Grand Muthu Forte Do Vale

"This hotel is situated in a nice quiet area but within easy reach of the old and new towns. The tourist train stops nearby and taxis are cheap (about 4euro) into new town, if you dont fancy the walk! The building itself is big and very clean in all public areas. The staff on the desk were excellent .. Carlos (and iforget the other gentleman's name) were both lovely and even let us have our room early. The room itself was huge. Separate kitchen area with fridge ,dishwasher , washing machine , kettle etc. Plenty of cups and plates etc. Balcony could be accessed from both the bedroom and living area. Yes , the rooms are dated and tired .. curtains almost threadbare. We didnt need to use the sofa bed but it didnt look too supportive. However , we can't fault the cleanliness. The bathroom had toothbrushes , cotton pads etc and plenty of towels. Just be extremely careful while showering as it is very slippery. There is no shower mat. The lady came every day to clean the room and change beds if we wanted. While it wasnt warm enough for us to use the pool , we did have a look. The pool area is quite small. There is a pool bar but its only open certain times. Due to lack of space there os only 2 - 3 tables to sit at. Fine at this time of year but i wouldnt like to see it during peak time. Aside from the tables at the pool bar , there is absolutely no outdoor seating. Nowhere to take a coffee in the morning and sit in the Sun unless you make one in your room and sit on the balcony. I find this strange for this resort as all hotel seem to have outdoor areas. There was entertainment in the bar but being off season (and the lack of seating) we opted to head to town or to Praia oura hotel (from the same group as this one) as we could enjoy a drink outside and there was more atmosphere. We didnt have all inclusive, which i was glad. The restaurant is very small for a hotel of this size and the choices on the dinner buffet were limited. You can eat at any of the other Muthu hotels (either with your all inclusive or just paying) but if you want to stay on site , this isn't the best choice. Drinks weren't great either. I can't fault the breakfast though. Warm , fresh and good choices. Again it would be very crowded at peak times. We got lucky that it was low season. The indoor pool booked nice but we didnt use it. There is a pastry and coffee shop inside but we didnt see it open at any time. There are a few little supermarkets just a minutes walk away with lovely pleasant staff where you can get some essentials. I mentioned Praia Oura hotel.... we stayed there before but wanted to try something else. If it's was to return id go back there as it has direct beach access , better atmosphere and outdoor areas. Plus it has 2 pools .... the room layout wasnt as good though. Overall I enjoyed the few days away(3 nights) but i think for a longer stay , we would opt for somewhere else. Not due to cleanliness or staff! Just because we had to move off site a good bit to enjoy the sun with our coffee/cocktails and to hear some music :) If you are happy enough to spend a few days on your balcony or sitting in the lobby then it would be fine. I wouldnt rule out this group of hotels, just maybe consider the others. There is a nice restaurant around the corner .. "House of Stews" - highly recommend !"

"Arrived on Monday, still here until Friday, lovely hotel, got upgraded to an apartment, cannot fault it! Hotel is quiet at the moment, we are self catering, so eating out in the new town and old town, good prices."

"Totatlly honest review going from our past stays at other hotels, depending on what you pay for this hotel will depend on whether its good value for money or not, just dont expect 5 or 4 star facilities, rooms and food Hotel in general is clean but very dated, dull rooms, not enough plug sockets has a very "Butlins" chalet feel, rooms are cleaned to a barley minimum daily, no fresh sheets, bed not made nicely. we had the "Deluxe Double room with kitchen" and did not have tea coffee etc in there. Room was dull not much light aircon was good though, bathroom again dated and miss matched and definitely not up to 4 star standards Food... well very limited variety and quality and not big enough for the amount of guests. again very dark and no option to dine outside. if the restaurant is full the you have to dine in the lobby area so get down early as when we stayed it wasnt at full capacity and just out of season. Small bar area, limited drinks again not big enough for the hotel size. snacks in the afternoon consisted of just a few cakes (no savoury option) not even crisps. Please be aware that you have to put down a £100 damage deposit on arrival and also if you want to use the indoor pool there is also a £5 charge for swimming caps each, which you have to wear. Room was set out as a twin but soon rectified once we said we wanted the double room. Arrived midday and was offered the option to start the all inclusive straight away or to start at 3pm and have lunch on our last day (12pm checkout) A good thing, you can use the facilities at there sister hotels which are about a 15-20 minute walk away or a £4 uber/bolt (uber and bolt are cheap to use over here and very quick pick up times) we did dine in the other hotel (clube praya de oura) and this was a lot better for food selection and atmosphere there are some local shops, restaurants and pharmacy within walking distance, highly recommend fat cats bar :)"