Belize Luxury Beach Resort, Portofino Beach Resort, San Pedro, Belize

1 | Britt Barrett said on July 11th, 2009 at 2:19 pm

The new site looks great guys! I’m sure you are happy to have it finished. We miss you all. Everytime I start to stress about life I close my eyes and imagine myself at Portofino with a ‘welcome Drink’ or ‘Red Fanta’ in my hand enjoying the sun, waves, beauty, and awesome staff & truly amazing owners. Awwww, now I can face another day knowing there is always a place I can go back to some day. I wish you all nothing but the best the world has to offer.

Love & Thanks Always,

Britt

2 | Jonathan Mullen said on July 11th, 2009 at 3:01 pm

Great to see all the new enhancements and love the new site. You were such great neighbors and have always treated my friends well too I’m told. Can’t wait to come up for dinner and see first hand soon all the enhancements. Gonna ask my friend David and his girlfriend to stay there when they come into town.

Thanks ……. I’m officially a Fan

3 | Marc and Linda Reinbold said on July 11th, 2009 at 3:28 pm

We have been to your beautiful resort twice, once as our 20th anniversay-finally-honeymoon and the next with our college kids and cousins. Can’t say enough of how wonderful the service and accomodations are. The food and drinks were awesome. Thank you for being like family and keeping in touch through the years. We look forward to seeing you in March 2010.

4 | Ernie Brannon said on July 15th, 2009 at 7:58 am

My favorite place to dine in San Pedro and visit with the wonderful people there. See you soon !

5 | Bill Calvin said on July 20th, 2009 at 11:51 am

I’ve been there 3 times now… Happy to hear about the new additions but please keep it the sexist place on Ambergris

6 | Sarah Turner said on August 8th, 2009 at 11:05 am

My husband and I stayed at Portofino for our honeymoon last August (2008), it was my dream honeymoon! I fell in love with Belize and Portofino, I think about it everyday since I left and cannot wait to return! The staff was fantastic!! and the food even better! I miss you Portofino and can’t wait to meet again!

Sarah and Mark Turner
Wisconsin

7 | Robb and Kirsten Hall said on August 10th, 2009 at 5:00 pm

My wife and I went to Belize and stayed at Portofino to celebrate selling a house. We were met at the airport and ferried by golf cart and by boat to the resort. The room they gave us was magnificent with what I think of was the best view of the ocean, (room 1). We ate fine cuisine meals there for breakfast lunch and dinner. We only ate in town I think after we had exhausted the menu at Portofino! The staff helped make all the arrangements for trips and where-ever we were on the property, they were always there to help or offer a drink. We were treated as family; we felt welcome, safe and secure. Portofino is a quiet place, away from the hustle and bustle of town, a perfect place for a romantic get away. Our stay helped strengthen our marriage and we hope to go back to Portofino soon.

8 | Robert and Laurie said on September 12th, 2009 at 3:51 pm

We just returned from our honeymoon and stayed at Portofino. Words can’t describe how wonderful it was there. The resort was beautiful and very clean. Our room was spacious and with a great view of the beach and ocean. We ate at the resort often and really enjoyed the food. Portofino is a great place to go and relax, it is just a boat ride from town if you are looking for some more nightlife. The best thing about Portofino is the people that work there. Rosalie was so personable and down to earth. She organized so many wonderful trips for us and took the time to get to know us. She is amazing. Bertha was also wonderful. I wanted to go to the spa and she wasn’t getting an answer on the phone so she sent someone over to book an appointment for me. Raphael was enjoyable to talk to and we even got the chance to hang out with him in town. He is really funny and personable. Then there is Orville who we spent the most time with. He is the other bar tender at Portofino. He is an excellent source of information and a genuinely nice person. He is great to sit at the bar and talk to. I had gotten some sunburn and he cut some aloe off a plant for me. He also remembered that I like to take a coke light to my room when we went up for the night, and one night I had forgotten to order it. He knocked on our door and delivered it to me! My husband and I can’t say enough good things about Portofino itself but especially the people we got to know staying there. Customer service is beyond 5 stars. We are already talking about going back and our friends saw our pics and want to come too. Portofino is a quiet place to be able to hang out but there is so many activities you can plan from there and has great snorkeling too.

9 | Forrest said on November 27th, 2009 at 4:18 pm

Thanksgiving greetings to Jan, Sondra, and the rest of the Portofino staff, including our gracious boat captain.
Many thanks for a superb Thanksgiving last night; the food, the service, the ambience, and the hospitality of all were totally wonderful and greatly appreciated.

Cheers to all! – Forrest

10 | Magaly Amores said on December 13th, 2009 at 10:34 pm

My husband and I had fun in Belize at Portofino. We were there from 12/5-12/12… amazing time. Thank you for the hospitality. You have a very good staff. Everyone there made it very enjoyable, BUT I have to say that Rafael, Marlene and Rachel were definitely GREAT! They always gave us great suggestions, especially on what to try and do in San Pedro. They were always sooo nice and fun to talk to! Please say hi to them! Our experience there was very nice and we will definitely go back!

11 | Magaly Amores said on December 13th, 2009 at 10:40 pm

And I forgot to say that your food is delicious!! The grouper is extremely tasty, as well as other dishes. My husband, Russ, and I had to have the dishes more than once during our stay. Thanks again!

12 | Darryl Metcalf said on March 7th, 2010 at 3:59 am

This is our first time to your lodge and we are trying to figure out what the evening attire is at the hotel restaurant and bar.

