PortoBay Blue Ocean — Hotel in Albufeira

Absolutely loved our stay here. We went all inclusive and after reading mixed reviews of "all inclusive" experiences, we weren't quite sure what we were going to get. We couldn't have been happier with the the Tui team at the Blue Falesia. On arrival, we were met with a welcome drink and a run down of what we needed to know. At every stage the staff were friendly, helpful, always smiling and making us feel genuinely at home. The food selection was vast, something to suit everyone including vegetarians and vegans. With alcohol, they offered some traditional cocktails, as well as nice wines, and San Miguel beer. I had heard rumours that often hotels offered "own brand" or "watered down" drinks, but we didn't find this to be the case at all. They were generous, often strong drinks full of flavour. There was a pool bar (also serving snacks throughout the day if you miss the set meal times, offering things such as burgers, salads, ice creams) where you can get drinks and sit inside, or out on the deck (with partial sea view). Or there is a more formal bar inside, with comfy armchairs as well as decking with rattan chairs overlooking the pool. There are two pools, inside and out. The outside pool at this time (October) was very very cold, so if you're after warmer water temperatures make sure you go in season. The inside pool was a bit warmer, alongside a sauna, steam room and showers. On top of these amenities there was also a gym, spa (offering salon treatments such as massages/facials/waxing) price wise about 70 euros for a traditional massage. For exercise, there is a gym, fitness classes and a tennis court all included in the all inclusive price. We played tennis for most of the week as well as joined in with some yoga. This hotel is also adult only, which make it very quiet and relaxing, allowing us to meet some really lovely couples. There was a real range of ages at this hotel. We are a late 20's couple, but there was a really nice mix of people. The rooms were lovely and spacious, with a HUGE bed, armchairs, walk in shower, fridge, air con and balcony (with table and chairs outside). For out-of-hotel activities, the beach is about a 10-15 min walk from the hotel. The closest staircase to the sea (private beach) is a few mins walk up the road. It's a lovely decked staircase but there are quite a lot of steps! However there are benches on the way and the most amazing views. You can then walk round (over rocks) to the proper beach which stretches for miles. Here you can hire a lounger on the beach and there is a bar. We didn't go to this though so not sure on prices. The TUI team gave us a welcome chat when we first arrived letting us know all the activities that we could book and offered ideas of trips, restaurants and bars which was really helpful in finding our way around. We visited a local bar which had an on-site art gallery in the bar (the owners sell their own art), and they had a pool table and huge list of drinks. We then booked a cave and dolphin tour which was about 35 euros each, and was 2 hours. This gave us an hour of going into caves and then we had an hour or so finding dolphins. Very hit and miss but we did manage to see them! Was amazing but didn't have very much time to really enjoy before we had to head back in. We also booked paddle boarding where we travelled through many coves and caves and was a brilliant way to see the hidden beaches and caves. Finally, we also did the Wine Tasting experience within the hotel, this was really good fun, gave us a taste of Portuguese wine and snacks. This was really nicely laid out and only 8 euros per person. Finally, on departure, we were told out check out was 12pm, however we were told we could remain all day at the hotel until our evening transfer. We were given a key to the luggage room and then access to the departure lounge which allowed us to shower and refreshen up before we left. We felt so looked after and loved our whole experience,...

We stayed here in May and enjoyed our experience.

The gardens of the hotel are lovely, the pool is nice and cool and there are plenty of sun loungers. The food was absolutely delicious! Plenty of choice, really fresh ingredients and great variety. Lots of fresh fish, muscles, octopus, meats and veg. We used the gym, steam room and sauna facilities which were great! The gym is very clean, the equipment looks brand new and there is a lot of space in the gym. The indoor pool and showers are clean and lovely. I highly recommend you use these facilities. The most beautiful beach is at the bottom of the cliff that the hotel is located at and I highly recommend you go and spend at least a day there, the water is very cold in May but we enjoyed ourselves. The bar area is great and the drinks were lovely and good quality. We always got served quickly. The hotel offers a lounge for those who are leaving and have to check out a few hours before departure. You can use the pool etc. and can shower and change in comfort which I thought was a great touch. This hotel is spotlessly clean, every area does not have a spec of dust. The housekeeping staff clearly work incredibly hard. I was very impressed. Beautiful setting, very peaceful and relaxing. The room was spacious and the bed is absolutely huge. Very comfortable. We used the Spa and had a lovely massage.

