Jessie Lee
The hotel location is very central and convenient to go to old town and new town. The hotel is immaculately clean, spacious, modern and there’s plenty to do on site. They have entertainment every night from Quiz nights, Magic show, Karaoke nights. The Magic show was amazing with Edgar and Rosemary. I would recommend going to the see the show it was fantastic . The hotel has indoor and out door swimming pools, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and a gym. On the ground floor they have a restaurant, a bar and a game room with a pool table. What made our stay enjoyable was the head of reception Carlos and his team were friendly, efficient and professional. The check in and check out was very efficient. We didn’t have to wait long which is nice, so that we can leave our luggage in the apartment and go out and explore Portugal. The apartments are well equipped with washing machine, dish washer, coffee machine, fridge freezer, microwave and a safe which is free to use. The rooms are cosy and the beds were comfy too. Some hotels charge a daily fee to use their safe. We thoroughly enjoyed your stay at Forte do Vale. We look forward to seeing you all next year!
Jess and family
Neil Campbell
Terrible hotel. Looks great but the service and experience once there is poor.
The food is terrible, drink is terrible and very limited to what you can get at what time.
We got given 1 bottle of water in our room when we arrived and that was it for the week. If we wanted more bottled water we had to buy it despite being all inclusive. Water given by the glass (cup) only.
We had to pay for pool towels at what we thought was a 5 star all inclusive. Leave a hefty £100 deposit against our room and the the day you leave the all inclusive ends not when you leave as a guest, but when it started. So because on our arrival ours started at midday, so we could have lunch after travelling, it ended at midday the day we left (despite not flying until 7.15) And to make sure of this, they physically cut our all inclusive bands off at midday when checking out so we couldn't have lunch or dinner that day.
The main bar only opens for 5 hours a day so if you are unfortunate enough to get some rain, as we were, they is nowhere to sit and interact with people inside the hotel and the only place to get an alcoholic drink is outside by the pool until about 6.30pm.
All in all the service here was very poor, nowhere near the advertised 5 start (3 at best). I would honestly avoid the hotel, and for that matter any MGM hotel if this is what they think constitutes good service.
Nancy Luna
We’ve stayed here twice during our trip to Portugal! Pre covid I must add. 10/10 for everything, lovely hotel. So clean, lovely staff, feel so safe here. Pool area is lovely, food is also good! However since covid price has sky rocketed, and we cannot stay here anymore sadly. But we did have a very nice experience here would recommend :)
David “Ormy”
So this hotel was supposed to be 5* ? Only if it's out of 10 ! If it is actually out of 5, then it's a 3* at best. The rooms are absolutely massive, with full kitchen, dishwasher, fridge, etc. our kitchen stank of rotten eggs, the rooms are clean but extremely dated. The pool bar is very small with just a few cheap plastic chairs scattered about. The pool towels have to be rented at a cost of €5 which I thought was odd. The food was absolutely terrible for an all inclusive. For the most part everything was cold, the breakfast was awful, the choice was poor and very limited. One good thing, the staff were good and the cakes were nice. Other than that, sometimes we are out. There are repairs that need doing to the hotel, it is in serious need of an upgrade. Also, all the photos on the website are from their sister hotels which are far superior to this one and a 20 minute walk away. We did use a sister hotel near the beach which was so much nicer, but the photos and description were very misleading to say the least. The beer was sagres which was ok and the spirits were local brands but largely decent. I would not return to this hotel next year. I was disappointed.
Alister Lockhart
We had a fantastic stay at the hotel. The room was a great size and well equipped, with a full kitchen. The shower pressure was excellent and there was never a shortage of hot water. Everything was spotless and well maintained, and we received fresh towels and daily housekeeping.
The pool was very good — although sunbeds could get busy, it never felt overcrowded. The buffet, while not the largest, always offered a good variety of tasty, hot food. The poolside BBQ had a more limited selection, but with a buffet available three times a day and a cake shop in the afternoon, there was always plenty of choice.
A real highlight was access to the other restaurants. We dined at the on-site Italian as well as the Mexican, tapas, and Indian restaurants at Murthu Gardens. Every meal was excellent, with great service. The “Kids Shack” was a fun way to round off dinner at the Gardens restaurants.
The other restaurants were only about a 15-minute walk away, and we enjoyed visiting the beach bar for a couple of evenings — a great spot with a livelier atmosphere. The regular bus service was handy for visiting other hotels too.
The location was ideal: just 10 minutes from the beach, the strip, and the new town, yet still quiet enough to be perfect for families. The mix of guests ranged from families to younger travellers, but we found it peaceful and relaxing — perfect for a family Holiday.
My Booking
