Guy Martin
Great hotel and service - the staff are brilliant! Nice rooms and good location, too - 10 mins walk to sandy beaches and a quick shuttle bus to Alvor. The only things I'd mention is that Jet2 says that the outdoor pools are heated, but they're pretty cold, and 9.30 seems a bit late for the evening entertainment to start, as most people have young kids. Thanks for having us!
Susie Ledson
Had a wonderful week here, just home and missing the buffet already! Rooms gorgeous, lovely restaurants and bars. Staff lovely especially Tania in the spa who provided 2 wonderful treatments for me. She's professional, and has a gorgeous way with people. The pools are great although chilly for me. Free transport to the beach and town in a little road train. If you plan to travel and have small kids take your booster seats as its not law in Portugal for taxis to provide them. Went to slide and splash as included with holiday package. Great water park! Portimao is lovely. Missed out on a boat trip to the caves because of wind so book early in your vacation in case it gets cancelled. This also applies to the restaurants at Tivoli. We only managed one booking in Essence (delicious) however the main restaurant was good every night (I am fussy pescatarian and dislike seafood). Not a cheap vacation but certainly made the most of it.
Tom Leaman
We have just left after a delightful 4 night break as a young family of 3. Headline news, would we go back and recommend, yes, but with caveats.
We booked last minute and paid a ridiculously low price and my review is biased because of this. Had we paid full price I may have been less generous. We would probably not come during school holidays but I guess there would be more staff on during these times.
Service levels were up and down. Especially on restaurants and at the bar. Seemed like there were a lot of new staff from overseas (non-Portuguese).
I have gone into some more details below but we really liked the place and with a few tweaks it could be really good.
Jay Bizz
Recently returned from a 7 night stay and we had a lovely time. We stayed as a couple.
We arrived late, check in was smooth and friendly. We were taken to our room in a golf buggy and we were helped with our bags, the service was very friendly. Once we were settled into our room the main restaurant was partially open so we could get something to eat. The choice at that time (roughly 11pm for us) was bread, continental meats and cheeses, fruit and random puddings so if you arrive late and hungry there will be something decent for you to eat as I think the restaurant is open throughout the early hours.
Our room was spacious, clean, and modern . The bed was very comfortable, and there is ample storage for clothing etc. Rooms are cleaned daily, with fresh towels and bottled water also provided daily. Bedding wasn’t changed during our stay but I assume you need to request this. Tea and coffee making facilities are provided in the rooms however milk isn’t.
There are 4 pools - an adults only pool and 3 family pools. The pools do get busy, and even though hotel policy does not allow sun lounger reservation, I saw many unoccupied loungers clearly reserved with towels.
There are two pool bars. Sometimes had to wait a while to be served but the cocktails are decent with branded spirits, and aren’t just the watered down pre mixed versions you’d find at some other all inclusive resorts. There is also a snack bar open throughout the day from 12pm, and a BBQ area serving burgers.
The main restaurant was lovely and clean, and the waiting staff are friendly and efficient. The all inclusive buffet however is definitely not 5 star quality. Breakfast was good however and most days there was a variety of fresh fruit including papaya, melon and strawberries. Coffee machines were not user friendly even though they only seemed to be pod machines. Lunch and dinner was very hit and miss. Some meats like lamb koftas and pork skewers were pink in the middle for example. The main restaurant had themed nights for dinner, however the food quality still wasn’t great.
We tried the resorts Italian and also Steak House restaurants during our stay, both of which are better than the all inclusive buffet, but be prepared to book at least two days in advance as they get fully booked quickly.
The beach is roughly a 20 minute walk and there is a private access bridge for resort guests only. There is also a land train at the resort for resort guests only that takes you to Alvor town which runs daily every hour up until roughly 6pm (unsure of the exact hours) and takes 10-15 minutes to get to the town.
Overall we enjoyed our stay.
Emma Anderson
An utterly wonderful time we have had at this resort for our half term holiday.
Can not fault the staff, facilities or location.
Kids club was a little lacking but excellent entertainment and we wanted for nothing. 100% recommend and would go again.
My Booking
