In a perfect world (or a simulator) writing to PORT will have the same effect as writing to LAT. In the real world that's not always the case - depending on various circuimstances.
On any PIC that has LAT register I'd say best practise is to use the LAT register(s), they're there for a reason.

With that said, do note that having LAT register(s) and having a SR-latch peripheral is not at all the same thing.