Bela Vista Hotel & Spa — Restaurant in Portimão

Disappointing Experience. Not a Relais and Chateaus experience. Design/Style/Quality-5 -ish star yes, but otherwise sorry to say, NO. Beautiful place for novices, but for experienced seasoned travelers, things are in need of obvious improvement. Blatant Note: I had previously written a rather nasty scathing trip advisor review when we returned, mainly due to the fact that the management did adequately not resolve my numerous issues, ( or bother) nor did they even remotely attempt to apologize- (which is really the worst part of it, ) basically just defending their position, unyielding in any way, and offering zero in terms of compensation/consideration for us for all that we suffered- of which resulted in my being very angry. In retrospect, I deleted my review and will instead, despite my still being upset due to their total apathy, I shall now offer a more candid review. ||Hote: You could have solved much of my issues with sincerity and small gestures of kindness, but you did not. And so, you failed||1. Arrival was very pleasant and professional and welcoming. Stiff, but welcoming never-the-less from (Vera) ||2. The location of the Hotel, as everyone has pointed out is simply undesirable. It is very strange to have this beautiful place on this pedestrian busy street w/thousands walking by reveling. Loud, noisy and cheap stores. You are buzzed into the gate by friendly Bela Vista staff members who greet you upon arrival.||3. The Hotel is very beautiful and cheerful. It is true. The staff for the most part is very good and upbeat. It is exceptionally well designed and thoughtfully appointed. The service is good; staff members are for the most part very attentive. Especially in Portugal where everything is a slow paced. Much of this is likely due to the fact that there are primarily Americans at this hotel from NY and NJ so the staff is accustomed to this. The PROBLEM is the Management.||4. Rooms are lovely, but quite small. There are no dressers, just armoires. It is tight, especially for what you are paying (top dollar) AND, especially more-so when the rest of Portugal is quite reasonable. You expect more when paying $1100 for tiny room. $1100 per night is an exorbitant rate for Portugal ( esp for a standard level room) and therefore one expects top service.||||We were initially very excited to visit this spectacular "looking" place set up on a cliff. By the looks of it where their website makes it appears as if it is a secluded private location built on a cliff. IT IS NOT. Plain and simple, it is a lovely place, but it is located on an incredibly busy pedestrian blocks with cheap shops and locals who literally spend their entire day on the beach. You will not believe. PS: your driver also cannot park near the hotel, so you must walk to find them and make your way through the mobs of people. It is far from elegant. May we suggest staying in Faro. Lovely historic old town and great restaurants and shopping. One would expect Bela Vista to be in a chic area. In any event, you are not. And it is also not near the beach. IT IS A HIKE to get there, so much so that you feel like saying "forget it as it is too far. It is also SO immensely crowded by locals, and so un-chic -it's just not worth it. Miles and miles of public beach. No chaises to rent, no umbrellas, -no uniformity. ||Bela Vista pool is quite nice, and quiet--so that is the place to go.||||In any event, we spent three nights, and ate well and enjoyed, (breakfast excellent) on the lovely terrace overlooking the water) but our room we had so many problems with smells, and TV and phones not working (despite what THEY say!) that it took away from things and pre-occupied me dealing with it on vacation.||For example: we had terrible odors in the room, and we were given perfume diffusers (4) to ameliorate the odor. They claim to have spent $ millions on the plumbing...I don't know. ||In any event, we had so many problems I do not care to get into it,,they know the truth. We entered n an exceptionally high note & sadly left on a sour note and that was solely and only due to the management which is just inept and poor and uncaring-||The fact is that sadly, they do not care whether you are happy or unhappy. because their occupancy is 1001% -SAD. They could have done so much but chose to do so little-and so they end up with my negative review, and us not returning.||||I did not cause...

My husband and I stayed for two days and three nights.

On the first day, the property had no WiFi. (Of course, that doesn’t constitute a crisis, but it’s a stated amenity, one that’s particularly valuable to international travelers like us.)

Neither the issue nor the attempts to resolve it were communicated to guests, and no apology was communicated to guests once WiFi was restored at 8 PM.

