Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando


Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando is a resort hotel and spa located at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. Added as part of a major resort expansion of Universal Studios Florida in 1999, it was built along with Universal's Islands of Adventure and CityWalk to turn the single theme park into a multi-day, resort destination. The resort is touted as Universal Orlando's flagship resort and was the first hotel on Universal Orlando property. It was designed to offer the ambiance of an Italian seaside village with many of the guest rooms overlooking the resort's own lake, Portofino Bay. Loews Hotels is the owner and operator of this resort, as with Portofino Bay's sister resorts, Hard Rock Hotel and Loews Royal Pacific Resort.

Resort Details

History

Plans were revealed for the Portofino Bay Hotel by Loews and MCA on May 3, 1996 with a planned opening date of 1999. Described as being a new luxury 750-room resort recreating a Mediterranean fishing village, plans also called for over 65,000 square feet of meeting space in addition to a complete health spa. Construction for the resort began in 1997 and was completed by 1999. With the announcement of this property, it became a significant milestone in the multibillion-dollar growth program for Universal City Florida. The resort officially opened in September 1999.
Delfino Riviera, Portofino Bay's former upscale and flagship restaurant, opened with the hotel in 1999. It was located above the Harbor Piazza, overlooking the Bay. It was voted Orlando's best romantic restaurant by Scott Joseph of Orlando Sentinel in November 1999. In early 2004 the restaurant was closed for unknown reasons, only to be replaced by Italian chain restaurant BiCE on July 1 of that year.

Dining and shopping

Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando offers three full service restaurants, two quick service restaurants, a bakery, and two lounges. Shopping at the resort focuses on Universal parks merchandise, resort-specific specialty merchandise, convenience items, and authentic Italian products.

Recreation and Entertainment