Pestana Alvor Atlântico Residences

Reasonable price. Good things: clean, tidy with daily maid, well equipped kitchen. minimarket nearby, beach nearby. Good english speaking tv channels, Car park and good wifi. Not so good: mattresses terrible feel every spring, air/con temperamental (despite asking twice for someone to make it work it still didnt) balcony fills with water from air/con unit, too far to walk to shops or restaurants, dingy reception area. Bathroom tired. Would we return probably NOT.

My partner and I stayed for four days, resulting in the stay being very enjoyable. The studio apartments themselves were small but a good size for two people. Clean and well kept, the cleaners also came in every day to make the beds and provided clean towels if needed. This was a nice touch to the stay. The reception staff were very helpful and friendly in answering our questions and helping us book things whilst staying within the resort. Some themselves were not available in this resort so the hotel next to this one called Dom Joao was available however this was not known prior to booking this trip. The beach is a short walk from the resort. The beach is amazing with bright blue sea and bright white sand! The pool allocated to us was pleasant and we spent a lot of time there due to it being quiet. We also used the inside pool most nights which again was quite, clean and a good facility. The town is a good 15 minute walk but once there, multiple restaurants and shops are available. We visited this place every night! The only down side to this stay was the self-cater part. We expected a big local supermarket in walking distance which would have been reasonably priced, however, on the resort site there is a small supermarket but containing high prices to everything. Also there was not much selection. In reasonably to this, if you choose to stay here being self-catered, get a taxi to the local supermarket and buy your food there! Other than that, we enjoyed our time in Portugal and time at the hotel.

We went for eight nights to Pestana Alvor Atlantico and found our studio apartment very small with very little balcony space. It was not worth the money we paid for it. It was probably the only down side of our stay in Alvor which was otherwise very enjoyable. The new boardwalk that has been provided since we were there last is brilliant and worth the experience. However, the addition of at least three Irish bars in the town itself is not a welcome development in my opinion.

From the outside the building looks very dated and "well worn" and the reception area, including the indoor pool that is just off the reception, with its wicker furniture and aged windows reflects a time gone by. The reception staff were friendly and helpful, accommodating us even though we arrived well before check in. They did advise us that we could use the leisure facilities at the nearby Pestana Dom Joao but when attended we were advised that we should have been given access cards to get towels - the staff at Dom Joao sorted the issue quickly but this was reflected again for two days out of three when we had pre-booked breakfast, the information between the two hotels was not in harmony and should be an easy fix. The rooms were self catering and clean with balcony views of the mountains on the rear elevation and a tease of the beach view just to our right. Beds are always a subjective matter with two of us thinking the beds were too hard, one to soft and one felt every spring. As a base for access to the three golf courses, the beach and nearby Alvor the hotel is very well placed with a local store for a good range of food items, drinks, domestic items, etc. Overall, its functional, the staff friendly (some more than others) and clean. It may be tired looking on the outside but for a short break it's reasonable and well placed.

Having stayed in Alvor a few times over the last 10 years or so, we were looking forward to a return stay & booked the Atlantico (as the Delphim - which we'd previously used on two occasions - has become fully inclusive; we'd also used the Luna Alvor Bay in the past). We wanted to try this hotel since it has fairly recently been refurbished & liked the look of the rooms/views etc, from the photos provided on-line; we paid for a sea-facing room/balcony & were given room 805 which faced south-ish & provided a partial view of the beach but balcony was in shade from about 3:30pm - which wasn't ideal. There are two, different room shapes on each floor: one has sliding doors to the balcony & the other has two, standard doors to balcony; ours was the latter which was not the room we were expecting..! This room was small & there was a settee blocking access to one balcony door while restricting access to the far side of the bed - which was uncomfortable to say the least. Clothes hangers were few & far between but we were supplied with 5 more after three requests at reception; cleaners were very helpful but supervisory staff not so. I requested a different room & was shown a similarly sized room to ours which was in the process of being cleaned/repaired; when I asked for a bigger room with sliding balcony doors, I was informed that none were available & that we had been given a higher floor with better views - not the case & this visit was in early March...! The shower/bath area wasn't clean - my wife touched the grouting to find a film of black, greasy substance on her finger....eugh..! Neighbouring rooms' doors were very noisy & slammed shut with quite a force - we noticed ours was the same & were careful to control the closing so as not to irritate other guests - surely the hotel management's job..?! A few other, small gripes such as balcony door scraping the floor when used & tv only viewable properly from bed. My advice to anyone thinking about booking this hotel would be to find another place; don't waste good money on this one.

We stayed during the Xmas break so my review is based on this period only. We were here for 9 nights, weather was lovely for December, sunny everyday. The hotel was quiet so we enjoyed peaceful times for all of our stay, we had a lovely room (606) beautiful views all round from the balcony and windows. The room was clean and cleaned daily. Shower powerful and water always hot. The kitchenette is a great idea for couples, singles but would think it would be more difficult with children, however well equipped. Free Wi-Fi that worked fine. I had booked breakfast with our room, which is available in the Dom Joao ll hotel a short walk away, but we only used this twice as cooking in the room was much nicer. I found the breakfast in the hotel crowded, and the cooked food was cold on both occasions. The hotel is a 15/20 minute walk from the shops/restaurants of Alvor. The beach is 2 minutes walk and the boardwalk, there were plenty of restaurants along the beach however many are closed for the holiday period in December. Saying that though there were still many places to enjoy over this period, and you don't have to bear the crowds of summer! This was our first visit to Alvor and I recommend this hotel to couples, adults, especially this time of year.

This hotel is not the ideal accommodation for someone with sensitive hearing. We did hear doors opening and closing the whole day and night. Furthermore, the rooms/kitchenette have all basic equipment. The hotel is located near the beach and you can make use of the swimmingpool of the other Pestana facilities nearby. Although there are 11 floors, the lift goes only to the 10th.

Part of the Pestana group which includes the excellent Dom Joao II Hotel which is just a couple of hundred metres away and where you can use its facilities which include a large and deep (in part) pool with ample loungers and beautiful shade from the large trees close to the pool. The Alvor Atlantico is close to the beach, it is fairly basic accommodation with differing sized apartments. There is a small supermarket adjacent. Our apartment, 705, was compact, just okay for two people, with a small balcony which gets sun most of the day and with a lovely view of the wonderful Alvor beach and Boardwalk. It was spotlessly clean with a very powerful shower with loads of hot water. The biggest disappointment was the bedding which is most uncomfortable, on the other hand the staff are excellent and most helpful. The Atlantico is in a nice, quiet location, near the beach and a good selection of restaurants, it's close to the lovely boardwalk on which you can walk in to Alvor in 15 minutes. Next time it will be the Dom Joao for us!

Stayed for a week in October, it was a nice 22 deg C, with a lovely cooling breeze. Good points: -lovely fresh apartment -very clean -staff were very nice -great location for restaurants etc -good tv channels -cracking shower -kitchen facilities in apartment were very good -free wifi -the area is stunning (visit the boardwalk!) Not so good: -no door staff reception after midnight (not a big point though!) -had to pay a daily rate for room safe...what!! -free wifi does drop out, but not often -you can hear noises from apartment next door quite easily Summary: Still liked it very much and would recommend it 7/10