"We visited for a chance to explore Lisbon and had a good time. We stayed for two weeks, on a package with EasyJet.
The hotel is lovely, the public rooms in the old palace are full of character and the guest rooms in the new annexes are spacious and well appointed. The gardens are mostly lawn but there is also the Poets Park to explore and there are adult's and children's pools, both clean and well provided with loungers. Rather shabby and small towels are available from the spa (sometimes also put out on the loungers which can confuse you into thinking someone is sitting there) for use at the pool, but you can get a clean one every day.
The situation in Paco de Arcos (not Estoril as advertised by Easyjet) is very convenient, just across the road from the sea and a short walk from the dog-friendly beach and the train station. The disadvantage is that the dual carriageway corniche runs between hotel and beach and can be noisy if you want to sit out on the terrace or under the arches. There are other beaches a slightly longer walk. The village/town is pleasant and home to a small supermarket, shops, cafes restaurants, bank with ATM, vet etc etc.
From the station it's a 20 minute train journey into Lisbon or down to Cascais, return tickets for both are less than 5 Euros pp and trains run every 15-20 minutes, so really easy and convenient. It's also only about 30-40 minutes taxi drive from the airport. To get to Sintra is a little more difficult as you need to change stations in Lisbon or get a bus from Oeiras - we went via Lisbon and it was easy, but we did check the route beforehand.
There is a buffet breakfast with the usual range of cooked and continental, and a chef on duty to cook eggs and pancakes if you wish. We were half board, so ate in, but this is unusual and there are plenty of good restaurants in easy walking distance so with hindsight we would have gone B&B. There is an extensive menu for dinner, but it doesn't change, so if you don't like/can't eat fish and cheese (as one of us doesn't) your choices are quite limited and repetitive. The food is good - I tried most things on the menu - the portions aren't huge but we never left hungry. The wine is mostly from the Vila Gale chain's in house vineyards and is very palatable and reasonably prices; we sampled a wide range of red and white and found it all good.
There were a few things we didn't find as good:
Although the bars are described as 'open' from whenever to whenever, they were not obviously staffed, so if you wanted a drink or to order lunch at the pool, you first had to find someone to serve you. Whoever then appeared was very happy to help, but it made the process of acquiring a drink long and tedious. We never lunched in the hotel, because we couldn't be bothered to find someone to take the order. The bar never seemed to do much business and was very quiet - a shame as it was a nice cosy space. It would be an easy fix to staff the bar, as there were always plenty of staff around, making a great show of achieving not very much and would create a virtuous circle of being easier to get drinks, so more people were drinking, so more people were attracted in by the convivial atmosphere and bought drinks. There was one breakfast when the hotel was full after an event that was complete chaos, there were plenty of staff, but no organisation and so two waiters would do the same thing, but no one would do something else.
The schedule for making up rooms seemed idiosyncratic. Our room was rarely made up till well after lunch and one day not till after 5. Now, maybe you don't mind the bed unmade when you come in from a day out, but I hated it and found it very not relaxing. It also meant that the maids often wanted access when we were changing for the pool after a morning out. One day they seemed to forget to leave any towels. However, the standard of cleanliness was good and the plumbing functional - the shower drained well.
The hotel says it will provide a coffee machine in the room on request - there was a well stocked mini bar. We chanced our arm and requested a kettle (come on, we're Brits and like a well made cuppa), we were told that they would 'ask maintenance', no idea whether they ever did, nothing transpired and no one followed up with an apology or explanation. (I should say that you can enter and exit without going through reception, so you didn't get to know the staff on the desk.)
We had a late flight out, not landing till around 10:30, so it was late when we arrived. Despite having missed dinner, and indeed not really wanting food at that point, we did feel that the hotel could have made some recognition of this fact. It's not unusual to arrive late, and either be offered the chance of a cold meal or a lunch one day. There was also no token 'welcome drink'. Not the end of the world, but it did leave us feeling a little bit anticlimactic on arrival.
Overall, it was a good holiday and a good place to stay. Really convenient for Lisbon and very welcoming."
