Review of Portofino Beach Resort 4*

This a good place, not perfect, but you can tell they want to be. The cabanas are mostly great, there are AC units in each room, a nice hot shower and well sealed doors and windows so nothing crawls in. I stayed in lower mansion. The pool is beautiful and the ground keeping crew maintained it and the beach diligently every day. I loved the hammocks in every corner and the swings. I witnessed first hand the best qualities of some of the staff, the house keeper went above and beyond in helping with laundry, Lester from the front desk actually went in torrential rain to bring my golf cart back, Edward from security came in the middle of the night to walk with me when my golf cart stopped, and the boat captain carried my luggage to the airport. In my opinion excellent service even when the product is mediocre is what separates luxury from budget resorts and this place can definitely get there if they hire more people with this attitude. Reminds me of the level of service at the Grand Hyatt and Ritz. I loved that they provided complementary boat trips to and from the airport. Upon arrival a cooling towel and refreshing drink awaits you. The attitude of island dwellers is generally relaxed but that flies out the window if you arrive at the restaurant 15 mins before it closes… the whole F&B team needs major training. I won’t go into more details because I don’t want to get anyone fired but I think better training and management would make this a true 3 Star establishment. Right now it’s barely at 2. The things I didn’t like were the hours of the front desk, it closed at 10:30 and you couldn’t get a hold of anyone. I literally called the front desk 17 times over the period of 90 minutes and no one picked up. That’s a budget hotel trick, unworthy of what Portofino wants to be. Also no room service but the staff will do it if you ask. Lastly, don’t rent your golf cart from the guy at the dive shop on the dock. He is a total shister, I did a week rental and was promised a full tank daily but three days came and went and he didn’t refill it, I was stranded with a non functioning golf cart in the middle of the night in the wilds of San Pedro. He had the audacity to tell me it wasn’t his fault. There are tons of golf cart rentals up and down the road, they will all deliver it to Portofino, refill it every day and treat you like decent human beings (just make sure to ask the right questions so you are not surprised in case of emergency). Why is this part of the Portofino review? Because Portofino recommends them and houses them on their property, they should do a better job of evaluating their vendors. Overall my stay was enjoyable, with a few tweaks this place could be paradise.