Vila Vita Parc Resort & Spa

Please read this if you plan on staying at this hotel. I'm not accusing anyone of somehow developing a higher rating, but I've stayed at hundreds of hotels in the last decade and never has the online rating and teh catual experience been so far apart. I'm just going to lay out exactly what happened in detail. I travel 20-30 times per year and stay in some of the best hotels in the world, including, most recently, the Bairro Alto in Lisbon and the Majestic in Barcelona on this same trip, both spectacular for far less money and with lower TripAdvisor ratings than this property. I have no doubt VVP corporate will respond to this with the same warm, generic reply they give every other critical review on this page, thanking me for my feedback and saying they're sorry to hear this. Keep in mind that their response will not change one fact below. The room itself had an extreme mildew smell, bad enough that I raised it with staff during the stay. I was told there was nothing they could do, no alternative room, no guarantee of one, until 3pm the following day at the earliest. Sleeping in that room another night, let alone waiting out an entire day in it, was not an option as I started to get respiratory symptoms. If you want to go to the beach, be prepared to plan your entire day around a shuttle that runs once an hour. There is no on-demand transport to the beach, no walking there, you wait for the bus, on its schedule, not yours. Miss it and you've lost an hour of your vacation standing around waiting for the next one. And note that this isn't mentioned anywhere on the website when you book. If you want to use their beach, the front desk will tell you-as it did me-the following:"You really want to go to the beach club because here all you'll get is an umbrella and a towel and it's not that nice." Sounds like a great resort so far, right? The resort itself is so sprawling that everything is a 10 minute walk away. Want to go to a restaurant, 10 minutes. Want to talk to reception or the concierge, 10 minutes. If you've ever been to this part of Portugal in August, you know what a 10 minute walk in that heat does to you, you arrive drenched and exhausted before you've even started your day. Yes, there are carts you can call, but sometimes no one answers, and when someone does, it can take another 10 minutes for the cart to actually show up. So your "quick trip" to a restaurant becomes a 20 to 30 minute ordeal each way, in blazing heat, at a resort charging a premium for convenience it does not deliver. I want to be fair about the people who work there, because they were lovely, genuinely kind, wonderful people trying their best inside a property that does not support them. Nuno Martins, the day manager, could not have been kinder. We spent 15 or 20 minutes talking through the room situation, and he was warm, sympathetic, and easy to talk to. Which makes it all the more disappointing that he was the one who, at the end of the day, personally instructed the front desk to make sure I was charged for all four nights, including the three we didn't stay for after leaving because of the mildew room they couldn't fix. That instruction came from the one person who had sat with me and heard the entire story. That's the real failure here, not any one staff member, but a property with no empathy built into how it operates. Literally on our 32nd wedding anniversary, we made the decision to leave a hotel entirely, something I have never done in a lifetime of travel to some of the best properties in the world. That should tell you everything you need to know about what this stay was actually like. If this was in a major city, I would have simply gone to another hotel, but it's the Algarve coast and they wore us out so much between the smell, the walks back and forth to the front desk and the loudness of my "private rooftop suite" 50 feet from the screaming kids at the family pool. (BTW-the rooftop private suite is shown in at least 2 photos as having a water view, but many -including mine-do not. They will argue with you over and over again that you are wrong when you say that you are under the impression it had a water view. This is not how a five-star hotel behaves. ) I simply asked what was fair; I left my anniversary vacation 3 days early and we can live with that, but don't keep my money for the final three nights we didn't stay there, especially when you claim you're in high demand and I just gave you literally the only available room to rent.) I've since filed a formal dispute for my final 3 nights with Citibank (my credit card company) and am pursuing this with every single agency that has oversight over hotels in southwestern Portugal. I am going to make it my mission to ensure that nobody else gets duped by the ratings and reviews. There are far better places to stay on the Algarve Coast for far less money. Steer clear of this hotel. There are many many better options in the region for far less effort and far less money. Por favor leiam isto antes de reservar neste hotel. Não estou a acusar ninguém de manipular avaliações, mas já fiquei em centenas de hotéis na última década e nunca a avaliação online e a experiência real estiveram tão distantes uma da outra. Vou simplesmente descrever, em detalhe, exactamente o que aconteceu. Viajo 20 a 30 vezes por ano e fico em alguns dos melhores hotéis do mundo, incluindo, mais recentemente, o Bairro Alto em Lisboa e o Majestic em Barcelona, nesta mesma viagem, ambos espectaculares por muito menos dinheiro e com classificações mais baixas no TripAdvisor do que esta propriedade. Não tenho dúvidas de que a VVP corporate vai responder a isto com a mesma resposta simpática e genérica que dão a todas as outras críticas negativas nesta página, a agradecer o feedback e a dizer que lamentam. Tenham em conta que essa resposta não vai mudar um único facto do que se segue. O quarto tinha um cheiro extremo a bolor, suficientemente forte para o comunicar ao pessoal durante a estadia. Disseram-me que não havia nada a fazer, sem quarto alternativo, sem qualquer garantia de um, até às 15h do dia seguinte, no mínimo. Dormir mais uma noite naquele quarto, já para não falar em esperar um dia inteiro nele, não era opção, pois comecei a sentir sintomas respiratórios. Se quiserem ir à praia, preparem-se para planear o dia todo à volta de um autocarro que só passa de hora a hora. Não há transporte à chamada para a praia, não se pode ir a pé, esperam pelo autocarro, no horário dele, não no vosso. Se o perderem, perderam uma hora das vossas férias à espera do próximo. E reparem que isto não está mencionado em lado nenhum do site no momento da reserva. Se quiserem usar a praia do hotel, a recepção vai dizer-vos — como me disseram a mim — o seguinte: "É melhor irem ao beach club, porque aqui só têm direito a um guarda-sol e a uma toalha e não é assim tão agradável." Parece um óptimo resort, não é? O resort em si é tão extenso que tudo fica a 10 minutos a pé. Ir a um restaurante, 10 minutos. Falar com a recepção ou a concierge, 10 minutos. Se já estiveram nesta zona de Portugal em Agosto, sabem o que 10 minutos a pé com aquele calor fazem, chegam encharcados e exaustos antes sequer de começarem o dia. Sim, há carrinhos que se podem chamar, mas às vezes ninguém atende, e quando atendem, pode demorar mais 10 minutos até o carrinho aparecer. Ou seja, uma "ida rápida" a um restaurante transforma-se numa odisseia de 20 a 30 minutos, de cada vez, com calor intenso, num resort que cobra um preço premium por uma comodidade que não entrega. Quero ser justo em relação às pessoas que lá trabalham, porque são simpáticas, genuinamente boas pessoas, a dar o seu melhor dentro de uma propriedade que não as apoia. O Nuno Martins, o day manager, não podia ter sido mais atencioso. Passámos 15 a 20 minutos a falar sobre a situação do quarto, e ele foi caloroso, compreensivo e fácil de conversar. O que torna ainda mais desapontante o facto de ter sido ele quem, no final do dia, instruiu pessoalmente a recepção para garantir que me cobravam as quatro noites, incluindo as três em que não ficámos, depois de sairmos por causa do quarto com bolor que não conseguiram resolver. Essa instrução veio precisamente da pessoa que se tinha sentado comigo e ouvido toda a história. É essa a verdadeira falha aqui, não é nenhum funcionário em particular, mas sim uma propriedade sem qualquer empatia na forma como opera. Literalmente no nosso 32º aniversário de casamento, tomámos a decisão de sair completamente de um hotel, algo que nunca me aconteceu numa vida inteira a viajar por algumas das melhores propriedades do mundo. Isso já diz tudo sobre como foi realmente esta estadia. Se isto fosse numa cidade grande, teria simplesmente ido para outro hotel, mas é na costa do Algarve, e eles desgastaram-nos de tal forma, entre o cheiro, as idas e vindas a pé até à recepção e o barulho da nossa "suite privada na cobertura", a 15 metros da piscina infantil cheia de crianças a gritar. (já agora — a tal suite privada na cobertura aparece em pelo menos 2 fotografias com vista para o mar, mas muitas, incluindo a minha, não têm. Vão discutir convosco vezes sem conta que estão enganados ao pensar que tinham vista para o mar. Não é assim que um hotel de cinco estrelas se comporta.) Simplesmente pedi o que era justo; saí da minha viagem de aniversário 3 dias mais cedo e consigo viver com isso, mas não fiquem com o meu dinheiro referente às últimas três noites em que não ficámos, especialmente quando afirmam ter tanta procura e eu literalmente vos dei o único quarto disponível para alugarem. Desde então apresentei uma reclamação formal junto da Citibank (a minha operadora de cartão de crédito) referente às últimas 3 noites, e estou a avançar com queixas junto de todas as entidades com jurisdição sobre hotéis no sudoeste de Portugal. Há opções muito melhores para ficar na costa do Algarve por muito menos dinheiro. Fujam deste hotel. Há muitas, muitas opções melhores na região, com muito menos esforço e muito menos dinheiro.

