Portofino Sun Center

Great airbrush tans if you pay for the technician to apply. On the expensive side, but worth it to invest in purchasing of a package. The staff is pretty friendly for the most part as well.

Devin is amazing! He provides the best service, he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to different tanning options and is always very friendly. The place is very clean and they provide many options for tanning and waxing. As a frequent tanner I followed the advice he gave me and I saw results.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to get when I signed up for a 10 point package with this place, but wow! I am so impressed already! The guy who signed me up (Glen) was so knowledgeable, so kind, very professional, and the best part, didn’t try to sell me anything I didn’t want. The beds are great and the prices are very reasonable! I am so happy I came here!

super pricey and I would know because I used to work at a tanning salon. However, great service. Good beds. Never had a lightbulb out in the high pressure bed. Only downfall is the price :/​Great spray tan too!

Very good spot for all things tan.
Competively priced for lay down tans, and pretty basic pricing for spray tans.
There machines are always clean and ready for use and there customer service is A1!
The only thing I wish is that there where a few more around the city. I’m familiar only with the Murray Hill location and Upper East Side.
Better then beach bum or Sundaze tanning that’s for sure.

I hate tanning– I know how awful it is for me. However, when prepping to on a trip, I see it as necessary.
The prices here are pretty high. However, I’ve caught on that all tanning in NYC is simply this high. The facility itself is extremely clean and I have never had to wait for a bed. They provide eyewear too which is always nice. Overall, I’m pleased. I just wish pricing was less.

Loved the bed. Couldn’t use the music and I found a deal online that wasn’t available yet– but they were so pleasant and the tan was really great. Definitely would recommend.

I don’t regularly go tanning unless I have a trip or special event coming up, but I must say that my experience at Portofino was quite exceptional.
The space is clean and organized, and the girl who helped me could not have been sweeter. She directed me truthfully and intelligently as to which bed would really be the best for my skin.
This place just seems to be a cut above the rest, and I would return here in the future for my tanning needs.

Went in here for a sun bed session in my neighborhood because mine was closed this particular night. I have been here before, but never as a regular. The room they put me in was so small and DARK — no light whatsoever — that is was extremely cramped and hard to put lotion on. I don’t even think the bed was as good as at my own salon. And the zombie of a girl at the counter for this charged me $ 38 for one session!
I told the girls at the desk it was a rip off and walked out… it isn’t even a spa for those rates and the worst cramped rooms.
Don’t bother with this one, even as a walk-in…NY Sun Club is the way to go in the UES. Spacious rooms, new beds and nice staff. And always specials on their website and Groupons to make the most of your tanning efforts.

Terry doesn’t work there anymore. Portofino is going to lose a lot of business because many customers came in because they loved him (myself included).

s far as I am concerned, the best tanning salons in NYC. A tad pricey, but the quality is all there. And I love how knowledgeable the staff is too! I met the owner and she explained to me how to get the best color etc.,.

«Puerto-​Fino»
I left here looking like I changed ethnicities. And after only 6 minutes! I used the stand up behind the counter when you walk in. It was the best tanning experiences I’ve had. Who knew you could get the same results in half the time?
Was it the cheapest tanning experience… eh, it’s on par for NYC.
The girl at the desk was extremely friendly and helpful. She asked a lot of questions to make sure your experience was tailored for you. She also showed me around my tanning room and explained all the functions of the tanning bed. (I’ve never seen this before… but the stand-​up bed had an aroma button, a misting button, and you could adjust each fan… I put those puppies on high blast and barely sweat.)
They also provide free wink-​ease and goggles. If you create an account with them you can use it at any of their locations all around the city. A dangerous convenience.

I love this place! Have been going here since I moved to NY. I always use the Cayenne bed. I have never been burned and I don’t look orange, just tan. Super clean and nice, plus the staff is very friendly, especially the dread-​locked manager, Terry.

