Viceroy at Ombria Algarve

"I have travelled a lot during my lifetime. I have stayed in all different rated accommodation and can honestly say this is not up to standard. I arrived on 28th December for a 3 night stay. All very nice offering a herbal tea and hot hand cloth. I thought, this is going to be lovely. I couldn't have been more wrong. Checked in at 3:15pm, very slow process but I live in Portugal and understand this is how it is here. As we approached the room, I noticed the electric pendant light hanging at the outside entrance to the room was dripping with water and this was pooling outside the room. On entering the room I was hit with an unpleasant stench of drains (room 101). I soon established it was coming from the shower. I thought I will run the shower and see if it clears the smell. I decided to go for a walk with my dog around the hotel and give it time to settle. It didn't, I called reception (approx 4.15pm) to explain the problem and they said they would send over a maintenance engineer to take a look. I sat and waited, and waited, and waited!! Eventually after chasing reception for an update a gentleman arrived with a spray bottle at hand, approximately an hour later. I watched him run the shower then apply a very toxic spray to the area. He soon realised this did not work so unscrewed the spray bottle and poured the entire contents down the drain. The shower room now had an overpowering toxic smell. Once this smell evaporated again the foul drain stench returned. Still not able to unpack, I returned to reception to say I would need to be moved. I was travelling with a friend and my dog. The receptionist suggested we go for dinner and they would prepare another room for us. We had paid extra with a ground floor terrace for the dog. The Ombria Kitchen restaurant was fully booked until 9:30pm (although there was just 2 tables being used at this time in a huge restaurant which I noted was still not full an hour and half later when I passed). The other option was the golf club house. We ordered 2 burgers and chips, a glass of house red and a coca cola. The base of the bun was so hard I couldn't eat it, the presentation lacked finesse, literally one flat layer of fries and a burger (61 euros). On returning to reception we were told that they had fixed a part in the shower and we should go and check the smell!!! It was now 7:30pm, some 4 hours since check-in. The room still had a terrible drain smell, we returned to reception and explained. They said they would now move us. However, this would take another hour and at the very latest another room would be ready by 8.30pm. We waited until 8:45pm and once again returned to reception. At this point we were exhausted, fed -up and wondered what sort of place this was. We decided that as we only live an hour away we would leave. We had not unpacked and had spent hours just hanging around. The receptionist then once again for about the fourth time disappeared to a back office and a female manager appeared. She explained she had only been notified of the situation at 6pm. She went on to explain that as the booking had been made by Mr & Mrs Smith they could not return the near 1100 euros they had applied to the debit card without it being authorised by Mr & Mrs Smith which was now closed. Our only option was to stay in another room as if we had just left we would not have any guarantee of receiving a refund. We moved room at 8:45pm, but didn't bother unpacking as we did not know what was going to happen the following morning. The new room had curtains hanging off the runner, the shower gel bottle didn't function properly so we had to unscrew it to extract gel from it. Eventually following lengthy negotiations between Mr & Mrs Smith and the hotel trying to reach a resolution it was agreed that we pay 214 euros for the pleasure of all the above. This was the only way we could get the balance refunded so we agreed and left. The following is a brief outline of why I would not recommend this hotel and would certainly not rate it as five star service:- Very slow check-in. Concierge breathless running up and down stairs with your luggage was uncomfortable to watch. Room had appalling stench (this had not just happened and should have been highlighted by housekeeping staff). Paying 50 euros per night extra for a dog which includes bowls, a bed and a toy - none of this was in the room. I asked at reception and they said 'oh you want all this'. They put in the bowls and a bed big enough for a tiny dog. I had given them the dogs weight, it was evident he is not tiny, he could not even sit in the bed never mind sleep in it. No toy, however perhaps this was on check out. The tapas bar was not open when we arrived and when it did open it was just a bar, no tapas available. The presentation and standard of the food in the golf clubhouse was poor. There is no designated area for your dog to have a run or even a poop. They should not promote dogs staying as it does not provide a suitable environment for dogs, especially at 50 euros per night. The staff need to be re-trained on how to appropriately manage situations promptly, e.g I was told they could not prepare our room any quicker as they had turn downs to do! We were booked in for the wine tasting, we had a call to say it was no longer available and we could attend a mixology class instead. The mixology class is brandy based cocktails and we do not drink brandy but still agreed we would go as there was no alternative. We had prepaid 40 euros each to go to the thermal spa. This is basically the hotel pool, sauna etc. I would have thought for the prices this hotel charges the pool etc would be included for hotel guests. Housekeeping staff need to seriously up their game with regard to what the guests are expecting. To allow that room with that stench to go unreported, a light fitting dripping with water outside the room, pooled water you have to walk through to get to your room, curtains hanging off the track, shower gel not working and not to seek out what size dog is staying is extremely poor on their part. The setting is beautiful and I'm sure when this hotel opened it was full of great expectations. Sadly, it will not last, I have seen it so many times before. They need to invest in staff that can meet the expectations of what the hotel is charging."

"My partner and I traveled to the Viceroy at Ombria in November for a romantic weekend away. The property itself is stunning, modeled after a traditional Portuguese village. The room was fantastic with great views, ample space, and convenient touches with nods to Portuguese culture. The spa and golf course were top notch as well! That being said, the soft product could use some work. Check in was a disaster and the guest services team didn’t seem to have any of the correct details for our itinerary. Missing dinner reservations, incorrect spa treatments, etc. This is not the experience one would expect at a resort of this caliber and I hope they are able to get more organized and on top of it going forward. I’d love to go back in the future when they’ve ironed out these details and improved the food a bit too."

"Just returned from a week’s holiday staying at the Viceroy Ombria. It is a hotel which has a lot of potential but disappoints on some levels. Firstly although marketed as a five star hotel it really isn’t. We arrived to our room and waited for one and a half hours for our luggage to be delivered. On sunny days in November there is no pool service for drinks - in fact the pool area is not staffed at all it would appear outside high season. I mislaid my Kindle by the pool and despite asking several staff about where it might be no one took any responsibility at all. Again I would not recommend the hotel in the wintertime - no where cosy to sit, no real place to have a comfortable drink and outside the Ombria Kitchen dining choices were sparse. You can eat in the Clubhouse used by golfers but it is like a school canteen with no atmosphere. We ate in Solalua marketed as a tapas restaurant which it very clearly is not and although Millie our hostess was beyond charming it was incredibly expensive for cold bites of food. The cocktails were however delicious. Our room was beautiful it must be said and we were upgraded as some building work was taking place nearby. The hotel management need to remember that their staff should be customer focused always and that the hotel in the autumn and winter needs a refocus towards what guests might need when the sunshine is in limited supply. It had huge potential but currently underwhelms on many fronts."