"Smaller boutique hotels are the best. Bela Vista exemplifies the very best qualities of the Relais & Chateaux group of hotels. The immaculate team who work in the hotel really enjoy providing a friendly and incredibly helpful approach to supporting guests during their stay. The level of service was extremely high and we could not find fault anywhere with the staff and the hotel systems.
We stayed in a beautiful bedroon overlooking what the hotel calls the "village" and the pool - Room 105. It is a large suite with rich colouring, amazing furnishing, and wonderful tiling around the entire bedroom - not all the rooms are like this of course but we felt very spoilt!
The room and hotel were both immaculate - no sign of wear and tear anywhere and spotlessly clean. throughout the public areas as well as the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Breakfasts were ample and the quality first class - one of the best hotel buffet breakfasts we have experienced. The food during the day and evening was served either in the swimming pool restaurant or bar food served less formally by the pool - again both excellent.
The Vista restaurant, holding one Michelin star was excellent, a 9 course taster menu including a trip to the kitchen and a chance to meet the chef too. The food was beautifully presented by the front of house team and the kitchen. The food was complex, consistent and crafted by the team to a high level. There were many different cheffing skills shown and I felt I could easily have been sitting in Lyon rather than Portimao - albeit the food itself felt entirely Portugese. Well worth the one star and well done to all the chefs and front of house team for a great experience.
We are grumpy and old. We don't like loud noise or music so found the swimming pool music intrusive. We would much prefer to listen to the water and the birds than the Pet Shop Boys or Beyonce. Perhaps the swimming pool team should ask the somewhat older guests around the pool as to whether they also want to listen to the team's choice of pop music at their youthful choice of volume. Had we asked the staff I am sure they would have accommodated us but its just annoying that they don't ask us first. Something for the hotel management to consider!
The hotel has a spa in the grounds which was well used by guests and ourselves who enjoyed the treatments and the professionals that provided those treatments. Spotlessly clean everywhere but our visit was spoilt by the fact that the facilities of the spa were not great. The sauna was not working, the steam room was far too hot for comfort, and the splash pool had a green tinge with only very modest pressure from the jets. Such a shame BUT the Elemis treatments and the treatment rooms were lovely.
This is a hotel of two sides. The back of the hotel offers truly stunning views of the coast line and beaches. . The front of the hotel is different due to what the hotel calls "the village" - our room had a "village" view rather than a sea view.
We describe this hotel as an oasis because it has to be acknowledged that the "village" which surrounds it at the front of the hotel offers a very different type of holiday experience It is not a "village" but rather a large number of high rise apartment blocks catered mainly by modestly priced restaurants and bars which are located on the same street as the hotel. Inside the secure gates of the hotel the guest is completely oblivious to the "village". Outside of the hotel is a totally different world catering for those seeking a different holiday experience.
Notwithstanding the "village", we would definitely recommend this lovely, charming and beautiful hotel for the very best Algarve hotel experience."
