The Portofino Bay Hotel was wonderful in every single aspect. The Loews Portofino has the nicest pool out of the 3 Universal hotels. The hotel itself was beautiful and had amazing architecture and I felt like I was in Italy. The bonus that you can use your room key to cut the lines was pretty amazing as well! It made the trip there completely worth it.
Not cheap but worth it with the kids because if you stay here, you get to go to the front of line on attractions at Universal with an access pass, which is really great any time but especially at peak times such as Christmas Break. It is a pretty hotel which is maintained nicely and there is a boat ride from the hotel to the parks. We were upgraded to a concierge floor which was great too. I highly recommend this hotel if you are planning to visit Universal's parks.