Portofino Island Resort — Hotel in Santa Rosa Island

We have been vacationing in Portofino for almost 15 years. This time we were rather disappointed with our stay in Tower 3, Unit 1208.

Check in was at 5 pm. By the time we got the keys and unloaded the car, it was about 5:30. Surprisingly, the unit was not ready. We had to wait by the door for housekeeping to finish for 10-15 minutes. Quickly discovered that tile floors in the unit were sandy and dirty. White socks and feet turned black in a few minutes. Had to call housekeeping back to clean the floor.

The unit offered a gorgeous unobstructed view of the Gulf and of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Unfortunately the view came with an eyesore. Almost directly below tower 3 was a makeshift parking lot. During the day it was full and unsightly. If you want to gaze at stars after dark, be prepared for parking lot traffic and headlights to interrupt your stargazing. To make things worse, one night drivers were shuttled to the parking on a golf cart with a loud air cooled gas engine. Portofino tower balconies are like echo chambers. You will hear every sound coming from the ground level, including that engine whizzing back and forth. So much for a relaxing evening on the balcony. This was in addition to the construction Portofino is doing on the highway in front of the property. The noise of the equipment spoiled to the scene this summer. Why couldn't the project be done later in the year?

One evening when my wife went to the spa, she observed an employee painting her toenails in the spa right in front of her! Yes, an employee in uniform painting her toenails in from of the customer. I was in shock.

It would have been nice if the resort gave a fair notice about the parking lot below tower 3 and about the construction. Someone may have not cared, we certainly did. Things like late check-in, dirty floors, rude sales people and inconsiderate employees have no excuse.

Also, avoid Terracotta restaurant. We visited it 10 years ago, it was not good; we tried again this year and were disappointed again. Shrimp and grits was too salty; chicken roulade was dry and hardly had any stuffing; mashed potato garnish came with just about every dish. Table next to us ordered wedge salad and they were out. Party of 10 walked out because they got tired of waiting for there server. One waiter was scrambling bringing water, taking orders, bringing food, cleaning tables while several other staff members were hanging around, or so it looked. Check out Peg Leg Pete's or Hemingway's in town. Terrific food and great service.

This will not stop us from coming back next year. Pensacola Beach is our favorite vacation destination. But we should probably put another property on the radar. If we stay at Portofino next time, we will stick to Tower 5 and we recommend you...

For the price we paid for a 4-day, 3-night stay, I would expect a few things to be much better. First, we booked our room for a wedding over a year in advance. Because we booked before the wedding party, we called back afterwards to ensure that we were in the same tower. Once we got there, we found that we were not in the same tower after all. Our party had a baby with us, making going from one tower to the other for the scheduled parties very inconvenient. We asked if we could be moved, but all the three bedrooms in the other tower were booked.

There is also the issue that we booked a three bedroom with a king size bed and three queen size beds. The room that we were in had a king and three full size beds. Idk about the king size, but everyone who had a full size bed said that they were not comfortable beds. It was likened to limestone by one of our party. That's certainly an exaggeration, but I've had more comfortable beds in cheap motels.

My own room was uncomfortably hot at night, and it faced east, so it wasn't because of the sun. My partner and I woke up many times throughout our stay because we were tossing and turning due to the temperature and the uncomfortable beds.

I was perturbed by the apparent lack of kitchen towels, but there was one by the end of the trip. I looked everywhere for one, so I believe someone purchased it. No "stocked" kitchen should be without dish towels. Additionally, a three bedroom condo should be given more than three beach towels. Whatever. Some things are nit picky, but I'm just showing the range of disappointments.

The elevators need maintenance as there were wall panels that rattled.

The condo itself is beautiful. There's a grill, although the balcony gets very smoky while using it. The bathrooms are nice enough, especially the master with the spa tub and separate shower, which is spacious. The staff was friendly, though one girl was clearly learning on the job. The pools and grounds are well kept and lovely. The view from the balcony facing the Gulf was absolutely gorgeous.

We went to the spa, and had nice services, but we've had better experiences and amenities for the price. The staff who made drinks at the wedding party could be better trained. Larry was great: he went to get the makings for old fashioned's for my partner and me. The others were hit or miss. Friendly for the most part, but one person put rye and soda in a glass and garnished it with lime when we asked for OF's. Oof.

All in all, I wouldn't recommend this place. I hope that others in the party had better experiences, but I don't see us returning for our...

I wanted to love this place. There were 2 staff members that were outstanding (Larry in events that made sure exactly what I wanted for my husband's birthday was waiting in the room & Jamia - the most amazing resort bartender we have ever encountered). This poor rating does not reflect on them at all, they deserve 10 stars. The poor rating is the overall experience & I feel it is important that others are aware before they spend their hard earned money. As 1st time guests here we had no idea where to even go to unload. We asked 2 staff members in the parking garage and neither of them knew - another guest told us. Room 1008 in tower 1 is awful. How it got rated as elite is beyond us. It is old, was filthy and lacked in a lot of basic cooking utensils (there were a total of 5 cooking utensils, one hand towel, 2 pans, ect). My feet turned black after being inside a few minutes. I spent over an hour on the first day cleaning with my own supplies I brought along. I have never had to deep clean anywhere I stayed like this. The TV's didn't work correctly and we called the first day. They were not fixed until our last day. The beds were a joke - they seemed very cheaply made, the master bed squeaked with a slight movement and the sheets were paper thin. The fitted sheet wasn't even tucked in and had a huge hole at the foot of it. The couch was so sunken in the middle it sloped and you could not even sit on it. We had to sit on dining room chairs in the evenings. From tower 1 you have to walk through a parking garage, down ramps, across paths , a parking lot and a road to get to the beach. Definitely not ideal. if you need a restroom you have to hike back across the road and parking lot to the main check in building. When I asked the front desk about any better routes to the beach they looked at me like I was nuts. The food and drinks on the property are good but very pricey. If you ask for delivery, even one small thing, they charge $5.00 to bring it to you, plus they add tax and their own tip and then leave a line on the receipt for you to fill in another tip. There are just so many nicer, cleaner places to stay where they communicate with you well and take care of the rooms. It saddens me that when you walk in they have a display about 2 new towers being built. The last thing they need is to be bigger. They should spend their money on upkeep for the towers they already have. We would not recommend and...