Pestana Alvor Praia — Hotel in Portimão

I was really disappointed by my experience in this hotel. Starting from the beginning, I was not well received. When I arrived with the car, I had to discover alone how the parking was working, where to park the car inside the courtyard, anyone available to help me with the luggages. At the check-in the staff was not pleasant, the receptionist was talking with such a low voice that it was almost impossible to hear. The building and the facilities looked really really old and not well maintained, my impression during all my stay at this hotel was to be in a 3 star. When I arrived in the room I immediately perceived the bad smell of smoke from the previous client probably… so I had to keep the windows all opened for some hours, fortunately the weather was good and I didn’t have to turn on the air conditioning that just by looking the split was full of dust. The furniture was dated and full of damages because of the time, the frigo bar was almost not working and practically empty. The TV was dated and not working at all. Inside the room there was any leaflet with information about the hotel, not even the number to press to call the reception, no menu of the room service. I booked a double room and I received two single beds attached, really a good couple experience. My sleep was horrible, I did not like the pillows and of course I did not have any extra choice. Regarding the bed, the mattress was really old too, not in condition to be used anymore. I never stayed on a bed like the one of my room (534). The only positive thing about my experience in this hotel was the amazing view from the balcony of the room to the sea. I did 250kms by car to arrive in this hotel, counting on a relaxing brake. The wellness center was a crucial point in my decision of the structure and I was really disappointed. As I arrived at 13, I asked an early check in. The receptionist told that the room was not ready yet and she would have let me know when I could do the check in. I did not receive any call from the hotel, but when I went to the reception at the time of the check in the room was already available… I leave to the reader the conclusions. This did allow me to use the exterior pool during the time of the day that it could be enjoyable thanks to the bad weather, so I was counting with the interior pool and the wellness center. When I arrived at the facility it was a deception and frustration. The water of the pool was cold, the plate with the informations about the pool was dated back to 2 days before. The Turkish bath was unavailable. About the sauna, I had to ask to turn it on 45 minutes before I guess for power saving reasons, I really did not like this choice and I side the sauna was dirty of dust. I liked a lot the exterior spaces, the direct access to the beach is really a good feature of this hotel. The breakfast let me without words too… all the staff of the hotel that I met was not pleasant, any smile on the face, any available to explain well the things. The woman that was doing the pancakes at the moment did not have sanitary protection for hair and not adeguate clothes. Some of the food was from the day before (at least), the coffee was made with the instant soluble coffee that I don’t like and I could not drink. I give for the reader some picture to show the cleaningless and the condition of the structure. Overall, my experience was really disappointing and frustrating, I came to the hotel with the high expectations, especially regarding the spa, and I was really frustrated in seeing the conditions of the structure and the service that I found, definitely I could not enjoy my stay. I was angry for the money that I lost for this stay while there are a lot better option nearby. I think the hotel is not well maintained and not properly managed to be...

I’ll give 3 stars and start by saying: this hotel didn’t deserve the 5 star rating.

Now I’ll give my reasons on why: I came for a week with my family and 2 of us (we’re 5), have disabilities. The first room they allocated us to, there’s a lot of stairs to get there and the carpets in those halls are absolutely disgusting. You can literally notice stains on it, throughout the whole time you’re walking.

We got to the apartment and realised that even inside, you had stairs to get to the bottom floor which had the bedroom and a bathroom. Can’t say anything bad about that apartment besides the stairs and a broken sofa though. The view was gorgeous and everything looked neat, unless you needed to open the sofa bed, however 2 disabled people having to climb up and down stairs (not just a couple, but a floor of them), to be able to reach the bedrooms? No no.

We ended up requesting another apartment if possible, which they were actually able to provide us with one. For this one, we had to go with a lot of bags from one end of the hotel right to the other side. All the way after the pool, get on the elevator and we could find the new apartment.

This apartment was not as nice as the previous one, but was indeed one floor only. I should also mention that in certain parts of the house, you get no signal at all on the phone. The Wi-Fi was okay most of the time as well, despite the fact that would randomly fail when some of us were remote working. The view was still stunning and easier to get to the beach. The cleaning staff was super nice, provided clean towels everyday and made sure we did have everything we needed.

However, time flies when you’re having a good time: was time to checkout. We requested help with the bags from the reception, and they sent a gentleman with a wheeled bag carrier so we could place our bags there. Not every bag would fit in one go only, and when it was mentioned, his comment was and I quote “do I need to come back?!” with an absolute rude tone. Obviously, that was not the reaction we expected from someone who works at a 5* hotel.

Regardless, I’ll make it short now. If you’re remote working, it’s good but get ready for some random disconnects. Cleanliness is good inside the apartments but the rugs around the halls are highly questionable. The pool space is nice, the bar side as well. The views are stunning if you’re placed on beach windows.

Overall note, I’ll make it a 3 because of all the inconvenience during the first couple of days and the last one due to the last...

Addendum below:

I cannot share the 4.5-star rating, unfortunately! Upon arrival today, we found ourselves a bit early, but our room wasn't ready. No big deal, we thought, and proceeded to pay for the room, with the understanding that we would be called when it was ready. After grabbing a bite by the pool, the clock ticked past 3:15 PM, so we returned to the reception.

We finally received our room key, which seemed fine at first. However, we were somehow forgotten about, which wasn't a huge issue. We had to retrieve our luggage from the car in the parking lot, as assistance was not provided. As a standard for a hotel, regardless of its star rating, is normal to provide basic information? Such as breakfast details, dinner arrangements (especially for half-board guests), pool access, and other standard amenities, typically accompanied by a warm "Welcome to our hotel." Nothing they do nothing just gave us the key.

Instead, after about 2 hours, it seemed they couldn't recall our existence.

We travel extensively and often find that hotels boasting 5 stars fail to understand or cater to their customers. This is often due to management and training deficiencies. It's unfortunate that many high-priced, so-called luxury hotels lack the level of service one would expect. They often fail to recognize who the customer is, and they forget that a guest might consider returning. Whether it's 5 stars or not, it's all too common to find hotels where a night's stay costs between 300-500 euros lacking in service! I believe it's worth seeking out true 5-star hotels, even if it means paying more. Alternatively, there are plenty of other good hotels available for 180-250 euros per night.

We will see how is the stay for the next days? And also I have to say thy have a beautiful view from the 6th floor but unfortunately just two beds and not a Kingsize Bed.

Addendum below:

Our review was read and the hotel management made an effort to address our concerns during our stay. This is a good sign and shows that they are clearly making an effort. It's a shame that it didn't start well, but we hope that a few small changes will take place at the hotel. Our recommendation would be at least a Nesspresso machine in the better room categories, king-size beds and, if a modernization is due, bathrooms without bathtubs. As would make a...