasn't too crowded. FOTL was nice. You still have to wait for the rides at the park just because they're movies and not continuously running. We went to Shrek 4-D (it was cute), Twister (DH was impressed with how they did the tornado), Mummy (I was too chicken for it), Earthquake (good), Back to the Future (still don't like this ride), and Animal Planet Live (this was my pick because I love animals; it was cute). We ate at Mel's Diner. The food was awful. I had a grilled chicken sandwich, and DH had a burger.
After lunch we to Islands of Adventure. This was more crowded than the other park but not awful. We rode (I didn't ride the Hulk or Dragons or that tall tower that drops you; I've ride the Hulk before and that was enough) Hulk (some did this multiple times), Dragons, Spiderman (everyone liked this ride and some did it multiple times), tall tower that drops you, Jurassic Park, Flying Unicorns and Sinbad show. Ripsaw Falls was closed. We had fun on those rope walkways in the dinosaur area. We finished the parks about an hour before they closed. The park was go-go-go all the time. I wish there were some areas just to relax that were quiet. You couldn't take a break. I'm in my 20s so I'm not an old person saying this. I also thought the walkways for everyone were narrow and I don't think the park is able to handle large crowds very well. I think Disney is a little more organized in general. I think Universal appeals to older kids and teenagers.
For dinner we went to Emeril's in Citywalk. Service was great. I had the arctic char with celery puree and the arugula salad (both were good), my mom had salmon and a salad with mixed greens (she liked hers), and DH had some sort of meat. The boat that runs from the hotel to Citywalk is pretty and a nice ride.
On Wed, we went shopping and had dinner at Victoria and Albert's in Disney. I posted a review of the restaurant on the Disney restaurant board. On Thurs, we ate lunch at Sal's in Portofino. I had pizza, which was good, and DH and my mom had sandwiches. Then we went to family's house for the rest of the day and night.
On Fri, we went to the spa at Portofino. I did not have a good experience, but DH and my mom did. I did not think the spa was run very well, and I don't think it was very relaxing. I didn't like the atmosphere. There was a problem with my wrap and I didn't end up having it; I think the woman (I think she was in management) did not handle it well. I had a pedicure and it was not good. I think the spa wasn't as clean as it should be. The area where you have pedicures and hair done was not that clean, the furniture looked liked it was wearing down, and it was cramped and the chairs were not comfortable. I wish they had used new tools for each person or you could see where they cleaned them. DH enjoyed his massage and facial though. My mom enjoyed her massage and said the woman was really nice.
That night we ate at the Palm restaurant in Hard Rock. The walk to the hotel from Portofino is nice and pretty. We had 3 different servers and they were all really funny and nice. We were laughing the whole time. We all had 3 lb. lobsters (which were big for us; they also had 4 and 5 lbs. available) and DH also had meat (surf and turf). The lobsters were a overcooked. I liked how the sides were family style (Capital Grille does that). We had green beans, mashed potatoes and mushrooms for sides; they were all good. We were all completely stuffed after that.
Overall, I really liked the Portofino. All the employees were really friendly and helpful. It was nice to be able to stay in a nice hotel and take the dogs. The hotel was quiet (the only noisy part were the heavy doors when they closed) and clean and the rooms were huge and pretty. The turndown service at night was nice, and they left chocolates on the bed. There were so many pillows on the bed. The hotel itself is pretty. I would definitely stay at the hotel again. I didn't care for the parks too much, but I had fun and was glad I went. I just prefer Disney parks. The FOTL is definitely a nice perk.
Hope you enjoyed my review.
We checked in Monday night, and they upgraded us to a bay view room (I signed up for the Loews First card before we left so that might be the reason? Plus it was pretty dead at the hotel then). We requested rooms that were close to each other and they gave us connecting rooms. Our rooms were 1178 and 1176 in the east wing on the first floor. The rooms are huge, especially the bathroom (like the double sinks). We had king beds in each room, which we requested. I like the tall ceilings in the rooms. We had a big balcony with rails that our 2 rooms shared, which was nice. Being on the first floor was really helpful with the dogs. Waiting in my mom's room were 2 bags of goodies for the dogs. The bags included place mats, a travel dog bowl, treats, etc. Very cute. The maps they gave us showed where we could walk the dogs, and the dog trails were nice and close to our rooms. There were other dogs in our hallway, and it was fun to see other dogs walking around. The man who helped us with our luggage was very nice and helpful. The lock on our door was broken and he sent someone to fix out. We had to wait awhile for it to be fixed and we were starving. But it was finally fixed after 9:30 pm and we rushed to go eat dinner.
