Aldeia das Acoteias Vacations from $1,274

Amazing hotel. The best in Alvor at a completely different level. Superb pool area no rushing for sunbeds and pools x 3 are amazing. Right on the beach front this place is and the most chilled experience for a holiday. Will definitely return.

Queues for everything here. Checking took nearly an hour, queues for sun beds, for food (I’ll get to the food), for drinks (you can get only 2 drinks per person, so a family of 4 need 2 members to go to the bar). Always running out of drinks around the pool. The food was terrible. I stayed for 6 days and ate in the hotel only 4 times. The worst cuts of “meat” used which resulted in mainly bones. Oh and the “kebab hut” took 30 mins to queue up for and 1 per person. So again, if the family want to eat from a snack bar they all need to queue for half an hour together. Really not what you expect from a hotel billing themselves as 4 star. Staff didn’t want to help with anything. Bars closed at 11, but last orders at 10.30 and lights turned off and kicked out at 11. You can then head to the piano bar, but must pay for the same drinks that you were just consuming in the beach bar. Additionally a security guy (PSG logo on T-shirt) would come around the pool each day at 4pm and aggressively “police” what was happening: people messing about in the pool, throwing a ball in the pool (yes! A ball!), sitting on the side of the pool drinking. All things that people were allowed to do for the 7 hours that not a single staff member was there, but at 4pm suddenly there were rules. The staff were predominantly not Portuguese and there was a huge language barrier. Don’t stay here

Everything as expected. Superb. Sea view. Max the main man looked after us at all times. The service was exceptional.

The staff was very good, particularly Sebastian at reception. He was very kind and helpful. The property was…weird. The hotel and property was run-down, though relatively clean, minus the ants in our room. The hotel decor was bizarre, leaning toward very tacky. The breakfast buffet was always ridiculously busy and the food quality was poor. After the first day, we opted not to bother going. The one adult swimming pool served hundreds of guests so was always overcrowded with all of the loungers taken by early morning. It felt like we were at a bargain basement all-inclusive resort (that wasn’t all inclusive) and was not cheap. That said, the beach was nice and easily accessible. I get the appeal for some but this is not the hotel or city to visit in the Algarve if you are looking for a quiet and relaxing vacation. We’ll know better for next time.