Jupiter Marina Hotel — Hotel in Portimão

A high standard 4 star hotel.

Firstly, the staff here are absolutely lovely and work really hard to make sure everything is right for the guests. They create a really lovely, laid back ambience and speak several languages. The hotel is in a great spot and it’s COUPLES ONLY :-))) It’s about 10-15 mins walk to the main beaches in Praia de Rocha but the hotel run a free shuttle bus service every hour to and from the beach. Believe me it’s a godsend! The hotel is clean and modern and has great facilities. I didn’t use the gym or spa but they looked compact and luxurious. another service is that the hotel allow residents to borrow (free) towels from the spa that can be used at the rooftop pool or on the beach. You sign them out at the start, can get new ones daily (9am-1pm) and only have to pay in case you don’t return them (€20 per towel.) Although I bought a towel for the beach, this was so handy. I did use the rooftop infinity pool which looks out over the river/estuary. It’s a very lovely view. Sun loungers are available free of charge but reserving them with towels is forbidden. It can be breezy on the roof so a top tip is towel clips. The (rooftop) pool itself is on level 4, is open 09:00-19:00, it’s 23m L, 1.24m D and 4.83m W. I used the pool to bash out lengths, which I wouldn’t recommend doing unless it’s early in the morning (9am) as it’s a bit antisocial and it’s not really that kind of pool or clientele, but I was trying to maintain race fitness. The rooftop bar is also on Level 4 and there’s table service indoors and to the sun Loungers. In the evening Thursday to Sunday there was live entertainment. They do good cocktails including my favourites; Piña Colada and Caipiriñha, but do try La Marinha too. The bar has glass panels which they use if it gets chilly, but it wasn’t an issue when we were there. They serve bar food which we didn’t have and I’m sure it was great. It did seem more like what you’d expect to see on a bar menu; burger & chips for example. The main restaurant (Facho) has an indoor and outdoor section. Outdoors seemed only available for breakfast. All you need to know is that the breakfast buffet is superb: cereals, pastries, fruits, cheeses, cold meats, seeds, breads, hot drinks, fruit juices - as well as a fresh orange juice machine, coffee machine & filter coffee and an excellent hot breakfast buffet. I didn’t have hot breakfasts but the selection was excellent and many items (eggs, pancakes) were cooked to order. We went at 9am daily and it’s fairly busy but with a capacity of about x200 (indoors & outdoors) there was always space. top tips:bring a book (or something) to leave on your table to indicate it’s taken,the toaster is very slow,(if you sit outside) don’t leave your table unattended if there’s food on it (seagulls),BOOK HALF BOARD (excellent value.) Dinner:the restaurant is a la carte, but as we were half-board we chose from the 3 course set menu.There are good options for fish, meat and vegetarian options.The starters and mains were always great, imaginative, well presented, perfectly cooked (particularly the fish & steaks) and service is swift & efficient.The deserts are good however not to the same standards (probably bought in) but still fine.A cheeseboard or fruit is always on the menu. Reception staff are really great and helpful but we only really needed them for checkin and checkout. In the reception area there’s seating. There’s also a free coffee machine, fruit juices and water dispenser. There are 2 lifts which do get busy around breakfast & dinner times. The hotel is separated into 2 wings; so looking from the front - left & right. There are stairs and they’re on the right wing towards the end of the corridor disguised as fire exit steps. We didn’t use the car park at the rear of the hotel so don’t know the usage details. It looked as though it had space for about 30 vehicles. The rooms are finished to a high standard. We were on the 3rd floor (superior) with balcony. Great air con! Walk in shower. Mini bar,courtesy tea&coffee,hair...

Staff provide great service at this hotel. The rooms are very nice and equipped well. The bar and restaurant food and drinks that we tried were very good. We enjoyed the breakfast selection. For a buffet breakfast it was well maintained and kept clean. We had no problem finding something we liked. The pool on the roof was very nice but we only went there a couple of times, as there is quite a bit to see and do both around the hotel and if you want to travel a little further. The hotel spa facilities which we used a few times are very good. They restrict the number of people in there so that it does not get crowded. It does cost extra to use but we did not find it expensive. The room service staff are always very friendly, attentive and hard working. We were not bothered what time they cleaned the room as we were not hanging around inside our room all day. The nearby areas I recommend are the old town, Praia da Rocha (beach), Ferragudo, Slide and Splash (water park) and Lagos (by train). There is a bus you can get from Portimao to the water park. Ferragudo is about 50 mins easy walk from the hotel or there is a water ferry which is pretty cheap and gets you there in no time at all. A lovely fishing town with a good choice of restaurants and small shops. Lagos is a bigger city only 19 mins from Portimao rail station. We were advised to get a taxi to the rail station but it is honestly not far to walk if you are used to walking. Just put it in your maps. Also there is a one way system for motor vehicles and the taxi seems to take a long time, possibly due to this, relative to the more direct route of going by foot. There is a restaurant close to the hotel I recommend called Clube Naval De Portimão. Great food, drink and service. Very reasonable prices. They are closed on Mondays but we were also advised not to eat the fish on Mondays anywhere, as there is no fishing on Sundays so the seafood...

My Husband and I stayed at this hotel for a week during the Easter HT break. An ideal location and hotel for an adult couple stay with no children.

The spa facilities are available - gym completely free to use 24 hours a day and the hydrotherapy pool you need to pay extra to use (60mins or 90mins). I love that they don't allow more than 4/5 couples to book at a time so it is excellent for space and never too crowded. We booked for 60mins and this was more than enough time to use the pool, steam and sauna.

I also paid for a exfoliating scrub treatment; it was the best treatment abroad I have ever had - 100% amazing and relaxing! I would highly recommend and rate the spa treatments! Had we stayed for 2 weeks, I would have definitely got the hot stone massage during the 2nd week of my stay. It was only due to time why I didn't.

The roof top pool and bar area is perfect, there is nothing I can fault with this. We thoroughly enjoyed many lazy days by the pool on the sun beds and then popped into the bar for a light lunch. We had the ceasar salad one day - the most delicious ceasar salad I have had outside of Greece! The Angus burger another day and the chicken wings on another day. All very delicious and great portions.

You do not get an iron in your room, but if you ask reception for one, they bring it to you room straight away!

The breakfast is delicious and extensive! You have a full range of hot and cold breakfasts; full English and continental. I cannot fault the breakfast. We particularly loved the made-to-order omelette and there was never long queue where we had to wait for them.

The staff were extremely friendly and helpful throughout our whole trip!

The beach (Praia De Roche) is a 15 min walk from the hotel. Very easy to get to, one straight walk down the road to the right as you come out of the hotel.

There is also a lovely marina walk as you come left out...