That same day, the pool and the bar/restaurant area by the pool were closed at 5 PM for a private event. (This area represents the entirety of the usable outdoor leisure space on the property.) Although we were informed of the event several days before our arrival, no adjustments were made to the cost of our reservation. We were expected to pay the full cost of a partial day. As a consolation, the hotel offered to exclude the service fee from any room service orders for guests not attending the private event. On the second day, the hotel’s street experienced a water outage. We were informed of this at 8 AM and offered jugs of water for showering. No further offerings or communication were provided to guests until water was restored at 7 PM.

That same day, the pool and the bar/restaurant area by the pool were closed for an unknown reason. The towels and cushions covering the chairs were removed, and the window to the bar was shut. When we asked concierge about the status of both, we were told they were open. They were never open that day.

Lastly, on the morning of our departure, which was set for 6 AM, the overhead lights, the phone, and several of the outlets in our room weren’t functional. Based on our walk to the front desk and the checkout process, the rest of the property was experiencing no electrical issues.

We understand things happen and that some things are outside the hotel’s control, but what’s always in the hotel’s control is how it responds—the communication it provides to guests and the efforts it makes to support the guest experience when the unexpected happens. When Bela Vista was faced with the unexpected, we felt its response was that of a shrug and a “Good luck!” Perhaps that’s expected, maybe even acceptable, at a hotel that doesn’t have five stars, but that’s not an excuse Bela Vista can use.

Ultimately, after sharing our opinions and concerns with management, we were told we would be refunded for one night, but this came after hours of back-and-forth communication. It should be noted we haven’t received the refund yet, and the front desk was unable/unwilling to provide any documentation at checkout confirming the refund is forthcoming.

Additionally, trust the numerous other 1, 2 and 3 star reviews noting that the website is misleading regarding the property. The main picture on the website shows the main building standing alone on the coast. That’s not an accurate depiction of the area. In fact, most rooms are not even in the main building but are in a pod style building on the side of the property. The property is surrounded by dilapidated buildings and $1 souvenir shops. If you’re from the States, think Myrtle Beach. The “private beach access” promised from the website is actually a door from the property to a public stairwell that leads to the public beach. The hotel does not offer beach service or beach rentals of any kind, including chairs. I’ve attached a few pictures from our view. For context, we stayed in the Suite.

Bela Vista is certainly not a five-star hotel in our book, and we would not recommend it to any Portuguese or international travelers looking to stay in the Portimão/Praia...

My wife and I stayed for two days and three nights.

On the first day, the property had no WiFi. (Of course, that doesn’t constitute a crisis, but it’s a stated amenity, one that’s particularly valuable to international travelers like us.) Neither the issue nor the attempts to resolve it were communicated to guests, and no apology was communicated to guests once WiFi was restored at 8 PM.

That same day, the pool and the bar/restaurant area by the pool were closed at 5 PM for a private event. (This area represents the entirety of the usable outdoor leisure space on the property.) Although we were informed of the event several days before our arrival, no adjustments were made to the cost of our reservation. We were expected to pay the full cost of a partial day. As a consolation, the hotel offered to exclude the service fee from any room service orders for guests not attending the private event.

On the second day, the hotel’s street experienced a water outage. We were informed of this at 8 AM and offered jugs of water for showering. No further offerings or communication were provided to guests until water was restored at 7 PM.

That same day, the pool and the bar/restaurant area by the pool were closed for an unknown reason. The towels and cushions covering the chairs were removed, and the window to the bar was shut. When we asked concierge about the status of both, we were told they were open. They were never open that day.

Lastly, on the morning of our departure, which was set for 6 AM, the overhead lights, the phone, and several of the outlets in our room weren’t functional. Based on our walk to the front desk and the checkout process, the rest of the property was experiencing no electrical issues.

We understand things happen and that some things are outside the hotel’s control, but what’s always in the hotel’s control is how it responds—the communication it provides to guests and the efforts it makes to support the guest experience when the unexpected happens. When Bela Vista was faced with the unexpected, we felt its response was that of a shrug and a “Good luck!” Perhaps that’s expected, maybe even acceptable, at a hotel that doesn’t have five stars, but that’s not an excuse Bela Vista can use.

Ultimately, after sharing our opinions and concerns with management, we were told we would be refunded for one night, but this came after hours of back-and-forth communication. It should be noted we haven’t received the refund yet, and the front desk was unable/unwilling to provide any documentation at checkout confirming the refund is forthcoming.

Bela Vista is certainly not a five-star hotel in our book, and we would not recommend it to any Portuguese or international travelers looking to stay in the Portimão/Praia...