Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort

Having stayed in many 5* hotels I have to say I felt dissapointed when it came to our stay here. I expected great service from the reviews I had read previously and with the reputation of the Anantara brand I was expecting a really luxurious stay... Check in was ok. 1st impressions of our room and the hotel were good, lots of storage space, a clever room layout and nice toiletries. However the 1st let down was that at check in we were told that we get complimentary water and fruit and that it would be on the table next to the window and not to be mistaken for the chargeable water... there was no water nor fruit. When we called to ask for water, mini bar a.k.a chargeable water was brought... we had to then ring again. Unfortunately we had to ring every day for water which is not the level of service we are used to and should have to receive. Second major flaw for me was the maid service, it was appalling. After spending a full day on the beach we got back to our room at 8pm, the bed was still a mess, towels not changed, basically nothing had been done. There was no 'do not disturb sign' on, however someone had been in to deliver fruit( but not water)?! Turn down service was unpredictable, one night it was at 7pm when we were showering, other nights it 9.45pm! Inconsistency sums up the maids service. When informing guest services about our dismay it was as if nothing had happened and that they would pass the message on. The way in which it was dealt with was poor and again not the sort of service you expect from a top 5* star hotel. Location - not great in my opinion, however that is my fault for not researching properly. If you want a place where by you can go for a walk etc this is not for you. We like to be by the beach or at least close to something... This pace is totally isolated. There is a shuttle which is acceptable most of the time, however when requesting it at the Tivoli and being told it would be 5 mins for it to turn up 45 mins later was ridiculous and actually spoiled our evening as it was then too late to re-venture back out that evening. We would have just ordered a cab if we had be told about the wait. The half board option ( buffet) was atrocious. Bland food, often nothing out and the queues for the chef were a joke. We waited 20 mins to get served a drink. Just really poor. I can only say it is probably acceptable if you have young kids and that you just want a quick and easy meal. Service and food at the seafood restaurant however was very good. Pool areas were nice with comfortable beds but if you don't like to sound of children bombing into the pools head over the adult pool, but be sure to reserve a bed as they often get taken up very quickly... Puro Beach was sold to us as part of the hotel but what wasn't made clear is that although it is partnered with your hotel you cannot charge anything to you room as it was implied to us at check in, it is a good job we brought cash as I didn't fancy the hour round trip back to the hotel to get money. Service there was mediocre too. Personally I wouldn't return. Flashy but poor service. They ran out of bottled water ( in August, in a heatwave!!!!!!! ) Overall I think that there were elements of good service as you'd expect for a 5* but it is inconsistent and thus the hotel feels more like a 4 star. The maids are rude, poorly trained and lazy in my opinion and have cost your hotel us ever returning. Which is a shame considering how often we visit the Algarve. I can understand why some people think this hotel is great, it is great if you have kids and don't want to leave the hotel - But for me its the small things and they matter.

The hotel did not change very much the look from the Tivoli time. The major improvement is without a doubt the services and the quality of the staff. Now is a superior 5 ??????. The only bad thing is the temperature of the adults pool. It???s frozen. This is a hotel to visit again and again

What we liked Room upgrade was fantastic and we loved the Victoria suite, very comfortable, great space Luis (our butler) was absolutely brilliant The pools were great ??? really great space My son had a proper cot which was great ??? much better than the travel cot you are often given at hotels Babysitting service worked well but very expensive as we had to pay minimum 3h charge but usually only used 2 hours What we didn???t like Food for children - very very slow service, not very nice and limited selection Limited changing facilities - none in men???s toilets by pool and no nappy bins by pool except in ladies Kids??? services fairly superficial - no real understanding of what???s required: no toys provided in the room etc (although Luis and the kids club lent us after we asked which was appreciated) Kids??? club was billed as an area we could use but we were told we could only use if if my son was left with staff so it was effectively out of bounds as we did not want to leave him Service generally slow for food/drinks and some staff seemed untrained which is not good enough for a hotel of this standard and price Broken glass on the floor if our suite - 3 separate pieces found despite reporting the first two Limited allergy free options at buffets - did get almond and oat milk when we asked (after long wait) - no soya yogurt on offer but provided on request Sustainability could be hugely increased - remove single use plastics eg straws, cups in gym and bottled water around pool. Offer reusable cups and filtered water, paper straws, cotton buds with paper stems, packaging for toiletries etc, solar power Prices in restaurants very high - we were charged ???90 for a piece of Dover sole and 2 tiger prawns The beach is not suitable for very young children ??? the day we visited the waves were huge and very rough/dangerous, the Purobeach club is very much an adult area with very loud music, people drinking and smoking. We were told the beach is ???maybe a 5 minute tuk tuk ride away from the hotel??? but in reality it is much further - maybe 20 mins