I walked in here the other day because they had a sign in the window advertising
15 minute teeth whitening. The front desk attendant told merit would be a 7 minute wait, and I agreed to stay.
25 minutes later I asked what was going on and she told me that the girl in the treatment room had fallen asleep. I asked if she was going to wake her, and she said that someone would go knock.
Another ten minutes later, I offered to go knock on the door of the treatment room myself, and was told that She was «getting dressed». I ended up walking out, having wasted 40 minutes of my life sitting in the lobby of this place. Oh, and the girl working at the front desk had her boyfriend visiting her there. He sat next to me on the small sofa in the waiting area eating gyros. Not the best spa experience!

I’m not one of those habitual tanners… in fact, I embrace my pale olive skin. Hee… thank God for my dad’s genes. I have been here a couple of times to airbrush tan before an event or beach trip. Airbrush is nice because they cover your nails, back of heels, and any other areas that could possibly «brown» with some cream… They give you a shower cap and a few other necessities in your changing room and lead you into the next room. As you do various lunges, stances and turns, she sprays you… Cold, very cold!
My goal was to have a nice glow but not to be «tacky tan». I said I would like to have more color, light to medium but I do not want my skin to match my hair, please!!:) I think the language barrier was the only tough part for me as I had to repeat myself and proceeded to the front counter to ask the cute guy in the tight Galapagos shirt a few questions. All in all, I was pretty pleased. The color didn’t get on my sheets. (You can’t shower for 6 hours so I slept in my newly coated skin and woke up with the tanning stench that’s hardly avoidable at any tanning location). Ladies (or guys), do not invite your boyfriend over after you have spray tanned.
I chuckled when I saw someone mention in a review that they got their teeth whitened here. I can’t imagine tanning and whitening my teeth all at once… talk about «Magda»!! …Teeth walking in the room before you do.
Glad to be beach bound for Sobe with my wide brimmed hat, 45 SPF and my new spray tan… fake– yes, at least I am doing this the safe way!!! I’m not on twitter but #preventskincancer for what that’s worth!
*pricey $ 70 for 1 airbrush session but they have specials.

This review is for the rude customer service and teeth whitening.
I heard about their teeth whitening services and I have enjoyed tanning at the SoHo and UES locations. I scheduled a 45 minute teeth whitening session. When reception called me to confirm they were not even aware if I was receiving a beauty treatment or teeth whitening. The morning of my appointment they called me again to ask if I was receiving whitening or another treatment. Left me somewhat weary. When I went to the appointment it was to my dismay that the front counter person does the whitening not any sort of hygienist. The front desk person showed me how to insert the trays. He told me the mouth clamp was his «last one» and needed to be save for other sessions (they deny this now). I figured it was standard procedure if sterilized but I called a whitening service downtown which they said it is not sanitary. My teeth were no whiter than when I went in. It was an odd experience, the tv did not work and it just felt like it was a back room that randomly did teeth whitening.
When I called the next day to complain I experienced the rudest customer service in a long time. Each time I spoke to the man at the front desk he was hostile and hung up on me twice! He was sarcastic and made me feel I was a nuisance and that he was so busy with other customers he could not talk to me.
I advise no one to get their teeth whitened there. It cost me $ 110 for a horrible job and customer service.

I’ve been going here for over a year. Their prices are the same as other salons in the area if you use a two point machine. Currently they don’t have any one point machines after a recent upgrade but they said this will change. They have discounts around holidays and off-​peak/​student discounts if you ask.
I’ve never used any of their other services.
Some of the staff is a little snooty, but the dreadlocked guy who is always there on saturdays and sundays is very friendly and relaxed. He answers all my questions.
The regulations make fake tanning very expensive and confusing (for example, they are still only regulating UVB when UVA is equally damaging, so many machines do not produce adequate UVB). But nothing compares to the relaxed warm feeling after a session.

Love this place. Open late, a bit pricey but totally worth it for the cleanliness & service alone.

I have been here twice in two or three years for emergency wedding tans for my pasty-​ass legs. The woman who is forced to confront your naked body is very thorough and professional and ultimately good at her job of spray-​painting white people.
I’m not sure what the average tan or spray tan is going for these days, but I think the prices seem a little steep to make this a regular habit (which is a shame because it looked natural and no one, not even my family, realized I had done anything until I told them).