VILA GALE COLLECTION PALÁCIO DOS ARCOS

Every aspect of this hotel was excellent. The rooms were large, modern, well-furnished, and well-kept with balconies overlooking the ocean and the resort's outdoor pool and gardens. The facilities included a large outdoor pool with lounge chairs, towels and bar service; an indoor pool with lounge chairs; a sauna; a Turkish bath; a spa; a small but adequately equipped fitness centre; an elegant restaurant; a business centre/lounge; and lovely gardens. The staff, to a person, were friendly, helpful and very competent. The hotel and all its facilities were immaculately kept. We had three babies in our family group and the staff went out of their way to help. The free breakfast was the most elaborate, comprehensive and excellent I have had anywhere in the world. The hotel is located in the charming town of Paco de Arcos, within easy walking distance of many restaurants, shops and services. It is a three minute walk to the train station for the 20-minute trip to downtown Lisbon.

We spent 5 days at this hotel and thoroughly enjoyed it. Set in a small town between Lisbon and Cascais, it i close to the train station of Paço de Arcos which is very convenient for getting around. The hotel is partly an old building with a new section adjacent where most of the rooms are. Indoor pool with sauna and hammam and massage facilities. A small fitness area. An outside pool surrounded by a beautiful garden. We had one evening meal at the restaurant which was excellent. There are also many good restaurants in the town. Our visit was at low season so the hotel was quiet. The phonic isolation of the rooms is not perfect as you can hear nouse from neighbouring rooms. Breakfast is excellent and buffet style and you can order cooked items (eggs, pancakes, etc). As the week progressed the hotel got a bit busier and on our last morning the breakfast service dropped from excellent to mediocre. There seemed to be less staff and the ones on duty were inefficient. That is the only real negative point of our stay. But it makes me wonder what it must be like when the hotel is full. Staff were wonderful throughout the stay. Attentive to your every need. Special thanks to Susana at reception upon arrival and José as breakfast Maître d'hôtel. Andre at breakfast was also excellent but we only saw him one morning. All in all a very pleasant stay. Good value.

The view is wonderful on the swimming pool and the see. The room is perfect. Though walls are thin and you can ear easily what happens in the next room. A room service woke up me by mistake at 1:15 am with a bottle of wine despite the "don't disturb" on the door. During check out this bottle was still on my room. Fortunately I didn't have to pay.

We spent 9 nights at Palacio dos Arcos and would happily have stayed longer. It is ideally situated between central Lisbon and Cascais, 20 minutes by train in either direction (the train station is 5 minute walk away from the hotel), so you have the city and the coastal resorts within easy distance (plus the train is very reasonable). The hotel itself is an interesting mix of old and new. The bedrooms (in the new section) are spacious and have nice balconies that look towards the sea, the pool and the attractive gardens. The rooms do not have kettles/tea/coffee, etc but room service delivered us hot water every morning for nothing. The rooms are a little corporate in feel but could not fault their cleanliness and comfort. What marked the hotel out for us even more was the lovely staff. Every single one was friendly and helpful. We made the effort to try to learn a little Portuguese (badly) but they smiled and laughed with us often. Nothing seemed too much trouble and they were all a joy. Breakfast was very good, with a choice of tasty fresh fruit, hot dishes cooked to order (as well as some already cooked available on the hotplate), fizz, juices, pastries, cakes, cold meat, smoked salmon, cheeses, etc. We only ate in the hotel once which was good but there are 5 or 6 good restaurants a short walk from the hotel, so we were spoilt for choice. The swimming pool if lovely, great size with comfortable sunbeds around, although at this time of year it was very cold and needed determination to enter, although once you were in it was fine! We would unhesitatingly return and recommend the hotel.

We had the opportunity to do a 30 minute massage, followed by a facial and I only have positive comments to make. Very well organized place, good massage and excellent service. The pool is at a good temperature and both the sauna and the Turkish bath are in excellent condition. There are also two showers with various pressures and temperatures. To repeat.