Jess Barnett
Honest review of this hotel, we were there for 5 days. Not sure how it is a 5*, it must be because you can use the sister hotels and the complex looks smart from the outside. Apart from that, it is definitely more a 3*.
Good points:
- The location is great, 5 min walk to the nearest beach and about a 7 min uber to Albufeira town
- Rooms are a very good size
- Can use sister hotels and there is a free shuttle between them (usually late afternoon/ evening only)
- Salad bar is nice and fresh
- Pool area is quite nice
Not so good points:
- We were all inclusive, don't bother, the drinks are extremely watered down and are given in cheap plastic cups. In the evenings, we asked for a glass for the wine and they said no.
- The dining area is dull and dark and is too small. There isn't a lot of food choice, one of us is Vegetarian and theres literally nothing except pasta and salad.
- The downstairs bar where the 'entertainment' was is very dark, dingy and small - we went one night then went out of the hotel for the rest of the nights as it was depressing.
- The pool bar is tiny and offers slow service. There isn't enough staff and the ones that are there are very overworked.
- When you get there and you see all the restaurants that you can visit in the sister hotels you think woah this is great, wrong. We went to the Italian on the first night, nice setting but the pasta was very watery and had no flavour, none of the food was nice. We also went to the Mexican which was AWFUL, the 'restaurant' (if you can call it that) was dirty inside and the food was so bland and the portions were tiny! We had the Chinese booked also but didn't even bother going there and instead went out to one of the restaurants near our hotel and had a lovely seafood meal.
Overall, if you are looking for a 5* (or even a 4* hotel) then don't book this. If you want a 3* then go for it.
All that being said, Portugal is an amazing country and we loved visiting all the different beaches and areas so the hotel didn't ruin our holiday, we just went out every day instead :)
Janet Wgy
Just spent 5 full days here on an all inclusive basis. 3 adults in a spacious apartment.
Apartments are incredibly spacious with everything you need. Plenty of towels, rooms cleaned daily, small balcony to sit out. Fully equipped kitchen.
Being out of season, the hotel was quiet, therefore only one restaurant open for breakfast/lunch/dinner. No snack bar available. The restaurant is lovely and the food was typical of an AI buffet style. Plenty of choice, staff wonderful, always something to eat
Reception staff were always readily available. They were friendly, helpful and would call a free transfer to take you to one of the other MGM hotels.
Pool area is lovely with plenty of sunloungers and a little poolside bar.
Location is fantastic. Tourist train right outside hotel, 15min walk to beach, few shops/restaurants nearby, far enough away from the strip to escape the noise but only few euros in a cab. 5mins in cab to old town.
Tim Mason
Nice hotel. Didn't feel quite 5*. Good points: the rooms were clean, spacious and comfortable, although my partner found the bed and pillow uncomfortable for her back. Access to the other MGM hotels for their locations and restaurants, and the shuttle bus, was excellent. Staff were friendly and helpful.
Buffet was "fine". Coffee was "different".
Bad points: cocktails were limited and half were plain bad. Management force the bar to use cheap and sometimes simply wrong ingredients, clearly cost cutting. Not 5*. Eating at Forte do Vale was limited and other restaurants at other MGMs were not open when we went in May. It's a bit of a walk to the beach, but the shuttle will take you to the closer MGM. I don't know how that will work in high season.
Chris McCarthy
FOOD IS ROTTEN, DRINKNIS ROTTEN, SERVICE SO, SO. .A very disappointing all-inclusive. Breakfast was ok. Lunch and Dinner was less than terrible, disgraceful really, the spirits were not drinkable, they were so poor. 5 star food and drink... not a chance, they called there own local brand "premium", a joke not drinkable, then €6 for a Jameson. Staff could not make cocktails, just threw a few things into.plastic cups. After 11pm no drink and no food, no room service, nothing. They offer you the use of their other hotels, but again the food and drink was shocking. We spoke to several people staying at the hotels and it was tne same complaints.... The only thing going for this hotel was the internal communal areas big, the pool area was again poor with broken sun loungers, which were scarce, a broken table tennis table. And you have to pay for a pool towel... where in the 5 star hotels in the world charge you for a pool towel! Would advice people to go to one of the many lovely hotels in the area, restaurants and bars are plentiful and good value, it is not worth going all-inclusive. No I did not reach out to staff, if this was a true 5 star hotel the on duty managers would have this in order, no staff were going to improve the drink or food quality. The bathroom was literally disintegrating , see photos, and shower curtain filthy. SHAME ON MANAGEMENT AND OWNERS.
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