Areas for improvement:

Aircon in this place is terrible. Noisy, old and ineffective. It makes for some uncomfortable nights sleep. We read a few similar reviews which highlight aircon. This is a really big problem for guests and I think upgrades need to be made here so that the system works fully. We asked for a partial sea view room and got a view of the concrete roof of the restaurant which was quite disheartening. All inclusive does not mean all inclusive as you could only have a limited drinks menu to choose from and the rest you had to pay for. The service is not quite where it needs to be. We ordered an iron from reception and it did not arrive so had to go and ask a second time. The drinks in your room are not refreshed daily. So quite often my partner would run out of things for his morning coffee. I found this quite ridiculous, it must be a tiny saving for the hotel and I think creates quite a bad experience for guests. You could go to reception and ask them to bring up the extra items but as I mentioned above re iron the service is not quite as good as it should be. Please change this and refresh drinks daily as it will make a big difference to the customer experience. The Spa prices were just a little high in my opinion. However, this is just a personal observation. We paid €150 for a couples 60 min massage. There is no ATM in the hotel which I had never experienced before. ATM’s outside the hotel charge €4 for a withdrawal and some places in the local area do not take MasterCard. Make sure to bring some cash when you come here.

Overall, we had a nice time here and I think this hotel has many positives. However, simply due to the aircon problem we...

Have been here a week and another 3 days to go and on the whole our stay at the Tui Blue Falesia has been very good and enjoyable. Rating wise I would give it 8 out of 10. The hotel itself is very modern, bright, clean and well looked after and maintained. The staff are very helpful and for the most part can understand English and are very friendly. Because of the times we are in (Covid) there are certain restrictions which are understandable including table service in the bar, no going to the bar yourself and ordering drinks. Meal times.......there is an app which you HAVE to download and this gives you all the information that you need......there are no leaflets etc available which give you any info about the hotel. One of the niggles is that you HAVE to book ALL your meals through the app, this is because the hotel are having to restrict numbers and use social distancing in the restaurant at meal times. Although it is your typical all inclusive buffet style restaurant the food is generally hot, tasty and a good variety. The A-La-Carte restaurant is well worth a visit, food is excellent and staff are very wecoming, you get one (free) visit if you are all inclusive and if you wish to go again it is €25 per person which I think is very good value for money. Because of Covid face coverings are mandatory when walking through the hotel, in the restaurant and in the bar and pool snack bar but once seated at a table you can take them off. We also found that guests wore face coverings when walking around the pool area until they got to their sunbeds. Everybody adhered to the face covering rule and the staff are always quick to remind you if you forget.....all this means you can enjoy your holiday and still feel safe. The only reasons that I only give it 8 out of 10 is although it states that Wifi is free and available throughout the hotel we found that it kept losing connection with the internet when you were outside around the pool and you would have to disconnect then reconnect to get the internet back. The only other thing that lets the hotel down is the entertainment, there is only the one bar in the evening with seating inside and outside but the entertainment consists of either solo singers/guitarists or duos who do their best to entertain singing pop, rock and soul music. There is nothing like a disco, theatre shiws or even a karaoke bar (which I was personally disappointed with). There is the "strip" full of bars and restaurants which is about 10-15 minutes away in a taxi but apparently it is mainly fir the younger generation so we never ventured that far. All in all, if you want just a relaxing and for the most part quiet holiday just eating, drinking and relaxing then I would recommend this hotel. Would I come again.......yes I probably would. The other obvious thing that made the holiday was the fact that it has been sunshine, blue skies and 24° - 30° while we've...