Portofino Beach Resort Belize — Hotel in North Ambergris Caye

Portofino Resort Review|We had a great vacation in Mexico and Belize this past winter. In Belize we stayed on the island of Ambergris Caye in two different resorts. We had been here several times before always staying at Sapphire Beach Resort so we thought we would try a different place for several days and then go to Sapphire the last week. |Portofino Beach Resort is a beautiful little boutique resort with a fabulous restaurant and gorgeous pool overlooking the sea. The staff are all amazing and the grounds are a lush tropical paradise. |Unfortunately the room we rented, “Lower Mansion, was a disappointment. It was a great size with a kitchen, dining area, living room, large bathroom, nice size bedroom and a large covered deck (the separate rental “Upper Mansion” is above). |When you first walk into our unit you see this large great space but it’s very dark with poor lighting in every room (Some light bulbs were burned out). |The bedroom had a king size bed but good gosh it was by far the worst bed I have ever slept on in my life. I’m sure the mattress was 50 years old or more. It looked inviting but when you lie down on it the springs are completely broken and worn and the bed is a lumpy bumpy blob. It was impossible to get comfortable because you either roll into a groove or to the edge of the bed. I was so sore at the end of our stay I was ready to try sleeping on the floor. And sweat….i never sweat in bed when I sleep but I sure did here. I have no idea what they tried covering the mattress with but it was not breathable. This was by far our biggest complaint and honestly we’ve travelled extensively and not one other bed we have slept on comes close to how bad this one was. |The kitchen was a plus and we try to always rent a place that has one. Mostly just for breakfast as we like to relax in the mornings, enjoy a coffee on the porch and then grab a little breakfast. We therefore need some kind of a fridge. I had called before booking to confirm there was a full size fridge with freezer and fully stocked kitchen. They said yes it is completely stocked but there isn’t a stove or oven only a hot plate with two burners to cook on. That’s fine as we would probably only use it for eggs, oatmeal and to boil water. Once again we were disappointed as there were little or no dishes or utensils. We made Several trips to the bar and restaurant asking for items only to have the cleaning crew remove them every morning. We finally got smart and hid items in the bedroom dresser drawer. |Also the fridge ended up only being a mini bar fridge which was also fine but barely worked. We had staff in several times to look at it but we couldn’t use the freezer and the fridge barely kept anything cold. We limited our items to stuff that wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t too cold. They told us that it may need freon but they didnt add any during our stay. I didn’t think freon was used in fridges anymore….|Washing dishes was another creative challenge as there wasn’t a plug for the sink to wash them. There was dish soap but no plug. During one of our trips to the restaurant we asked for a bowl and that bowl was used for doing dishes in, a fruit bowl, popcorn/chips bowl, mixing bowl, salad bowl, and any other thing we needed a bowl for. |Air conditioning or the dry setting or fan is a must in Belize or you may literally die. There was an air conditioner in the bedroom which worked perfect and one in the living room area that should have been sufficient to cool the remaining portion of the unit. Now, we don’t like air conditioners on high. In fact we can usually run them low on the dry setting and that’s good for us. Two days into our stay the living room unit started squealing loud and we had to shut it off completely. We had the staff in several times to look at it/repair it but to no avail. They told us they may need to get a new one but they didn’t during our stay. During the day we cranked up the cool air setting on the bedroom unit, kept the bedroom door open and turned on all the ceiling fans to keep the main living area liveable. |Overall we really did like the main area of the resort. As stated the restaurant served great food and the staff were fantastic and very accommodating. They even helped my husband and I organize a surprise dinner with friends of ours that live on the island. It was a lot of fun and a perfect location for an evening with great friends. Comfortable and amazing views from either upper or lower levels. |The pool is so beautiful and during previous stays we have spent a few hours enjoying lunch and drinks around the pool with friends. It is perfect. |The grounds are well kept and the whole place is gorgeous and inviting. I cannot speak for any of the other rooms as we didn’t see them but I did hear from one other couple they had issues with one of the smaller units and had to move to the one above us. |If the owners would update the unit(s) I would say the resort is as close to perfection as you can get. If they don’t, the expensive cost per night for the old sweaty lumpy bed is enough to keep me...

I just want to say I now Belize why people come back to Belize. This vacation was literally two years in the making. We were originally supposed to take this trip two weeks after the World shut down for COVID-19. Not only did Portofino hold up to their end of the bargain with 2 years to travel, but they made our dreams come true. We purchased the all inclusive 5 days, 4 nights with 2 adventure activities. I have not felt this relaxed in years, like 8 years to be exact. Below are the details of why I will send all my friends to Portofino if they travel to Belize.

