Tivoli Carvoeiro

Lovely relaxed atmosphere at the Tivoli Carvoeiro. I would recommend the spa experience - the reflexoligy treatment with Catia was a well needed treat - I wished I booked it earlier in the week!!

Service and cleanliness outstanding; however TV didnt work throughout week due to connectivity issues. This was the only issue

Let me start with the good, because there genuinely is some. The location is perfect. You're set just outside the hustle and bustle of town but close enough to walk to restaurants, shops, and the beach. And the view is, obviously, stunning. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end. This was the farthest thing from a five-star hotel - and you're paying five-star prices.

The room. We booked a Family Deluxe with a terrace. It's a very large room, but it's cold and bare, with almost no furniture. The one small TV hangs in an odd spot in the middle of the room. The carpets under the bed and sofa were dirty, the tiles were chipped throughout, and the towels were so old they'd gone gray. The shower didn't drain the entire stay. The phone never worked once, so for any question or issue we had to physically walk down to the front desk. We upgraded specifically for the terrace and never used it - the furniture out there was old and uninviting.

And then the roaches. In room 546, roaches were crawling along the baseboards in the hallway, and a couple made their way into our room. We reported it immediately. The hotel sent an exterminator and did a "deep clean," but by then the damage was done for all of us. The drain was still never cleared and the phone was never fixed.

The pool area. Lovely view, again. But there was construction going on down toward the water, so that section was off-limits. The pool service was non-existent - over five days, not once did anyone come by to ask if we wanted a drink or food. You have to walk up to the bar and order yourself. The loungers are old and pretty busted. The pool itself is small, and only one side is shallow enough to stand in, so the shallow end gets crowded fast.

Everything else. Breakfast was decent but nothing special. The carpets throughout the hotel are stained beyond belief, and the hallways are damp and smell of mold. The tuk-tuks are a nice touch in theory, but there's never one around when you need it and they don't stick to the posted schedule - essentially useless.

All in all, this hotel needs a MAJOR renovation - the rooms, the hallways, the pool area, all of it. The setting deserves so much better than what's currently being charged for.