Let me begin my review of our Universal stay (July 1-5) magnificent!! We checked in at the Portofino Bay Hotel around 2:00. The check-in line was very small, I think one person was in front of me, and were given our room keys in a matter of minutes. A very informative young man, who also showed us around a bit too, escorted us to our room. I loved our room, it was in the Villa building, attached to the main building (they also have East and West Guest rooms on both sides of the villa rooms) and had a huge bathroom with a separate stand-up, very elegant, shower as well as a oval shaped tub on the other side of the bathroom. The bathroom also had two sinks and a wonderful array of toiletries. The towels were monogrammed and oh so very soft! The bathroom itself was grand and worth the upgrade!! Our sleeping area had two oversized queen beds (theses beds were wonderfully comfy and had an assortment of pillow choices on each bed too), TV, chair, wet bar (locked, but they will give you the key) and a table with chairs. We also had a great view of the Harbor Piazza and boat dock.
The pool area was very nice and roomy, a quiet pool is also located near by and quiet nice too. I, along with my family, absolutely LOVED the Portofino Bay Hotel; I recommend it highly to anyone traveling to Orlando!
If my hotel review hasnt convinced you to stay at the Portofino then listen up! When you stay at a Universal hotel you receive FRONT OF THE LINE ACCESS all day/stay!!! This added benefit saved us so much time, we simply went to the FOTL entrance area at the attraction we were going to ride and almost every time walked on the ride (the longest we waited was about 13 minutes once or twice) it was grand!! If you are going to go to Universals parks you must stay on site!
I hope this helps you plan your trip to Universal. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.