Staff: all the staff were extremely friendly, provided great advice and left me wanting for nothing. Orlene always greeted us with a smile and had a back up plan of there was anything that went wrong. Ivan is the most entertaining and exceptional being I’ve encountered. From drink recommendations to local history to jokes and meal service. Food: this tiny resort is putting out 5 star cuisine in a tiny kitchen that had my mouth watering at every meal. Steven you’re amazing! From almond crusted snapper, to creole lobster, baby back ribs, and smoked habanero sausage it all tasted delicious. We started off our morning with fresh Belizean coffee, fresh fruit, and veggie, cheddar omelette and fry jacks accompanied by a bit of heat with the habanero sausage. Lunch was juicy jalapeño cheddar burger or blackened snapper on a sesame Hawaiian bun and fresh watermelon. The list goes on with available options. Dinner is a three course meal with sautéed spinach, chicken, mango and sliced almonds in a light vinaigrette. The main included lobster creole with roasted peppers, tomatoes, and garlic over coconut rice. For dessert I was tantalized by bananas foster (sautéed bananas with coconut rum, cinnamon) over homemade vanilla ice cream. Not to mention the unlimited local drinks during your stay. I loved rum before, but now I appreciate it even more and the local +501 and Belikin beers are amazing. The activities: arranged by the resort after you select what you’d like. We chose snorkeling at Hol Chan and Sting Ray Alley. The most breathtaking views of all species of fish and the coral reef. Our guide Chocolatè was phenomenal. He made sure we saw everything we asked for, including an enormous pool of nurse sharks and sting rays. The tour to Xunantunich of the Mayan ruins was unBelizeable! Even though there was a brief thunderstorm our tour guide aka Jack Sparrow was extremely knowledgeable about literally everything. I feel like I’m one with nature again. The last stop for tubing was breathtaking. I felt humbled by the enormous stone formations in the caves and the crystal clear river. Victor you get an A+ for your skills and helping us get back on time for our taxi back to San Pedro. All couldn’t be done without Amigos Del Mar salvaging our tour (we were in a time crunch and tourism has slowed down so we didn’t have a group. They go out no matter what and made our excursion happen VIP style. Antony on the boat and Joe behind the wheel for car transportation. We appreciate you!) Experience: this vacation helped us press the reset button and experience so many things for the first time! We feel relaxed and recharged ready to conquer the rest of the year. Accommodations: this quaint resort was perfect in the age of Covid. At max capacity it only hold 30 people. Everyone knew our name, face and story. They catered to us reconnecting, unwinding, eating, drinking and laughing. Our room literally walked right out to the beach and ocean. We watched the sun set from hammocks on our porch and in the water. We enjoyed morning workouts on the dock. They made our beds, brought fresh towels, water and local soaps, shampoo, and conditioner daily. Everything is fresh and recycled making it very green/environmentally friendly. Thank you Portofino I can’t wait to tell all my friends about you. La isla bonita! A perfect...

Just wanted to drop a line about this place, this was our 1st time in Belize, we were celebrating my wifes birthday for the trip. Our 1st few days were not great it wasnt the resorts fault at all, the wind was blowing so hard, the sargassam had blown in, it looked like a big greenish/brown carpet on the beach and ocean, the guys were working extremly hard to get it picked up but its a losing battle until the wind changes. Then I believe its was Monday evening the power went out, again nothing the resort could do, they do have a generator but it will not support the AC units, just the lights and fans, we opened the windows and Ms. P brought us a stand fan and for us it was perfect, so no complaints. Aaron the GM came by the next day and gave us a bottle of wine for our troubles it was appreciated but not expected or needed. We met Sandra and Jan a few times (the owners) really nice people. Our bartender was Mark another extremly talented person and very nice, Wednesday was my wifes bithday and they setup a table out on the beach and had it decorated up really nice and at the end of the meal they brought her an entire chocalate cake everything was perfect for that evening.||Now we make it to the restaurant, Ivan took care of us all week,with Kevin, Oz and Jason filling in thoughout the week, my wife is not a big seafood fan and they made suggestions to sub out the protien for her so all was good. I wish the menu was a bit more expansive but everything was top notch and tasted great, but after a week it did start to get old. ||The drinks I thought needed more kick, then again maybe that was a good thing, we are not huge drinkers, the 1st part of the week is when we drink a lot and come about Wednesday/Thursday our livers are not having anymore of it, Ivan to the rescue, he suggested Rose tea (a brand, not a flovor) so every morning and evening he would a have a pot boiled up and we drank that, they know how to make a good strong tea.||The room, we were in Cabana 4 its a nice little room has everything we needed and was able to sleep quite well, its very quiet on the resort so that was perfect for us.||We went to Secret Beach, Mistico to be exact, our cart rental sucked pretty bad but we made do, everytime I would let off the gas, the engine died and then backfired sounded like we were popping off a few rounds it was pretty funny. Wednesday, we got another cart from a different place and it ran perfect, we went into San Pedro, for a little shopping and to eat at Elvi's, parking is a nightmare and the traffic OMG!!! so many carts, Elvi's was awesome, I had Pibil tacos (outstanding) and the wife had chicken and rice both were great.||I know I forgot some name of some of the employees for that I'm sorry, every person we met, they beyond friendly and want to make your stay as perfect as possible. We saw Aaron walking around doing GM duties thoughout the day, everbody was busy and always had a smile. We will be...