A very special hotel. Wouldn’t stay anywhere else in the Algarve. Interiors beautiful. Food very good. Shame the infinity pool is adults only. The beach is nice but difficult to get to down rocky steps and no loos. Nice toiletries in the rooms.

We booked this for my husband's birthday celebration, and although we had only booked a standard room, we were upgraded to a premium suite. It was the height of luxury, but unfortunately it was directly beside some building work and not only was the view spoiled but there was constant noise from the building. When I expressed my disappointment, we were moved to a really beautiful room in the Residnce building - absolutely fabulous with magnificent views of the sea! It really made the holiday. The staff here are outstanding, from the warm welcome we recieved the minute we walked into the hotel, tired and hungry, to the morning we left. The best place we ever stayed in. Can't wait to return!

The Vila Vita is a DREAM! I visited with my husband and 12 year old daughter. The property is gorgeous (and quite large) and the staff are so incredibly friendly. The concierge team is delightful and upon check-in they offer the opportunity to text them (via WhatsApp) if you need anything. We used the WhatsApp chat for everything - dinner reservations, more pillows and blankets to the room, room service, etc. We also booked a half day yacht cruise on the SilverStar. It was a bit pricey, but worth it. The boat was beautiful and the captain and first mate were so lovely and very knowledgable. We toured along the Algarve coast and went to the many beautiful caves. Just gorgeous. We stopped for a swim with a "sea scooter" and paddle board, which was very fun. We arranged (with the hotel) to have lunch catered on the boat and it was great. It was our best day in the Algarve. The restaurants are all very good. If there are certain restaurants you want to try, you should make reservations prior to your arrival. We loved the teppanyaki restaurant. It was entertaining and delicious. All in all, this is quite a resort and I highly recommend it.

We had the most amazing experience at Vila Vita Parc. Everything from arrival to departure was perfect. The staff is very attentive, the grounds are beautiful, and there is an array of great restaurants and activities to keep you busy. The rooms were clean and large with all of the needed amenities, the pool and beach area were lovely, and the spa offerings were abundant. I was even able to practice my Pilates in their new reformer studio. I hope that I can return for another perfect vacation.