Portofino Island Resort

, so we knew we had to plan quickly as we wanted a FL wedding before hurricane season. After inquiring with Portofino, Emily reached out and I began working with her on plans. Her response time was slow, which I understood since she didn't have any help at the time. However, after a couple months of planning, we were ready to sign a contract and move forward, but Emily completely stopped responding and didn't answer my phone calls or texts. After weeks of this, we finally got ahold of her and she told us that the space we'd been planning for our reception was no longer an option and that we'd have to use a space that we did not want. The other logistics all seemed up in the air at this point too and so to meet our needs, we were forced to find a different venue after losing months of planning time. Portofino is still a beautiful resort and I think Emily just had a lot going on, but it was unprofessional and beyond stressful for a bride to be.

de our day so perfect. Ever single detail was accounted for and taken care of. I could not have had a better wedding day and it’s all because of the wonderful people at Portofino. Book them. You won’t regret it.

efore our wedding and they did not let us know until a couple of weeks before the wedding. If you chose Portofino as your venue you have to use their catering but when we went to taste the food the gumbo we tried was cold, and the meat was undercooked. On the wedding day the food turned out good. Also, when you book with Portofino you have to use their wedding planner.

nsiveness and communication department. The location has a central coordinator, Jessica who handles all of these events. Typical response time was a staggering week and a half to two weeks regardless of the medium of communication (Email, phone call, text message, etc.) When you're paying an exuberant amount for "Coordination Services" you expect some coordination to be done for you. Not one single vendor was coordinated for us. We had to arrange our own DJ service, flower service, make up artists, cake services, and photography/videography. She did book our officiant though, albeit without our approval. Now let's cover the ceremony, the ceremony coordination assistants misdirected all of our guests in the opposite direction of our venue so when the groom and officiant arrived on site, there were no guests present. The rest of the ceremony went off without a hitch. The reception was very well put together. The buffet style plating option was very good. The best service we received throughout our wedding day was by far the wait staff and kitchen staff, they delivered a great meal and bar services. Upon checkout we also found that they had charged us for items we were told previously that would be compensated for the bridal party. I have called the venue and coordinator multiple times per week since August 30th and left messages with numerous different employees who ensure me a supervisor will return my call. We have not heard so much as an email. We provided the exact time, date, and extension for which the compensation conversation took place (we were told that all calls are recorded and they would have to review the records) yet the venue refuses to refund us the money or even give us the courtesy of a return call. I would not recommend this venue. The terrible planning and communication make this venue purely too much stress for what it's worth.