Vale do Lobo Resort

Rooms were clean, staff exceptional, and the resort itself it great.

Beautiful resort in Vale do Lobo but the rooms are very dated and in need of a refurb. The sofas were not very comfortable and there was only two chairs on the terrace so nowhere to lie down and chill out in the sun etc. Bathroom was ok but again very dated and need a updating.

Clean

The location. The accommodation was acceptable, not more. The breakfast was exceptional.

I understand that resorts may be pursuing a different business model than traditional hotels. I can also see that other customers may have no problems with the model. But for the substantial price I still feel entitled to expect more of a hotel experience. Breakfast and access to the beach club were included but everything else such as the fitness center and beach chairs/umbrella required payment. Additionally the 5 person unit where we stayed was cleaned only once during our five day stay. The Algarve including Vale do Lobo are stunning and a true joy to visit. But to get more value for money my suggestion is to get yourself a more affordable hotel or vacation rental alternative and spend the money you save for example on all the things we did. My bet is that you will have the same amount of fun we did but with money to spare.

Likes: Great beach with plenty of space and sunbeds. Friendly staff at the spa. Great staff (of particular mention, Isabela) at breakfast. Helpful drivers with the free shuttle service which also takes you to the other end of the beach where Izzy and julias restaurants are. Lovely beach walk. Accomodation beautiful and spacious albeit needing some redecorating detail, newer soft furninshings and some electrics unused and no longer working. Outdoor spaces are all kept pristine. The golf greens look immaculate. Safe an secure resort. Variety of dining choices. Entertainment at the square is good. Dislikes: most things other than the outdoor pool incur an additional and sizable fee. One particular reception staff seems unhappy and abrupt in role. Breakfast quality adequate, not 5 star. Spa is dated and I think awaiting refurbishment. The resort is really bursting at the seams and ever growing - this means unless you are staying centrally it feels quite isolating especially with lots of empty properties in September. Definitely one of those places that gets its 5 star from amenities rather than that extra something special. Would recommend requesting accomodation closer to the beach.

Really lovely property.

Having visited the Vale do Lobo for the past 20 years every September, it's sad to see the changes. I rent privately through a lovely lady and the accommodation is perfect. The Praca however, is now practically empty this time of year where it used to still be buzzing. I was shocked to be asked 45€ for a sunbed for the day... its 28€ if you have a guest pass, which is still extortionate! Montys has sadly gone! Why on earth would they change that!! Amore has gone and another restaurant around the corner has also disappeared ! The Beach Bar is still one of my fave places, but even some of the starters on the menu are 20€!! The Tennis Academy, thank goodness, has had a makeover, and 12€ to use the pool, with lovely facilities and eating area. This is definitely a place to spend the day! So basically, I'll continue to go, as after sadly losing my partner it's somewhere I feel close to him and also feel very safe going solo. But, what a shame these changes have been made. They clearly want to cater for the more wealthy and its just sad to see, what used to be a vibrant, busy resort even towards the end of season, turning into a ghost town! The changes, in my opinion, weren't needed and the prices are ridiculous!

Spikes Restaurant, staff, golf course and staff were all exceptional. Golf cart staff were awful - offering on cart was nothing but beer and they just wanted to get off the course - very rude. Rooms were great but you need to put a sign on washing machine that say it is only washing not washer/dryer combo. Two of us ended up with wet clothes.

See above

Weve stayed on this resort a few times before both in private villas and the resort townhouses but due to our circumstances we could only book about 4 weeks before travelling it limited our options but as VDL is a very reputable resort we thought we would be fine with one of their apartments. I have to state we were extremely disappointed with the standard of accommodation, our first apartment was unfortunately below a very lively golf party who woke us a 2am then again at 7 am , although we did ask them to reduce the noise the comment oh hes deaf then proceeded to stand outside our bedroom window shouting and swearing shows little respect for others . We explained all this to reception and our concerns about cleanliness and our disappointment only to be offered a 3 bedroom villa at nearly €2k for 4 nights . We didn’t need 3 bedrooms and couldn’t justify this for our final stop on our Portuguese roadtrip . They did move us a few doors away but the apartment was still very old tired and shabby . Another issue we had was housekeeping in 5 days no clean towels ; we had to beg and the same for toilet paper , even though we explained and reported this and even though the cleaner was in the next apartment these had to be brought in a separate vehicle ! We love the resort and will go back but not rent from VDL - their standards are well below par ! It may be ok for short term golf party’s but they don’t make concessions for couples or families

Location and feel of the property was great

The hot tub wasn’t working properly. Not all the jets were working which was very disappointing