Pestana Blue Alvor Beach Hotel

We recently returned from 10days here and had an amazing time. The hotel was clean and tidy. The rooms were really spacious and cleaned daily. The all inclusive food was good, but if you were just planning on eating there could get a bit samey but we ate out as well so was ok. Drinks were good and some better than others. Pool area was good and plenty of sun loungers to go around. We found the workers around the pool area really helpful in finding loungers. The hotel is in a great location, close to the beach and only 15min walk or 2 min uber to Alvor town. Would have give it a 5 if drinks and food was slightly better

Much of what you get at the Pestana Blue could quite reasonably be rated five-star. The amenities, staff, entertainment team, choice of pools and direct access to the beach are all first class. Where the hotel falls short, however, is in some of the details that make the difference between a very good four-star hotel and a genuinely five-star experience.

The rooms have apparently been renovated, and the décor, safe and fridge are all spot on. (How your room was restocked was a little hit and miss). However, the bathrooms still feel dated. A bath with a fitted shower rather than a proper walk-in shower? A shower head that cannot be raised above shoulder height because of the way it has been installed? These may sound like small things, but they are exactly the sort of details that matter at this level.

The shower pressure was also extremely poor. Perhaps this is a more general issue in Portugal, I don't know, but a hotel aspiring to five-star standards should surely be able to provide a genuinely five-star shower.

The food choice is good, although nothing particularly better than we have experienced at other all-inclusive hotels. The restaurant staff work exceptionally hard to keep everything clean, tidy and fully stocked, but they are fighting a losing battle at times. During our stay, it was common to see very young children wandering around the restaurant helping themselves to food, often in an already extremely busy environment.

One possible solution for management might be to introduce two dining sittings, particularly at peak times. The queue for dinner at around 9.30pm was really unacceptable for a hotel of this standard and, in my view, largely avoidable. It was also noticeable that different nationalities tended to have quite different dining habits, with some eating considerably earlier than others. The later diners appeared to be in the majority, creating a significant bottleneck.

Finally, the breakfast box provided for guests leaving early really needs some attention. Perhaps it's a British thing, but a dough ball with spiced sausage at 5.30am isn't particularly appealing! A couple of decent pastries, some fruit and a juice would be far more appropriate. Having said that, the plum provided was delicious.

The criticisms may seem very picky because overall, the Pestana Blue has a great deal going for it. The setting, facilities, staff and atmosphere are all excellent. But if the hotel genuinely wants to deliver a five-star experience, it needs to pay more attention to the small details. Ultimately, those are often the things guests remember most.