"This was our fourth stay at the Pestana Blue Alvor Beach and what can we say.
Fantastic hotel, brilliant staff and great location.
Wherever we went, everyone was so helpful and friendly from the moment we arrived. Reception staff were always there, ready to answer our questions and requests. Our television stopped working and within an hour maintenance staff were there to solve the problem.
Our room was kept spotless and the chambermaids were lovely. The hotel was very clean, you could always see a member of staff of housekeeping cleaning or polishing and everyone was just so friendly.
The entertainment team organised a haunted house experience, make up was certainly impressive and it was hard to recognise the friendly "day team" from these scary creatures. It was good fun. So was the Portuguese lesson from Theresa, I managed to improve my Portuguese and she her Dutch.
The staff in the three restaurants and two bars, again, were always friendly and happy to help and answer any query that I had, including "what exactly is in that dish, I cannot quite place it, it tastes wonderful".
The food was very good, the fish from the fish station was fantastic, the meat was a bit more 'pot luck', some days it had been fried just that bit too long. However, the choice of food was excellentl and you could always find something to your taste. Some evenings there was the central "show piece" of seafood - the size of the serving "dish/bowl" rather big and very impressive.
Both Luigi and El Fuego did not disappoint - pizzas, risottos were fantastic, meat was
maybe not as tender as it could have been. However, the overall experiences were wonderful with the staff making a big contribution to the overall ambience of both places.
Bubble and Coral Bar - we do not cease to admire the speed and quantity at which cocktails/ drinks are served. A point to mention is that all drinks are all branded and in the restaurant the wine is in bottles. We believe, rare for an all inclusive hotel.
The location of the hotel is great, if you do want to wander away from the pool area and the entertainment team, the quiet pool or the children's pool area - the beach is just over five minutes walk from the hotel and Alvor (tourist shops, restaurants, padarias, a Sunday market and lots of kiosks on the waterfront where you can book a variety of boat trips) a 25 minute walk on the boardwalk. Both are great.
Nicky, the TUI rep is very helpful and there is a variety of excursions although you can always catch the bus to Portimao or water taxi to Lagos if you want to make your own way.
Every time we visit we can see the changes since we came last: refurbishment of the Coral bar/ entertainment area; a quick view of the almost completed basement pool with sauna and steam room, the upkeep of the ground. A sign that the hotel manager and staff are always looking at how they can improve on the stay of their guests.
We arrived on a Sunday 26 degrees Celsius to a hotel that was 70% occupied and ready for the winter season. Within a week temperature had shot up to 30 degrees C and as a result occupancy to 95% and three days later 100%. We have great admiration for Carlos, the hotel manager and his team for going from "winter to high summer" occupancy in five days: staff wise you could see everyone pulling together, sun loungers were brought out of winter storage, additional food was ordered. If you did not know the details, you would not have known. It just shows what an excellent hotel this is.
We cannot thank Carlos (it is always so nice to catch up with you), Christina, Giovanna, Ines, Vitor, Bernado - with/without beard, Helena, Angela, Matthew, Mila, Sofia (restaurant), Theresa, Nicky and all others of whom we didn't get their name, enough. IIt was so lovely to see you all again.
Muito obrigado por um lindo feriado e ate logo!! and wishing you a good first winter season.
Jonna and Bill"
