Sao Rafael Suites

"Picked this hotel due to the mainly good reviews so had high hopes. Never had "all inclusive" before either so was interested to see how it went. Unfortunately, I wasnt too impressed with both. While the hotel was clean, the rooms and the surrounding areas were poor. The paintwork on the outside of the buildings facing the pool are needing refreshed. Bits of stonework etc, are falling off on balconies etc. Our room one painting was slashed. The lights in the bathroom were terrible - no lights on top of the bath/shower so it was really dark in the alcove that they are in. There was also no plugs for the sinks - how odd was that. Partner likes to shave with hot water in the bowl -so not to have a plug was weird. There was lots of ants at the pool and wasnt too clean. I stood in a disgusting hanky one day by mistake. The concrete slabs are in a bad way too. And amazingly enough one day before we left they started fixing one while everyone was starting to come to the pool - could they not have done that in the evening or something? The gardens while kind of maintained were needing some work to make the grass look better. Also the playpark for kids was miniscule. This draws me to the closure of the pool bar and snack area about 3 days into the holiday. They were refurbishing it. Who on earth does that at the start of the high season? This meant they had a temporary very small bar beside there, which had long queues, the soft drinks were in jugs sitting there so sometimes you got a fanta with no fizz if it had been sitting out. Why on earth would they schedule work like that when the hotel was full of golfers, families etc? Why didnt they do this maintenance in the low season? This also meant that the snack area disappeared so you couldnt stay at the pool with some food - you had to then go to the restaurant instead. Seemed a bit of a con. Also, not sure if it was because they think high season doesnt start until 1st June but there was no air conditioning in any part of the hotel apart from your room. The reception/restaurant etc had zero! It was hot as it was the last week in May - and not very nice sitting in a hot restaurant etc. At least something about the restaurant was hot. Not the food sadly. Was always lukewarm. The soup always ZERO taste and you needed plenty of salt to make it taste of anything. For information, the pool beside the bar is the noisy one with music and sometimes horrendous music. the pictures you see on jet2 etc must have been taken about 5 years ago, as the palm trees are huge now and some need cut down. Paying extra for a sea view is not worth it. Save your money - you can hardly see the sea. The sun loungers on the verandas (if you get one of these suites) are the old ones from the pool and are decrepit, broken and uncomfortable. The staff are nice at the hotel but some really struggle with english and sometimes its very difficult to understand what they say. 90% of staff are african I would guess. Did we enjoy the holiday - hmmm yes - would we go back there again - defintely not."

"Just returned from a stay at this hotel. Will write as much info as I have to help others with their stay….. Check in Check in was smooth. Arrived before the all inclusive started so was offered to get lunch on first day or lunch on last day (we chose first) and then asked to come back and get our AI wristbands about 3. Changed into swimwear in the toilet and left our luggage at reception. We Went back a little before 3 to get our bands and the staff were happy to give us these. Our room was due to be ready at 4pm and we received a call at 3.40 to say room was ready so that was good. Staff Staff were friendly and accommodating. Tried their best to help at all times. No complaints. Room Room was spacious and clean. We are a group or 5 ladies so we had 3 linked rooms and a shared balcony. No complaints at all. Beds were comfortable and large comfy pillows. Hairdryers in bathroom worked well (for hotel hairdryers). Toiletries in bathroom. There was a fridge in our room, so I got a cup of milk from the bar to take up for a morning tea! Reception would bring up a bottle of water for the room when we asked and give us more coffee pods for coffee machine on request. Pool side Pool side was ok - others were given control of music at times so not to my taste but hey - everyone is on holiday. Staff tried to get people involved in a few activities at the pool but weren’t pushy when we politely said no. Weeds around one of the pools and ants at times. Tissues / rubbish etc not always cleaned away from the night before until later in the day. It seemed the actual pools were cleaned nightly but the pool sides were not washed down. Big positive is there were PLENTY of sunbeds. We went in uk may half term - so not sure if this is ‘in season’ but it was lovely not playing sunbed wars before breakfast. There was also plenty of shade if needed. Food Food was well cooked and well presented. Choice of meats was disappointing at beginning of stay - quite a lot of fish and pork which personally I don’t eat. Only one restaurant and one snack bar….. so it would be quite repetitive if you have a long stay. There is also a payable bar / restaurant but we did not use that. Food variety seemed to improve a little at the end of our stay as it got busier, with pasta dishes being cooked to order and some more meat options like chicken legs etc on offer as well as the fish and pork which was nice. There were always nice salads, breads and fruit on offer. Food was cooked to a good standard, I just would expect a little more variety. Staff in the restaurant were friendly (as they were everywhere) and would bring drinks / top things up when asked. Drinks Sadly it was probably the worst selection of all inclusive (AI) drink I have had in any 4 or 5 star resort. There was beer, soft drinks and cider on tap but as a group of 5 ladies, we came for the cocktails we had experienced previously at a hotel of the same brand, and were disappointed. Only one cocktail on offer, which was made with tequila. We tried to get creative and made our own cocktails: vodka, grenadine and lemonade went down quite well! Also, we’re were basically adding multiple juices to the basic selection of spirits. Wine was ok - not to my taste but I am fussy. Mimosa’s could be ordered, and they were nice. I am used to local spirits on AI but there was not even a local version of Malibu (coconut rum) or schnapps on offer. Disappointing if you like a sweet drink like me! There are two bars. A lobby bar which has some entertainment about 9pm and also a pool bar. There is an option to upgrade to premium AI for €24 a day per person and you get some more cocktails and international spirits. But we felt we’d rather head out for drinks if we were going to pay. Entertainment Pool side did some games and aqua aerobics. Staff asked if people wanted to do tennis, ping pong etc - staff were friendly. We didn’t realise till a few days in that the activity timetable was on a digital board just opposite the main (lobby) bar. Worth a screenshot so you know what’s going on. Nightly entertainment was a singer / guitar player, bingo and then quizzes another night each at 9pm. Was enough for us as a group of adults to get involved with. Local area Taxi to Albufeira old town €10 for 4 seater €15 for 6 seater. Took about 10 minutes. Lively bars and lots of tourists. Worth a visit if you want to go “out out”. There is also a marina which is only 5 minutes drive from the hotel, with bars and restaurants, but not many shops. Overall hotel was nice but drink choice did not meet up to expectations of a similar 4* hotel we stayed at previously. We made it a great stay as had good company but I feel the hotel had a little bit of an identity crisis - trying to cater to golfers, families, adults etc…. So it was quite an unusual mix of people. Staff were friendly and rooms were clean and spacious. Would go back for the right price (3-4* prices and expectations). Hotel - Please add more cocktails and local spirits and more choice of dinner options!"

"very convenient location and amazing room and food. me and my family loved the hotel. André was hilarious and his entertainment in the bar area was a lot of fun."