We ate at Mamma Dellas. The restaurant has different rooms. I really like the decor and atmosphere. There were only 2 other parties there. A singer and 2 others playing instruments sang us a song we requested. The food was good. I had the gnocchi with eggplant and mushrooms in bolognese sauce. I forgot what DH had. My mom had chicken marsala, which she liked a lot. After dinner, we got some drinks at the Thirsty Fish and then went back to our rooms.
On Tues, DH and I went to the parks with some of his family who were staying in Orlando. We went to Universal Studios first. The park wasn't too crowded. FOTL was nice. You still have to wait for the rides at the park just because they're movies and not continuously running. We went to Shrek 4-D (it was cute), Twister (DH was impressed with how they did the tornado), Mummy (I was too chicken for it), Earthquake (good), Back to the Future (still don't like this ride), and Animal Planet Live (this was my pick because I love animals; it was cute). We ate at Mel's Diner. The food was awful. I had a grilled chicken sandwich, and DH had a burger.
After lunch we to Islands of Adventure. This was more crowded than the other park but not awful. We rode (I didn't ride the Hulk or Dragons or that tall tower that drops you; I've ride the Hulk before and that was enough) Hulk (some did this multiple times), Dragons, Spiderman (everyone liked this ride and some did it multiple times), tall tower that drops you, Jurassic Park, Flying Unicorns and Sinbad show. Ripsaw Falls was closed. We had fun on those rope walkways in the dinosaur area. We finished the parks about an hour before they closed. The park was go-go-go all the time. I wish there were some areas just to relax that were quiet. You couldn't take a break. I'm in my 20s so I'm not an old person saying this. I also thought the walkways for everyone were narrow and I don't think the park is able to handle large crowds very well. I think Disney is a little more organized in general. I think Universal appeals to older kids and teenagers.
For dinner we went to Emeril's in Citywalk. Service was great. I had the arctic char with celery puree and the arugula salad (both were good), my mom had salmon and a salad with mixed greens (she liked hers), and DH had some sort of meat. The boat that runs from the hotel to Citywalk is pretty and a nice ride.
On Wed, we went shopping and had dinner at Victoria and Albert's in Disney. I posted a review of the restaurant on the Disney restaurant board. On Thurs, we ate lunch at Sal's in Portofino. I had pizza, which was good, and DH and my mom had sandwiches. Then we went to family's house for the rest of the day and night.
On Fri, we went to the spa at Portofino. I did not have a good experience, but DH and my mom did. I did not think the spa was run very well, and I don't think it was very relaxing. I didn't like the atmosphere. There was a problem with my wrap and I didn't end up having it; I think the woman (I think she was in management) did not handle it well. I had a pedicure and it was not good. I think the spa wasn't as clean as it should be. The area where you have pedicures and hair done was not that clean, the furniture looked liked it was wearing down, and it was cramped and the chairs were not comfortable. I wish they had used new tools for each person or you could see where they cleaned them. DH enjoyed his massage and facial though. My mom enjoyed her massage and said the woman was really nice.
That night we ate at the Palm restaurant in Hard Rock. The walk to the hotel from Portofino is nice and pretty. We had 3 different servers and they were all really funny and nice. We were laughing the whole time. We all had 3 lb. lobsters (which were big for us; they also had 4 and 5 lbs. available) and DH also had meat (surf and turf). The lobsters were a overcooked. I liked how the sides were family style (Capital Grille does that). We had green beans, mashed potatoes and mushrooms for sides; they were all good. We were all completely stuffed after that.
Overall, I really liked the Portofino. All the employees were really friendly and helpful. It was nice to be able to stay in a nice hotel and take the dogs. The hotel was quiet (the only noisy part were the heavy doors when they closed) and clean and the rooms were huge and pretty. The turndown service at night was nice, and they left chocolates on the bed. There were so many pillows on the bed. The hotel itself is pretty. I would definitely stay at the hotel again. I didn't care for the parks too much, but I had fun and was glad I went. I just prefer Disney parks. The FOTL is definitely a nice perk.
Hope you enjoyed my review.
