Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort

Service was second to none. Given it was evening when we arrived and after little one???s bed time, the offer to go straight to the suite and check in there so we could put baby to bed was wonderful. The service quality continued throughout our stay. Nothing was too much. 5 star service is about predicting what guests need before they have to ask - the Anantara team did exactly that. On check out when we called for luggage assistance, the car was already brought up to the front of the hotel, again without the need to ask. We enjoyed room service of a standard far better than many hotels. A true 5 star, luxury experience. Thank you to Toni for exemplary service throughout, and to the broader team.

The only thing letting us down was the weather! It was a bit cooler than usual, otherwise the hotel pool would have been amazing. Really nice hotel great facilities but overall the service is impeccable, all staff friendly and quick to react to any request. Would recommend this hotel and area.

Half term trip with the kids (without my husband) booked very last minute. Hotel was very nice with large spacious rooms and clever bathrooms with sliding doors to maximise space and light. We had a family room which are effectively two interconnecting rooms. The hotel sensibly seemed to place all families in the same area at ground floor level close to the pool (but far enough away so that it wasn't noisy) and kids club facilities. The kids club (complimentary for 4+, ??creche for younger) by Worldwide Kids was great - and Jodie the manager was super friendly and kind to the children. It was a friendly and welcoming place and I had no hesitation in taking the children (4 &3) down there to play. Helpfully, the play area at the back was also accessible to parents and children when not in the kids club too so I was able to take the children down and enjoy this with them outside of opening hours or when the kids club and creche were booked up (it was half term and busy). The rest of the team were lovely too - especially Rachel and George. The spa was also a highlight - I booked a massage and then went back another day for a facial. Both were professionally given by a therapist called Rachel/Raquel. The lady on reception was very attentive and warm and the experience was very relaxing - not least because it was so quiet in the spa - a bit of a gem really with outside sun loungers as an alternative to the ground floor pool. I didn't use the sauna or steam but did go in the indoor pool which was a little cooler than I expected. Housekeeping was a bit hit and miss. On the first night I asked for an extra bed for my 3 year old as I was concerned about her falling from a high bed onto the marble floor in the night. It took3 attempts to get this bed and when it did come (she was already asleep and we had to move her), I discovered it was dirty with fake tan marks from a previous occupant. They did redeem themselves on this when asked - a gentleman who seemed to be in charge of housekeeping was a real asset and when he was involved any housekeeping issues were sorted immediately. However, a system of asking for beds to be changed by placing a sign on top didn't work and when said daughter wet the bed they instead made the bed back up without changing sheets (despite sign being placed). These issues were all resolved but I resorted to effectively stripping the bed if I wanted sheets changing rather than expecting them to see an issue. Towards the end of our stay housekeeping got later and later with some days our bedrooms not being sorted until 4/5pm. That said, when my kids were sick (yes it was one of those holidays) they were straight over to change the beds (again the nice gentleman taking charge) although the towels and robes that were also casualties of the sickness never were replaced. We didn't eat in the EMO restaurant, which was reportedly very good because it wasn't child friendly and my teenage son wasn't fussed even if we'd got a babysitter. Breakfasts were great. Ria restaurant at lunch was lovely, but shame it didn't open at night time as we would definitely have gone there. The Victoria restaurant was a typical half board buffet which we tried once but was very disappointing so didn't go back. The pool menu was fine but limited - but a larger issue here was actually getting served. We had to work too hard to get staff attention (when they came they were very nice) but it wasn't the level of service you'd expect from one of these resorts - particularly if you've been to other Anantara resorts in Asia/indian ocean. On the whole it was a pleasant stay - I don't golf so I can't comment on that (the course looked lovely) but aside from the kids club and spa I don't think I'd want to stay longer than 5 days (we stayed 6 and were ready to leave) - Vilamoura was disappointing, and I'm sure there are other parts of Portugal worth visiting nearby but we didn't get to them (not least because of a rip off at AVIS but that's for another day). As with all resorts like this it was expensive at every turn, and there aren't any shops or facilities in the immediate vicinity - but if you book this kind of hotel you expect this. That said, by asking more than double the price for a transfer to the airport than one immediately available on the internet was, even by these standards a bit rich (E59 v E25 with Faro airport transfers) and wasn't the parting impression I wanted - but strangely representative of the pricing policy within the hotel. PS - they do make a great Mojito.