Spencer Mildon
We visited to join our friends in celebrating their daughter's 4th birthday. A total of 5 adults and 3 children, and we had a wonderful time.
The rooms were new, fresh and clean, with some nice decorative touches.
The hotel complex layout is excellent with 3 main pools, another for children, and the best reserved for adults only - a good balance.
Entertainment was also good, particularly the Pluma building where we could leave the kids with supervision, and so enjoy a nice break :)
The staff were also excellent throughout, particularly in the restaurant where they provided a cake, candle and decorative birthday message. Very much appreciated. Many thanks Sonia.
On the downside, the food was only good, not great: quantity excellent but cooking quality less so and variety slightly lacking for our health-conscious tastes - e.g. no smoked salmon at breakfast. Possibly not a big issue for most!
Also, parking at the front was tight and would really benefit from some form of sun shade in the future. Maybe solar panels to also power the hotel, pools, etc?
ryan jones
If you're thinking of booking think twice! The marketing for this place makes it look amazing (why wouldn't it!) but the reality is much different.
The food here is just diabolical, breakfast, OK as an English holiday maker it's the same in every all inclusive, the bacon isn't bacon, the sausages aren't sausages, it's to be expected but the main issue here is the restraunt can't cope with the number of people, come any time after about 8:15 and you'll struggle to find a table, not just for people but for the fact that the staff can't keep up with clearing them once people have left, dirty plates left on tables, none of them reset with cutlery, if you do get a table you'll struggle to find any cups and glasses for drinks etc. Then there's the food areas, dirty, messy, spilt milk, beans porridge everywhere and again the staff struggling to keep on top of things, the woman frying eggs is throwing them out still raw on top as she can't keep up with demand, the whole operation is a joke, it's just massively understaffed for the number of people here and this theme continues through lunch and dinner.
Lunch in salty bar is a little better but every single day it's the same, salads and cold pastas, the usual cake selection and hot food consists of hot dogs, burgers and "meat of the day" usually chicken breast or frying steak. Your kids will struggle, no chips, no pizza, no chicken nuggets, none of the usual beige food that keep the kids happy on holiday, luckily ours aren't fussy and have found something but I've noticed a lot of people struggling with the kids.
Dinner, as I said the theme of not being able to keep up with resetting tables and cleaning continues, most nights food is cold with many options sitting empty for considerable time without re-fill, the kids might find a chicken nugget or two at dinner but I'm not sure they are made from anything that would be identifiable as meat, they have themed nights but something here I have never expirience before is if you don't like that nights theme, it's tough! Usually you atleast have the option of pizzas, pasta, some basic bland meat option if you don't like the theme but here, fish night for instance, there was one meat option, pork, and even this was pork with clams 🤯 I resorted to salad this night, and you know there's a problem when I'm resorting to salad.
We've made a few friends by the pool and all have said the same, it's a 5* hotel (although overall I'd say 4* at best) but with a 2* food and drink offering.
The staff are attentive happy and polite, can't fault them, but you really can't help but feel sorry for them, a clear case of big corporation trying to make as much profit as they can. It's a real, real shame.
Just as a side note, we also have had two cockroaches in our room so far, I know they are native to Portugal so I don't know if this is to be expected, but again not something we've expirience in other hotels.
Looking forward to leaving Thursday and no holiday should feel like that!
William Barker
We stayed here between the 18th-25th October as a family.
Positives:
1. Beach - it is a bit of a walk so take the pram but it is stunning. One of the best beaches we have found
2. Kid activities - our kids were always entertained. From kids pool, crazy golf, kids mini disco, beach plus the kids club.
3. Rooms - we got upgraded to the 2 room suite which were really spacious and clean.
Negatives:
1. Service: very poor for a 5 star. It is almost none existent. To having to get your own drinks at dinner and or no urgency to take orders or serve family’s with young kids.
2. Premium service: yes there is option to upgrade but it’s not worth it. The additional bar only has one person serving which means long waits. Promise of filling up your mini bar in room never happened.
3. Pools: every day pools would have mud, pebbles etc as no paving around kids pool. Feels like a 3 star. Could do better!
4. Babies: you would think with a 5 star that asking for full fat milk would be offered but you have to ask and they were a little funny about it. Even though it’s an all inclusive. Plus I requested we have this in the mini bar. It never happened.
5. Water: water station in our block didn’t work plus only given one water per room per day. It was only when I insisted there be more we got two in each room.
6. Food: it was okay but nothing like other places we have stayed.
7. Restaurant booking: almost impossible to get anything until last 3 days of stay. Even though in some cases the restaurant was half full at best.
I wouldn’t go back to this chain as it’s not at the same standard of other 5 star chains and I would give it a 3/4 star depending on which topic was being discussed. Zafiro is far better.
Andrew Wilson
Nice looking hotel, staff are helpful but not worth the money paid;
1. You cannot get into any of the restaurants so end up relying on a buffet, we stayed for 4 nights and tried multiple times a day and still nothing. Even out of peak times we failed to get any booking.
2. The review below was correct, the food is disgusting. Ended up eating out most days.
3. Even though you put “do not clean” they still come in and clean.
4. When it rained it poured into our room under the door.
5. Location isn’t great, fine if you want to stay indoors all day but not if you want to explore. We had a car rentals so luckily could travel.
6. Good luck getting a sunbed, very bad system which allows people to put down a towel and go out for the day.
7. Pool disgusting, yesterday’s cups left all over.
Definitely won’t be staying again, much better places in better locations for a fraction of the price.
G S
Overall had a nice week at the resort, enjoying some winter sun.
The rooms were nice (separate room for kids and parents), wellness area was good, the beach was lovely, little train into Alvor a plus. Buffet food was ok (mostly) but the other restaurants were much more enjoyable.
Like many others have said, there are way too many guests for the size, not enough sunbeds (although ok at the adult only pool). Unless you put a towel down, you don't get a space and plenty of guests having to go on the lawn. Buffet restaurant is often chaotic, no tables set, no glasses to be found, noone comes round to ask if you want a drink.
Trying to get a seat in the evening to play some family games is impossible. Not enough seats, some outside the main bar very dark. Drinks very hit and miss, cocktail quality depending on who serves you.
There are a lot of small things that would make for an easy win. E.g. some information in the room what's available in the hotel, how to book things. How does the safe work? (No instructions, lady at reception said press 0000# to open but there is no# on the key pad). How many times can you book the restaurants? Replace toilet roll, coffee pods and milk in room. Put the paddle court booking system online.
We had a nice break overall and enjoyed it but wouldn’t come back.
My Booking
