Verde Lago Resort

"I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with the service provided by the employee Leonardo at the Salpico Pool Bar. We were extremely displeased with the way we were treated. We simply asked a perfectly straightforward and legitimate question, only to be met with an extremely rude and arrogant attitude—behavior completely inappropriate for someone in a customer-facing role. We consider it unacceptable for a customer to be treated this way, especially given that there was no reason whatsoever for such an unpleasant and disrespectful response. The way this employee spoke to us left a very poor impression and significantly detracted from our experience at the establishment. We suggest that management exercise greater care and discernment in the selection and training of staff assigned to customer service, as behavior of this nature is incompatible with professional service and inevitably damages the establishment's image. We hope this situation is duly reviewed and that the necessary measures are taken to ensure other customers do not have to undergo the same experience."

"Positives: - Location and setting: Quite a beautiful location, with wooden passageways taking you to the sports courts, beach. Beach was gorgeous, perfect water temperature, long stretches of sand both ways - Sports court: Great booking system via the hotel app, worked well throughout our stay. And football pitch was amazing quality, size. My eldest son was there most days and loved it. - Loved, loved the bikes: The concept of bikes just being available everywhere, no need for locks, rentals or deposit. We had had a poor experience with bikes at Porto Sani recently, so it was a joy to see sociality working at its best! Bikes belonged to everyone (albeit we did see a family taking the hotel bikes outside the resort. So no humanity still has its challenges) - Restaurants: Breakfast at the main reception/Salicornia was great! We had dinner at Salicornia twice and at the Beach restaurant once. Beach has the most beautiful setting with swinging chairs and a gorgeous sunset. - Staff: Samir at Salicornia was attentive and funny and accommodated our teens' random needs with a huge smile. Bruno at the Beach restaurant was funny and engaging. Marta and Taina were super courteous and friendly, especially as we were a large group of 11. But a huge special congratulations to Nuno at the beach. His patience with the completely appalling behaviour of many guests who tried to reserve beds was amazing. It was the first hotel I have been in which items are removed if guests do not come back within 1h. Nuno was always checking whether guests were at their beds, with a smile and with kindness, which must be extra challenging given the behaviour he is faced with. Amazing Nuno! - Sustainability: Loved all the eco-focused and sustainability aspects, from the refillable soap/shampoo, to the washing machine soap, to the water filters to refill our bottles. A true demonstration of a commitment to nature and aligned with its beautiful setting Negatives: - Restaurants: We had to dine outside the hotel 3x due to lack of table availability. For a resort of that size, I would have expected that guests would always be able to dine at the hotel. It was especially surprising that the Beach restaurant was closed a few nights: something I would not have expected in the middle of ultra high season. A way to improve this would be to follow what for example Porto Sani does, which is to ask ahead of arrival whether the guest would like to book a few restaurants for the stay. - Building works under way: Our apartment was facing the current building works at the resort from both sides. The noise was not too disruptive, as we were mostly out during the day. But it really impacted the view and it would have been nice to have been told during the reservation that such works were happening during our stay - Beach beds: Despite Nuno's best efforts, the situation at the beach is really stressful. I went 3 days at 9am to secure a bed, but different from the majority of the guests I stayed at my bed! It was really disheartening to see guests placing their items, books and simply leaving for their leisurely breakfast and coming back past 11am. There was a family who even left for lunch and kept their items on a bed. This should not be allowed. I understand this increases pressure on staff to constantly monitor who is leaving and I understand this is a problem with people and their antisocial and anticommunity behaviour. And the system that Nuno and his team uses to mark the beds and who is occupying them is great! But maybe explaining to guests on check-in how the beach works and perhaps enforcing the fact that their items will be removed in case they place them and leave."

"We arrived 2 days ago. Breakfast is good. No active management so the place has a constant sense of chaos with lots of well meaning staff doing little to any good effect. Want a buggy? No chance as the bearded hombres have emails to check. Until you are almost at your villa. And then they come. Very expensive. I won't be coming back. Avoid unless you have money to burn."