PESTANA VILA SOL GOLF & RESORT HOTEL

Our family stayed at Pestana Vila Sol between 20th July & 3rd August with 2 teenagers, we had reservations after reading earlier reviews that the service was poor & the hotel in a state of disrepair. What we found was a pleasant surprise, plenty of attentive staff, large adjoining bedrooms with plenty of storage, large king size bed, good varied evening buffet meals (menu repeated weekly; however don`t get excited over the Saturday hog roast, not quite the same as ones we have in England, very salty, cold & chewy, stick to the buffet) & large swimming pool with sufficient sun loungers. The adjoining golf course (3 x 9 hole options) was challenging, well maintained & good value (discounted to residents of the hotel only if pre-booked & pre-paid at the hotels reception desk the previous day) Tip for golfers, if you are running short of golf balls there was often a man by the 5th tee selling bags of good quality balls (pro v`s, chrome softs etc) for only 15 euros. There were a number of irritations with the hotel such as umbrellas around the pool being damaged & often flying off in the wind, some paths were uneven & required urgent attention & sliding wardrobe doors coming off their runners, clearly there had been a lack of investment in maintenance over previous years & the 5 star rating is probably not deserved at present however we still believe the price we paid was good value, therefore the issues were forgiven. It seems that a newly appointed manager had recently started & he made his presence know & made an effort to speak to residents for their comments, he knew of the shortcomings & had a programme in place to improve matters. Overall a nice holiday at a good hotel which is well located within 10 min drive to the marina. We used Ubers & didn`t hire a car which was sufficient for our needs but if planning to travel further afield than say Faro it may be better to hire a car. Tip for a great day out is the water park only 5 mins drive away, its very busy but great fun.

Hi there we came back on the 10th of August after spending 10 days at the Pestana, If you are looking for service this hotel ticks all the boxes ,yes it is as some say tired the odd cracked tile,or the one or two raised stones on the path because of use with years of using golf buggies,but that does not detract from the service and food,from all the restaurant ,It was good to see a manager always helping to see that you had a table clearing and doing almost everything,there were plenty staff and good,we were in a superior garden room one cracked tile ,the maid kept it clean and tidy,with fresh towels everyday with our beds outside,we walked most days to the paper shop and small cafe 20 mins away,and back you can take a taxi into the Marina 10 euros each way.I recommend you eat in the golf club ,the waitress Luz was brilliant,and if you want you can hire a buggy to go around the course which we really enjoyed it cost10 euros .For a rather expensive night take a trip to the Wild Fire restaurant,20 mins walk or there is a pub there also if you like a drink with spirits or wine it can be expensive overall great holiday Thank You

Hi all, given the value we've benefited from reading reviews on this site, I just thought I write up our thoughts on this hotel whilst it is still fresh on our mind (we checked out on the 19/08/17 having spent 4 nights). Firstly, thank you to all the staff that looked after us over the week, from the check in staff to those catering for us over breakfast. They were all very friendly and spoke good English (and even willing to listen to my attempts at Portuguese!) We echo the views of others in that this hotel is not 5 stars, it has the facilities but lack the finishing touches, i.e. our garden room (1011) could do with a repaint, resealing the bath and showering unit, replacing broken tiles, better quality TV etc. However, given the price we paid (i.e. no way near the premium of the top brands), we thought the hotel was great. A taxis from the airport cost 35 euro. We didn't realise Portugal has Uber until the next day. This is a must app to download! The free shuttle to the marina was nice and given there was none scheduled coming back after dinner (an area for improvement), we decided to walk it (50 mins). I think with Uber it would have been 10 euros . The breakfast choices was plenty and the freshly cooked omelette was yum. I agree with others that tea and coffee did... take a few more minutes to arrive... but in the end... the weather was just too hot, so we filled out with cold juices. We only had dinner in the evening once and that was very nice (À la carte - burgers). Both the outdoor swimming pools were very nice and clean. We were directly outside the smaller pool at the top, which I believe is ideal for those with small children. Whilst the path to our room was slightly uneven, we did not find this an issue at all, I believe this is caused by the roots of the trees surrounding the complex. For a great day trip, I recommend Ubering it to a town called Olhao (30-40 euros one way) and grab the ferry to one of the island (we went to Armona) – AMAZING... just amazing beaches and the sea was just crystal clear. Whilst we all have different expectations whilst on holiday, for us we just wanted somewhere that is friendly, clean and in a good location for a short week. We highly recommend Portugal (amazing people), and for the right price/deal... we recommend this hotel. Obrigado

We had a lovely week here and overall, the hotel is good. However, the hotel does not live up to the 5 star ranking- and doesn't quite match expectations of a European 5 star hotel. This was manifested in lots of different ways throughout our week long holiday here but it is mainly through the service. For example, whilst the breakfast offerings are plentiful and of a good quality, the table service for hot drinks is incredibly slow and waiters frequently provided the coffee before returning ten minutes later with a cup... Simple things like this were frustrating for the guest at a supposed 5 star hotel! The service in the pool bar is similarly slow and painfully disorganised. Other examples of failing to meet expectations include: - No tea or coffee provision in the room - Only 6 seats on the shuttle bus to the beach thus it frequently was booked (although alternatively were offered) - The latest shuttle bus returning at 5:15 meaning transport for dinner had to be otherwise arranged - Bags weren't in room 3 hours after checking in (when asked twice they did finally appear) Another example is the housekeeping. It was evident that we were using the glasses provided in our room however for 4 days, the housekeeping merely moved them around the room rather than replacing them with clean glasses. Although when we called for replacements they were provided immediately, this is another example of service lacking in places. As I say, we had a good week here however the overall message is one of slow and disappointing service and thus need for improvement to reach 5 stars.

We recently returned from a one week stay at the Pestana Vila Sol and we absolutely loved it! The hotel is beautiful and the staff were always helpful and courteous. Our room was on the third floor of the main hotel and we found it clean and comfortable. We appreciated the little extras provided by the hotel such as complimentary arrival drinks in our mini bar and a surprise cake for our daughter on her 7th birthday. Our daughter loved the children's pool and there was always free sun loungers, even half way through the day. The complex is relaxing and ideally situated at around 15mins drive away from the marina. I would recommend hiring a car to make the most of your stay. Overall a lovely, relaxing break and we look forward to returning in the future.