NAU Sao Rafael Suites – All Inclusive

This is NOT a 5* resort. Of If I was being very generous. Perhaps 3* Staff are friendly enough but you have to ask for everything. Toilet rolls to be replenished, for the all inclusive coffee machines to be actually turned on. All the food was tepid at best. Had to ask for tea pots and tea cups nearly everyday at breakfast. Bar on the evening is awful. Depending on who serves you, you can barely get an alcoholic drink. Rooms were not clean, mould on the inside of the curtain in our room. A health hazard in very real terms. Portugal was gorgeous but this venue is not for the faint of heart.

Positives are the amazing reception area, you get the wow factor on arrival, the dining room and bar decor, the lovely outdoor seating area around the restaurant and games room, comfy beds, superb and friendly staff everywhere, menu changes every day so you get a variety of food. Negatives were our room was very tired, (but we were told these were due refurbishment soon), we were down a corridor which the lights did not work in and being on the lower ground floor we felt we were in a dark basement area. Our wardrobe door was hanging off but after reporting this it was fixed, housekeeping should have seen this and got it fixed, but we have a feeling the room we had was one of the last to be sold, this was probably our fault as we booked last minute but we still felt a little disappointed. The outdoor pools were dirty so it didn’t feel safe to swim in them (however one of these were being thoroughly cleaned on our last day), the restaurant food was not very hot and the table drinks service was hit and miss, you are better going to the bar and taking your drink in with you. The bar is slow service and on the last morning we had breakfast at 7.15 before heading to the airport and were surprised to see all the dirty glasses were everywhere from the night before. The spa said on the website while staying at the hotel you get unlimited access, we thought this meant you could use it at any time, what it actually means is if you pay 20 euros as a non-resident you get 3 hours but if you pay 20 euros as a hotel guest you get unlimited access on that day, so after booking a hotel with indoor and outdoor pools we didn’t actually swim at all due to the cleanliness and the additional costs. All in all we had a nice time, but it could have been better, I would recommend the hotel but not during the low season, if we had been a week later I think we would have noticed a difference as just the pools being cleaned gave you a better feel for the place. Once the rooms are refurbished to the same standard as the public areas I’m sure it will deserve it’s 5 star rating, but maybe rethink the charging hotel guests to use the indoor pool during low season, if the outdoor pools are not being maintained.

It was so nice and i really enjoyed my stay

Wow so super alles gut und sauber

Schöne Location. Nettes Personal und toller Spa.

It was very good Personal was very nice

Had a good stay with my team. Its a calm and quiet hotel. The food was also good. It’s tidy and comfortable.

Location, atmosphere, rooms

Friendly staff, we had a great stay, thank you very much.

Just came back from this hotel on Friday, we wasn’t expecting much as we didn’t pay a really expensive price but wow, appartment was amazing! Big and clean, 2 bathrooms with made the girls trip very easy lol. The bar staff were lovely, and the restaurant food was really good. Massive hotel, and it always smelt amazing in there, I can still smell it now. Staff were very friendly and helped with everything, rooms cleaned daily. We had the best time, we’ll 100% be back.