Alvor Baia Resort Hotel

Our second time visiting and again, impressed for the most part. Food decent, rooms spacious and clean (bonus that they’re cleaned every day) and the daytime entertainment staff are incredible! However, I did have a few gripes about this year’s visit…

• we didn’t use ‘snack times’ last year but this year we did. The snack time after breakfast is abysmal. Plain bread (no facilities to toast), some cheese, ham and veg and couple of pastries. Very poor given the all inclusive status!
• the indoor bar really infuriates me. Specifically only broadcasting the World Cup in this bar so people had to pay. Although there was one occasion they did show in the main pool area seating too. Barman stated this was because it was on national tv. Not a good enough excuse… 5K for an all inclusive holiday so you’d expect all the perks in my opinion.
• my biggest complaint and by far the most important is a specific barman. He worked in both the ‘paid’ bar and in the all inclusive. Each and every time I witnessed this man, his behaviour and attitude was disgusting. He was rude to everyone! Someone said his name was Joao I think. Older than most of the other staff, wore glasses. I personally witnessed him hounding an elderly woman for not saying ‘please’…. Spoke to everyone like they were beneath him. Really not a good look and several strangers I spoke to felt the exact same about him. Time for some staff training for this man! Or for him to find a new job that doesn’t involve customer service.

Other than above, we enjoyed our stay. Just disappointing that we dreamt of the holiday we had last year and this year just wasn’t the same!

The hotel is great.

The pool is huge. Sometimes in the middle of the day it can get a bit crowded but not often. Loads of space and sunbeams if that's your thing, but can be difficult to find some shade.

Rooms are large and comfortable, having a fridge in there was very handy. There are loads of beaches in the area, Alvor beach is outstanding and only 5 minutes away by car. (The hotel does have a bus as well).

The only real let down is the food. There are 2 restaurants but they have the same food and slightly different opening times, with the adults only one opening and closing a bit later. We were in the family restaurant and really the food ranged from not nice to tasteless. Breakfasts are fine. Lunch is saved by the chicken kebab they have running, but the rest of the cooked food was a big let down. There's no real description of what the different items are - Meat Salad, Fish Salad, Vegetarian are some of the descriptions.

I'd recommend the place but try to eat out in the evenings if you can!

We stayed from 2nd–12th July as a family of 11, including two children.

The rooms were spacious, cleaned daily, with good-sized bathrooms and large balconies.

Before we arrived, we were a little apprehensive about the food after reading comments on Facebook. However, we all thought it was really good. There was plenty of choice every night, and even the picky eaters in our family found something they enjoyed. We especially loved the Saturday BBQ night – the steak was amazing! None of us became ill during our stay. I think people are often quick to blame the food when there can be plenty of other causes.

The staff were friendly and helpful throughout. A special mention to Anabela on reception, who was incredibly kind and accommodating. If you need anything during your stay, she’s definitely the person to ask.

The hotel is huge, and so is the pool. It never felt overcrowded, and there were plenty of sunbeds available, although, as you’d expect, it was harder to find one in the afternoon. Some people have commented that the pool is too cold, but we thought it was the perfect temperature for cooling off. I can understand why it might feel chilly on a windy day, but for us it was ideal. The lifeguards were excellent too. They made sure people actually used the sunbeds they reserved rather than leaving towels on them all day. One of the children in our family also cut her toe, and the lifeguard was incredibly helpful.

The daytime entertainment around the pool was good. The entertainment team encouraged people to join in without being pushy, which we really appreciated. The evening entertainment was very popular, so we could never really get a table, but it seemed to be aimed more at younger children anyway. We usually sat inside or around the back where there was always plenty of space. It was also nice that they showed the football during the World Cup.

The drinks were excellent – probably the best all-inclusive cocktails we’ve had. There was a great selection, and they certainly didn’t taste like paint stripper! There is a three-drink limit per person, although the queues could get a little long during the day when people were ordering coffees.

There’s also a handy little shop inside the hotel, with really friendly staff.

We used the shuttle bus to the beach one day, which runs every 30 minutes. It does drop you off on the roadside rather than directly at the beach, so we simply followed everyone else. Without that, we might have been a little lost! On the way back, the shuttle was running late, although we were told that’s not usually the case.

The local town of Alvor is around a 10–15 minute walk or a two-minute taxi ride away. It’s quite small but has plenty of lovely restaurants and bars to explore. Please avoid using uber as they will try and scam you!

Overall, we had a fantastic stay and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Alvor Baía Resort to families. Thank you for a wonderful holiday!