Ria Park Hotel & Spa - Almancil, Portugal     

We booked this hotel via a travel agent using a BritishTour operator with a great reputation...looked nice in the brochure, seemed ideal for what we wanted [a week of r&r somewhere sunny and warm] and so we booked. Then we read the reviews on trip-advisor...and were worried! We wont do it in this order again!! So...if this helps...here's what we thought with regard to other reviews here: HOTEL: Very clean, nice bedrooms, EXCELLENT and friendly staff. ROOM: We had a suite - very nice - just two bedrooms joined together with a settee and chairs in one. Big bed. Widescreen TVs, mini-bar etc etc. Don't bother with this, if I were you...unless you can't spend more than 5 minutes in the same room with your other half. SEA VIEW: We paid extra...but you get a side on look at it as none of the rooms look directly that way....our view was very nice: over the pool and surrounding villas etc but don't pay extra if you're expecting to watch the sunset on the water from your balcony as you wont be able to!! FOOD: We were half board...and the food was terrific...really excellent BUT to say the restaurant lacks any sort of atmosphere is an UNDERSTATEMENT...it did pick up when we were moved to a smaller room so that a conference group could use the big restaurant...and that helped. NB though...in "summer" they apparently open up this area so you can sit on the terrace and this would be much better. BUT...the food, as I say, was really great as are the waiters/waitresses. Breakfast was excellent...huge choice, fresh,very nice. BAR: is in the lobby and it felt like it...again, like the restaurant: lacking in personality...but again, great staff. SWIMMING POOL: The outside one is not heated and for me [someone who'll swim anywhere!] was too cold on all but the hottest days and even then was a challenge. The indoor pool is heated but is small, in a dark room and boring! POOL AREA and POOL BAR: all very clean and fine. Pool bar is not cheap but was very handy and well used. SPA: bit of a mystery this...hotel gave us a map which made it look as if the spa was somewhere else nearby but when I asked, I was told they did "treatments" in the health club area downstairs...that's not a "spa" to me...so didn't go and can't comment. Prices looked expensive to me too. LOCATION: very quiet, exclusive area surrounded by very expensive villas [and they look like they'll be building more near the hotel judging by the "sold" plots...so beware future building noise?? BEACH: nice strip of sand...very long and not wide with a number of beach bars nearby - all of which are supposed to be really good. Not the rocky coastline that parts of the Algarve are famous for and I wouldn't swim off here as it was way too rough when we were there...we saw kite surfers too which shows you how windy it is! MANAGER: I've read someone's review that says the Manager isn't very friendly...well, we were never introduced....BUT if it is the man I think it is, he could have at least said hello to us when passing on the stairs you'd think, wouldn't you? I think it was him and he could take a tip from his staff and smile a bit more and make you feel welcome...not that it would have made our week any better...but still. Maybe if we had been the business traveller + family from America he might have managed a hello...he seemed to be happy to sit with them....ahh well!!! Just another note...if you book any trips from here via your rep or some such...ask how long it will take to do the pick ups from other hotels before you start the excursion...could be 2.5 hours like ours was....yawn. Hiring a car would be a good idea if you want to see more...but the concierge will get a cab for you if you want to go for dinner somewhere and they were all good. There is no small shop or anything nearby...so worth taking water or similar unless you don't mind paying the high hotel prices.

Like a previous reviewer, we were upgraded from the Ria Park Garden which was overbooked. Lovely hotel, clean and comfortable. The buffet breakfast was great but to eat or drink in this hotel if not included in the price would work out very expensive. The pool was very clean but moving off the decking on to the grass meant that we were plagued by flies. There was a convention on, which lasted for two days and the noise from the congregating masses travelled from the foyer up to the fifth floor where we stayed and kept us awake until the very early hours. After a complaint to the Manager, we were dispatched a bottle of champagne and platter of fresh fruits which at least showed concern on the part of the management. Not 5* as advertised but still a lovely hotel, well worth a visit. We didn't dine in the hotel but found a lovely restaurant on the road to Almancil, about 4km from the hotel called Don Julio, what a gem. Something for everyone, fabulous food and very attentive waiters. Not to be missed!