Portofino San Pedro

(Photos only)

I was puzzled by the variety of restaurant reviews. I thought the food here was fresh and delicious, though not gourmet. But who wants rich gourmet food anyway after a day in the sun when you are barefoot in paradise? Bottom line: everything we ate was fresh, delicious, and well-prepared and, unlike some places we have stayed "off the beaten path" we had a choice.



That being said, the beach is no Grace Bay...just so-so, but relaxing (we took our floats and floated to our hearts content). The kayaking and fishing and diving/snorkeling are great. We were often joined by pods of dolphins.



Most of our stay we were in one of the two "elevated" suites at the back of the property, which were lovely and even better than the beachside cabanas. While not a fan of chemical insect control, I must say that the daily 5pm "spray" kept no-see-ums (which have eaten me alive elsewhere in Belize) totally at bay. That, alone, made Portofino so much more pleasant than other places we've stayed in Central America.



We would return.

Just got home last night after a week at Portofino's. Brought our 3 teenage kids for their 1st trip to the Caribbean. Getting there from Seattle is no picnic- however, we expected that. Our boat driver met us at the airport and we traveled to the hotel at sunset- picture perfect. We were greeted by the manager Kathy- who explained the layout, etc.

Once settled into our beachfront cabanas that were side by side we proceeded to the resteraunt. Awful- so dissapointing. The good news is that the staff tries hard- but the food is mediocre at best. And, as mentioned in an earlier email, we had to eat what was offered, or take a boat taxi into town to get another meal. Every time we did that is was $100 rt for the famliy. Needless to say, we weren't going to spend $100 for a hamburger in town.

The resort does offer the most relaxing beach I have ever sat on- it is perfectly quiet. We saw baracudas, sting rays, and all kinds of fish right off the dock. We did take several trips to the reefs to see more- actually saw a sea turtle- huge- and sharks galore- great snorkeling.

Belize was so beautiful- the people so nice. Although I would go back to the country again, I would really need to see what has improved at Portofino in terms of food. If you don't care about that- and the beach is what you want- it's the place.

let me first say that my wife and i wanted a place out of the way, no screaming kids, no noisey cars, just a place to do nothing but lay in the sun and veg after our wedding, and this is it, if your looking for a party place go elsewhere, dont bother people like me, they will treat you like kings and you'll pay for it, but it's worth it.

go, relax, the food is good, the people are charming, the pets are nice, my only word of advice i suppose is to stay in one of the 2 private bungalows, the little cabanas werent to my taste, but if your on a budget there ok i guess, just not quite the privacy i like

Portofino is the most amazing place I/we have ever been. My husband and I were married underneath the palm trees looking out at the blue ocean. It was exactly what we had dreamed of and so much more. Our every need was met during our stay. The staff was excellent , the room beautiful, and the food to die for. I highly recommend the champagne snapper! For ten days we were treated like royality, everyone was congratulating us and helping us, at the sametime giving us our privacy. We snorkled, swam, tanned, relaxed, went on amazing excursions to the mayan ruins, snorkeling, and to shark ray alley, and were married in the most amazing place imaginable. We plan to return as soon as possible, and would highly recommend portofino to one and all.

Portofino is an intimate, quiet, resort. It is not for people who like extravagant, stuffy hotel rooms. We enjoyed every minute of our stay in our nice bungalow. We enjoyed the candlelit dinners, the nice warm tropical breezes that came through our room,the moonlit walks, the hammocks, and sunbathing on the pier. We also enjoyed swimming in the pier pool with Sadie the Lab!!!

It was just a nice relaxing, un-hurried, resort. The staff was there to help whenever we needed anything. It was a wonderful vacation...we recommend that you dive or snorkel the Blue Hole, it is an expierence that you will never forget as well as Portofino!!!

My husband and I stayed at Portofinos in March. The sunflower suite was nice and very clean. The restaurant was wonderful, as I found that most restaurants in AC were fantastic. The only thing I found disappointing is the beach is not very desirable. The water is very shallow and muddy unless you go out about 50 yards. This is just not at Portofinos, but all of AC. However, once you reach deep water it is absolutey gorgeous! Portofinos is also pretty isolated, if you want to go back into San Pedro you must take the water taxi back and forth. That can get quite pricey! Even though we have no real complaints about Portofinos we would not stay here again. We went to Victoria House for dinner one night and found the resort more to our liking. If you are planning a trip to San Pedro you must contact Iraida at

TraveltourBelize. She know her stuff!

We stayed at Portofino for our Honeymoon. Fortunately we stayed in one of the 2 private suites near the back of the property. These are quite nice actually.

1) Normal rooms are 2 per villa, so you limited privacy through the wall and you can hear what's going on next door.

2) Honeymoon Room, is above two other rooms, again, privacy issues

3) It is far away, at first we wanted it. But the water taxi is very expensive, Portofino's boats run at odd times. Essentially, once at Portofino, you are there and locked into their tours etc.

4) Restaurant, expensive, so-so food, expect to pay $40+ for lunch for 2 which is essentially a sandwich and a coke. The often were out of food. Because of the distance from town, you will end up eating here most of the time. It will cost you nearly 2x as much and the food is average and limited.

5) Bring everything you might need. Bottled water, snacks, etc. Otherwise your only choice is to get it from the bar. About $5 per coke.

6) There's really not equipment here, they had 1 sea kayack (for 1 person), I river kayak which is useless and that's about it.

7) The take down all the hammocks and beach chairs at dinner time, so if you want to relax near the beach as the sun goes down, forget it.

We had a good time because Belize is well, Belize. I wouldn't recommend staying here. There are better choices, closer to town.

We stayed at Portofino for our Honeymoon, 6/8-6/15 and could not have picked a more idealic spot. The staff is better than wonderful and the rooms, (we stayed in the Sunflower Suite) was breath-taking. There were days we never left the resort, small as it is, we were so content. The restaurant is fabulous - breakfast, lunch and dinner. The resort offers use of kayaks and we did some snorkling near by. There's also a little "pool" off their pier - just a section free of sea grass that is perfect for cooling off after sitting in the sun. We can't wait to plan our next vacation there.

My wife and I went the second week of March, 2004. This is a smaller resort with approx. 4 wooden thatched-roof huts (2 units each), two elevated suites, and a honeymoon suite. The rooms are very nice with hardwood floors, high-ceilings, fresh flower petals adorning your bed each day. The quaint huts are less than 50 ft. from the ocean. It has a good beach with palms trees and privacy. The restuarant is one of the best on the island and has a great ocean view from the 2nd level (get up early, get your coffee, and enjoy the sunrise over the mirror glass water). Below there is the check-in desk, bar, and free internet service (which was nice because calling the U.S. was about $2 minute and our son was sick at the time). The staff was the best part of the trip, so tip them directly. They make very little and the room tip goes mostly to management. Make sure to take the manatee seeing trip with Seaduced (ask for Keith as your guide). Trying to plan events ahead of time didn't seem to work very well but they have a variety of trips occurring daily and you can sign up as late as 4 p.m. the day before. It is a great place for couples, kids only if you are doing day trips as they might get bored. If you are going to Surf-N-Turf (spend time in the jungle) then do the jungle portion first. This allows you to 'veg' and enjoy luxury before coming home. This trip was 10X better than my trips to Cancun and Cozumel !! If you have further questions email me and I'll try to answer them.