Jane Chandler
After checking in at reception, my husband and I went along to the restaurant for lunch. The warm welcome we recieved from the restaurant manager was continued throughout our stay. The restaurant (and reception area) is light and decorated in a contemporary style. The choice of food throughout our stay was delicious and of high quality. The best thing about our stay was the staff. Everyone on the hospitality side was warm, friendly and helpful. We felt truly spoilt by the attention to detail and genuine smiles of kindness.
As a whole, the public areas of the hotel, and our room, was very clean and tidy. The many options of seating were thoughtfully decorated and overall there was a calmness about the place.
We stayed off season, over the Christmas period, so I'm sure the hotel was not at full capacity. There was a range of guests, from couples like us, to young families and larger family groups. The games room was well used, as was the bar. The drinks list for the all inclusive guests was good.
We made use of indoor pool on the first day, taking advantage of the free access on that day. I feel it needs to choose between being an indoor pool or a spa, as the mixed use is confusing. It was too cold to use the outdoor pools, but it clear to see they were well kept and had plenty of seating options and loungers. It was a shame that the sauna and steam rooms were attached to the changing rooms and single sex, as this is something we usually like to enjoy together.
The hotel is a short walk to two beautiful beaches, both of which are excellent examples of the coastline the Algarve is famous for. The Marina is a 20 walk away, and the old town 40 minutes. There are taxi options too.
Overall, we loved our stay at Sau Raphael Suites. The staff are very friendly and welcoming and we would recommend it to anyone.
Thank you for looking after us.
Tamer Duman
Richard, the Food and Beverage Manager, has made our stay truly exceptional. From the moment we arrived with our 1.5-year-old, he has greeted us warmly every single day and gone above and beyond to accommodate our specific needs as a young family.
What sets Richard apart is his genuine personal touch - he doesn't just manage the F&B operation, he treats every guest as if he owns the hotel himself. His attentiveness and dedication to ensuring we have the best possible experience has been remarkable. It's rare to find someone who combines professional excellence with such authentic hospitality.
Richard has been instrumental in making this all-inclusive stay memorable for all the right reasons. We're incredibly grateful for his service and would highly recommend this hotel to anyone, especially families with young children.
JustExploring
Had a lovely stay here with my partner! Hotel was very clean. And the staff all are very pleasant and welcoming!.. We also got upgraded to a suite and it was very spacious. Very clean! Super comfy beds! A big shout out to Richard who always welcomed us into dinner! Absolutely lovely member of staff! Very knowledgeable of the local area. Great recommendations from hon for places to visit. And the woman who was working reception that time we stayed she was another member that stood out. Very welcoming lovely smile. The food was lovely when we did eat there. Good selection. Overall had a very pleasant stay.
Iurii Raboshuk
UPDATE
I’ll keep the original (1-star) feedback text below for the history since I believe it is important. Good service is when everything goes smoothly. Great service is when issues and incidents receive proper attention and get resolved eventually.
Guest Relations Manager Debora reached out to us in few hours after the check-in, apologised for the inconvenience, and informed us about their decision to make an exception for us and allow to take our dog with us to the terrace whenever we want. We did have our dinner all together that day and everyone was happy. All staff was friendly, caring and very professional. Way to go!
In general we enjoyed our staying here. Nevertheless, I agree with some other reviewers that the property requires some work to be done on the interior as it feels a bit worn out. The food was good. The selection of meals wasn’t the best I saw, but it was satisfying for us. Hydromassage pool was out of order, which was sad. Other than that, SPA-area was great.
Our kids enjoyed the kids club a lot! They spent most of their time there!
If I understood correctly, the management of the hotel has changed recently and the new team is working on improving the service and the overall level of quality. I wish them all the best in this endeavour! I hope my next visit to this hotel someday would surprise me and let me leave a 5-star review.
ORIGINAL FEEDBACK
If you travel with your pet, avoid this hotel! They say pets are allowed, but it turns out they’re allowed ONLY in the room. They were not willing to make exception to allow the pet on an open terrace when we asked them. We have a small Maltipoo, not a huge dog or something. We came here with our whole family but ended up having breakfast, lunch and dinner in turns to prevent our pet from being alone in the room. Our family vacation experience was totally ruined. NOT A PET FRIENDLY HOTEL AT ALL! Don’t be fooled.
Despite them referring to the law, in Portugal the law has been adjusted so that animals could be allowed on the property in case the owner of the property decides so. Looks like this hotel’s owner decided otherwise.
Paul Hawkes
Such a great hotel. Majority of staff are so pleasant and polite but as anywhere theres always a couple of grumpy staff. Richard, the restaurant manager was a joy to behold, always friendly and chatty, genuinely nice guy. Food was generally good, sometimes it was only warm at best. Large selection of lovely salads, fruit and pastries. Different theme each night for hot food. Breakfast was pretty much the same everyday. English breakfast if you wanted it, again pastries and continental breakfast too. Coffee machine was dodgy, sometimes giving only milk, larde selection of juices too. Would definitely return here again.
My Booking