REPLY from Portofino Beach Resort:
Dear Darryl, thank you very much for your email.
Bertha, our Reservation Manager will be in touch with you and is more than happy for giving you all the information.
Warm Regards,
Sandra van Noord

13 | BILL AND SUSAN TICKHILL said on March 8th, 2010 at 3:34 pm

HIGHLY RECOMMENED, WE HAD THE BEST TIME STAYING WITH THE PORTOFINO FAMILY. SPECIAL HELLO TO THE GREAT STAFF, THEY DO AN AWESOME JOB MAKING YOU FEEL RIGHT AT HOME.

14 | Mary and Michael Moore said on March 30th, 2010 at 6:02 pm

Mike and I just posted this on TripAdvisor; however, we wanted to also leave our comments here for those that may not see it on TripAdvisor.

SIMPLY PARADISE . . . It felt like we were welcomed home after a long trip!

My husband, Mike, and I just celebrated our 25th Anniversary at the Portofino Beach Resort for eight glorious days and 7 nights. I am struggling to find words powerful enough to describe the outstanding time that we had at the Portofino. We spent quite a bit of time searching for a location to celebrate our marriage before we settled on the Portofino. We were looking for a place that was not too big but quaint (where we did not feel like one of 500 guests . . . but more of one of 50 guests); a place not directly in the middle of the “city/nightlife” but close enough if we wanted to go party; a place that was clean; a place that had terrific food; and lastly a place that had a good contacts with the local/reputable tour companies. We found all of that and SO MUCH MORE at the Portofino!

We are extremely glad that we took the very few negative comments about Portofino with a grain of salt and did not let that deter us from going there. In fact when we re-read some of the negative comments after our stay, we are not sure that we were staying at the same resort as they described!

What did we like best about the Portofino . . . well like I mentioned above, it met all of the criteria that we were looking for. The rooms were very clean; the beds comfortable; and the property immaculate. Every morning, the staff was out cleaning up any debris that may have floated in from the sea or leaves that fell off the trees. The pool was a wonderful place to swim or just relax. We had read in some previous reviews that some guests had a problem with the water system at the Portofino – that it contained brine. Over the last year, they have upgraded their water system and we had no issues with not feeling clean after we took our showers. I would recommend that regardless of where you stay – and I hope you choose the Portofino – that you get yourself a good leave-in conditioner as the salt water can be tough on your hair.

We ate in town several times BUT we ended up eating for the remainder of our stay at the Portofino Restaurant – you just couldn’t beat the quality and the prices in town. The food there is five star and in fact nightly you would find guests from other resorts coming to the Portofino for dinner. My husband caught a barracuda and they cooked it up for us Creole style – YUM!!

We would recommend that when you are in San Pedro to try Mangos Restaurant and have an ice cream at Manelly’s Ice Cream (right next to Fidos). Our favorite stores in town were “Ambar” (located in Fidos courtyard). She carried beautiful jewelry. We also really liked “Graniel’s Dreamland” (located on Middle Street) for beautiful carved wood. AND if you want an outstanding massage and/or facial try “Sol Spa” in San Pedro! The best facial that I have ever had.

Back to the Portofino – they helped us to arrange several adventures during our stay and we were extremely pleased with the reputable groups that they hooked us up with. We went to Barton Creek and the Xunantunich Mayan site. While this was an all day trip – it was really worth it to see Belize and meet the locals! We also took two snorkeling trips – one to Mexico Rocks and the other to Hol Chan. We were able to see more wildlife at Hol Chan. Mike took an all day fishing trip with someone that he met at Fidos and NOT through Portofino. He was disappointed. While the price was somewhat cheaper than through the group referred to through Portofino – the boat was very small; they were not able to go outside of the reef area; and no lunch was provided. Next time he will go through the group recommended by Portofino.

And last but not least, our stay was made even more memorable by the owners and staff of Portofino! It felt like we had known them all of our lives – it felt like family! They did everything that they could to ensure that our stay was comfortable, memorable and enjoyable. I want to specifically mentioned Sandra (she and her husband own the Portofino); Roselie and Bertha (who worked in the office and managed logistics and trips); Mo (the Portofino Boat Captain); Orville and Rafael (the Bartenders and story tellers extraordinaire); Karla, Rachael and Marleini (who worked in the restaurant); Bella (one of the Chefs) and Carlos (who did our “wake-up knock knocks” so we didn’t miss our trips).

I think how a resort handles an “emergency” situation says a lot. While we were there, the ENTIRE COUNTRY OF BELIZE had a power outage! They ensured that all guests were present and accounted for; they had backup generators up and running in now time; there were a couple of rooms where the lights didn’t come on right away with the generator so they supplied candles and hurricane lamps. We were very, very impressed with how they handled this situation. We enjoyed some quiet time by candle light for about an hour until the power was restored.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH PORTOFINO for being a part of our 25th Anniversary. We will be back and miss you all already!

15 | Nicole and Jameson Schroeder said on June 2nd, 2010 at 11:39 am

My husband and I just spent our belated honeymoon at Portofino, (late May 2010) and it was the most romantic, beautiful place either of us have ever been. The staff was truly amazing and really make you feel like you’re someone special. We can’t wait to go back and visit. We left feeling like we really made some lifelong friends, even just amongst the staff. Thank you Portofino staff for making our first vacation so wonderful and we can’t wait to visit you again!

Love,

Nicole and Jameson