We spent two weeks, in March, at Portofino and I can not understand some peoples review of this hotel. Remember - it is in South America. It is not like home but isnt it that what we are looking for when we travel!? And if you choose to stay at, and pay for a 3-3,5 star hotel you can not expect "luxury".

The rooms are basic, but nothing at all to complain about. The rooms and rest of the hotel is very clean.The staff is great. Food is much better than many other "all-inclusive". The pool areas and the beach is beautiful.

We absolutely enjoyed our stay at Portofino and if we ever go back to Isla Margarita we are staying there.

One should also know that the stars of a hotel is based on a lot of different things and not only what it looks like.

Malin, Sweden

We are just back from the Portofino and I must say that when we arrived, we were very desappointted by the quality of the room and the food. We took two days to ajust to this hard reality.

But you will get used to it and after all looking back at the week, it was very pleasant not because of the hotel and the food but because of the people were very fun and we enjoyed our stay.

But remenber, if you are use to luxury dont go there because it is pretty basic.

I organized and booked a trip for over 100 people for my graduation trip through Go Travel Direct and I thought that it was a wonderful place for a big group. The beach was great with volleyball courts and other activities. The water was great, and the waves were wonderful to play in. The grounds were cleaned all day, and the staff were overall very friendly. The resort was just a 10 minute walk to Playa el Agua, one of the nicest white sand beaches in Margarita. A great place ideal for groups!!

On arrival when I first layed my eyes on the building and grounds it was beautiful. I expected so much for that first view. Checking in was chaotic. I booked with a tour group and was one of the lucky ones to get a room at the hotel when my family and I arrived. (although it was not the room we payed for). Some other members of the group had to go to other hotels and some were given room that they did not booked for .Most staff members at the hotel spoke no english, so it was difficult to check in and find out information. Imagine you had to try to inquire what direction your room was in. You were given a key with your room number and left to tour the compound to find where your room was. Finally someone helped us to our room. Our first impression was horibble. The room was very very cold and there were two twin size mattresses on dirty concrete slabs facing us. In the other room was a double size mattress on another concrete slab. I don't have a problem with that but for goodness sake......have it cleaned. Later I found out that they clean every three days. The sheets smelled and on our third day we got fresh sheets. You have to throw the towels on the floor to get them changed. When we asked for additional comforters, we were given old, torn up blankets. We asked for comforters and were told we could not have them. We fused a bit and were then given better blankets.The bath had hair in it from the previous occupants and there was no hot water the entire stay there. We reported it twice and someone attempted to fix it but left without a word. The toilet smelled of urine until our third day there when it was cleaned. The television was busted and we reported it on three seperate occasions. They came, banged on it...it stayed on and then cut off after a time. We had kids with us so it was hard for them. The food was not all that. Some members of the group got sick including me. No clothes can dry in the rooms. Have no idea why, some kind of strange condensation.The grounds were well taken care of. When something was broken they fixed it. ...too bad this was not done in the rooms. The pools were great. The entertaiment was ok if you understood spanish, french and dutch. They tried to translate but you still got lost. If you are not the partying type then the night entertaiment would not appeal to you. IF you want to shop got to the Boilvard ( 30,000 Bs via taxi) good shopping. Enjoyed that the most. Anything to get away from the hotel. Overall, a disappointing trip.