VIDAMAR RESORT ALGARVE

The area is lovely if you want some beach time, pool time, a few walks and just to chill out. Some of the beaches are really beautiful and (for the moment at least) virtually deserted. Our favourite so far is Sao Raphael beach, which is a secluded cove with a restaurant, but the beach at the hotel is fine - if a little exposed - and you can walk it for an hour or so West to the next town, either across the sand or behind it following paths through a nature reserve. If you do, be wary of the river near the town, it was ankle height on the way there but chest deep on the way back! Crossing it was an experience but we dried off quickly in the blue skies and sea breeze. Hint: if you do that, don't cross by the river mouth as it looks dangerous and very deep, we crossed just down from the power cable and it was fine. We are still debating about the hotel. Certainly it's very big, but at this time of year (March) it feels a bit 'empty' - although that might appeal to some. Everything is clean, modern and spacious, although some of the design aspects (steel fire doors all over the place, empty feeling lobby, decor etc) are out of keeping with a 5*. We are half board. Breakfast is excellent although runny yolks are hard to come by! For dinner the food is a good selection but variable quality. Some really good and tasty, others you wonder if anyone at the hotel has actually eaten it - a couple of the meat dishes were very tough due to being over or under cooked. Also I didn't realise how good Portuguese wine is! We were 'upgraded' to a nature view room but this turned out to be a view of the carpark so I would have rather kept our original resort view. We also paid extra through BA for a double room, but this was just two singles pushed together. The rooms themselves are large and comfortable with a safe, wifi, minibar (useful for keeping supermarket bits in!) and walk-in monsoon shower, but no bath. The TV plays cartoon network every time you enter in the room and has to be turned off/over. Staff are excellent - all very friendly and welcoming, as are most people we have met here, but we could have done with a bit more info at checkin. We had to figure out what restaurants were open which days, no mention of the ongoing (relatively minor) construction works etc. The hotel organises a good range of activities (language lessons, pétanque) etc, and there's plenty to do in the surrounding area - we're planning quad biking and scuba diving, although you need to book well in advance for these. Pool area is very exposed and could do with some natural windbreaks. All in all, a nice place to stay if you're in the Algarve, but the details mean I can't agree this is 5*.

From the rooms to the pools to the amazing restaurants and staff this place is both idyllic and beautiful. I would thoroughly recommend the Vidamar to anyone wanting a perfectly relaxing holiday. The breakfast has everything you could possibly want and the activities are well thought out and a lot of fun. Service is fast and friendly. You're well taken care of. Cost of food and drinks is similar to U.K. City prices so nothing too steep.

This nice hotel is located in a bigger touristic complex 10 minutes away (West) from the beautiful town of Albufeira. It is however not easy to find ; better to have a GPS. A car is also mandatory. All rooms are facing the sea and the beach is directly accessible via a 300 m wooden path. But you need to badge 4 times for every journey; a little burdening. Rooms are very nice and comfortable with a large balcony. The only concerns are the airco (rooms too cold upon arrival 17-18°) and the very large TV (not easy to find how to switch it off). Meals are good and tasty, but not warm enough. You'd better to select omelets, meat and fish from the show cooking side. In average, this is a comfortable and enjoyable hotel. Maybe a little too expensive knowing that in May the main pools are cold (you have thus to pay 10€ per person per day) to access the inside pool; wine at restaurants, cocktails at bars, parking, ... are too expensive also. We didn't try 'à la carte restaurants' because most of them were still closed. The payment mode is unclear also.

Lovely hotel bit out of the way if you were going as a couple but there was 30 of us so we made our own entertainment , they had a singer in the reception area in the evenings . Went over to a villa which some of our friends stayed in and they were amazing absolutely massive with their own pool and they were 2 stories high with specious bedrooms and modern kitchens

We had an amazing family holiday !!! This is a lovely hotel with only one downside .....most of the staff . Apart from the staff in the Gin Bar and the porters the team really need to up their game ! We decided on the first day to just get on with having a fab holiday and ignore the less than acceptable customer service. The reception manager was abrupt and i had to laugh at how defensive she was when ever we required her help......you really need to adjust your attitude. The sunset bar is picture perfect so long as you are not bothered if you get the food you ordered ......on 3 occasions we ordered lunch and at the finish just ate what they brought as too busy enjoying ourselves to create a drama.... a lot of other guests did...it was a guest in house joke that you were in a food lottery......we for example ordered chicken and received goats cheese !!! The rooms are large and the decor is really good, we had a golf view which we had to pay extra for and when we first arrived they tried to put us in a pool view room and couldnt see what our problem was !! The rooms were not serviced as i would expect from a 5 star hotel either and were only ever given a lick and a promise and i often had to run after the cleaner for soap etc to be replaced. Did we have an amazing holiday ''' YES !!! Was that due to the staff........NO Would we return..........NO unless the service improved !