"We stayed at the Crowne Plaza two years ago and had a really enjoyable holiday, so we booked again expecting the same experience. Unfortunately, it just isn’t the hotel we remembered.
The biggest issue happened on our very first day. We nipped to lunch for around 25 minutes, came back and all of our belongings had been removed from our sunbeds – towels, sunglasses, everything. The signs clearly state that belongings will only be removed after 45 minutes, so we were well within that time. When we questioned the staff, nobody seemed to know where our things were and it took around 30 minutes before my wife eventually found everything hidden under a towel in the towel hut. That really isn’t the welcome you expect at a five-star hotel.
I don’t normally leave reviews unless somewhere is either outstanding or really disappoints me, but there were quite a few things that fell short this time.
The hotel seems to charge for absolutely everything. A game of pool is €9.50 for one hour, which I’ve genuinely never come across before in any hotel. Bottled water is €4.50 each, yet in the Victoria Hotel in the Algarve they had free filtered water stations available for guests all around the hotel. In this heat, providing drinking water feels like the bare minimum for a five-star resort. Instead, it feels like every little thing is designed to make you spend more money. The only positive is that the staff were always happy to provide plenty of ice free of charge.
Lunch by the pool was also expensive. We paid €55 for two adults and one child sharing just two meals. The portions were huge, so the value wasn’t terrible, but overall food and drinks soon add up. Over a 10-night stay you could easily spend another €1,000 or more on top of the holiday price.
The rooms are looking quite tired now. I understand there’s a refurbishment planned for November and hopefully that includes the rooms because they definitely need bringing up to modern standards.
The kids’ club was another disappointment. It’s more a couple of staff doing activities around the children’s pool than an actual kids’ club. What really concerned me was hearing one of the staff speaking quite abruptly to my daughter when they thought I wasn’t nearby. I was sitting just around the corner and as soon as I made myself known, their attitude changed completely. That wasn’t acceptable.
For us, the biggest problem is the value for money. We paid around £4,000 for 10 nights, bed and breakfast, for two adults and one child in August. By the time you’ve added food, drinks and all the extras, it’s an incredibly expensive holiday. On top of that, there’s very little atmosphere, hardly any entertainment, and you even have to pay to use the indoor pool.
If this holiday had cost £2,000-£2,500, I’d probably overlook a lot of these issues and even consider returning. At £4,000, I simply can’t justify it. There are much better options in the Algarve offering far more for your money.
It’s disappointing because we genuinely enjoyed staying here before, but sadly this visit will almost certainly be our last unless some big changes are made."
