Viceroy at Ombria Algarve

Just returned from a week’s holiday staying at the Viceroy Ombria. It is a hotel which has a lot of potential but disappoints on some levels. Firstly although marketed as a five star hotel it really isn’t. We arrived to our room and waited for one and a half hours for our luggage to be delivered. On sunny days in November there is no pool service for drinks - in fact the pool area is not staffed at all it would appear outside high season. I mislaid my Kindle by the pool and despite asking several staff about where it might be no one took any responsibility at all. Again I would not recommend the hotel in the wintertime - no where cosy to sit, no real place to have a comfortable drink and outside the Ombria Kitchen dining choices were sparse. You can eat in the Clubhouse used by golfers but it is like a school canteen with no atmosphere. We ate in Solalua marketed as a tapas restaurant which it very clearly is not and although Millie our hostess was beyond charming it was incredibly expensive for cold bites of food. The cocktails were however delicious. Our room was beautiful it must be said and we were upgraded as some building work was taking place nearby. The hotel management need to remember that their staff should be customer focused always and that the hotel in the autumn and winter needs a refocus towards what guests might need when the sunshine is in limited supply. It had huge potential but currently underwhelms on many fronts.

We (2 adults and a 14yr old) absolutely loved our 8 night half-term break at Viceroy Ombria. It literally ticked all the boxes of a perfect holiday for us: *Excellent (yet isolated) location - whilst not near the beach it is only a 25min drive from Faro, 15min drive to Loule, a wonderfully historical and cultural town. We also enjoyed day trips to Tavira (50mins) and Alvor (60mins). We hired a car. *Scenic pools - one was heated but wasn't really warm enough for us. Lots of very comfortable loungers and plentiful towels. However we were so busy we only ventured to the pools twice. * Interesting and challenging golf course on site (for 15 handicappers) - 5 rounds in 8 days says it all....when we were only going to play a round or 2! * Exceptionally warm, welcoming and friendly staff - without doubt the highlight of our stay. * Beautifully, luxuriously designed and furnished accommodation. We enjoyed a 2 bedroom residence apartment and it provided 2 huge en-suite bedrooms and a capacious living/dining space with full kitchen. Housekeeping was superb - without turn-down too! If being very picky the water pressure doesn't allow the rain showers to perform adequately (we used the hand held), the bed frames are squeaky, the bedding felt very heavy and had a very fruity scent. * Morning hatha yoga classes given by the amazing Monica -and they're free for hotel guests! * Great food - having visited many other Portuguese resorts Ombria Kitchen beats most other restaurants we've dined at. Superb breakfast buffet and a la cart. Well executed dinner menu - tasty, fresh and well cooked. Solalua, described as fine dining tapas, was sadly a miss - they tried hard (Millie was an amazing host) but was very expensive for the quality and quantity. *Superb spa - not free for hotel guests but that way it's kept calm and quiet. Hotel guests pay 40euros to use their thermal circuit (sauna, steam room, indoor/outdoor pool) and outdoor pool with loungers (note that the loungers only have sun in the morning) If desiring your own relaxation time (there is no onsite entertainment – just a host of activities you can pay to join in on – golf, spa, star gazing, cookie baking, horse riding) and a very comfortable, attractive, refined, friendly environment a little bit out in the countryside then this place could well be for you. We would return in a heartbeat and plan to as soon as we can. In all honesty we have found our perfect Algarve get away!

Totally catastrophic arrival We are family of 12 peple arrived today at around 3.45pm in the afternoon. Our rooms were not ready and we waited 2,5hours for them and still no rooms. One couple received their room but the luggage arrived after several requests 3 hours later. Still the elderly couple and the rest of the large family did not have their rooms nor luggage. Elderly couples luggage were left to the street without any observation for hours and they were still there when we had to leave for pre-reserved dinner to a town nearby. No-one could not shower/change their evening clothing but wear the same that they had worn the whole day in the sun in the sea. Irony is that the owner of the property had arrived little earlier with his large delegation with perfect check-in procedures. We heard all kinds of explanations how busy the day had been. If it is true, they have a severe lack of employees in that case. Now we are fully checked in and received our rooms at 10pm and finally also our luggage to our rooms. It seems that the A/C is not that properly functioning the bedroom but that is another story. After all this, no-one even bothered to say they were sorry and apologize for such a bad service. Maybe the hotel staff needs more training?

This place was disappointing and so far from a 5-star hotel. I wish I’d known this all upfront because the website really gets you excited for a great experience, however there are so many holes. If you have any kind of bee allergy, I would avoid this place at all costs. They’re everywhere. The saving grace is their spa, which is an additional cost to use. The staff is small and most don’t speak English. This made requests of any sort a challenge. The pool is beautiful and had to go up to the pool bar if you wanted to order anything. No one came over to ask us for our order. The shower in our room was broken. It only had scalding hot water, the kind you can’t put your hand under. We couldn’t use one of the restaurants. Every breakfast order there was some mistake and they’d have to make another. I witnessed that happen all over the restaurant, at every breakfast. Anyone with dietary restrictions should be careful as their GF/vegan/dairy signs on menus are incorrect. The manager of the restaurant was constantly stressed by having to go table to table to understand and translate orders and requests. All of these little things on their own wouldn’t have been an issue, but piled on top of each other made the experience pretty unenjoyable. They turned down the room 2x a day which was a nice touch. This is a hotel clearly in their first year. I think in 3-4 years it’ll be the hotel it claims to be online, but they aren’t there yet.

This is a truly luxurious hotel set amongst rolling hills looking down into a valley. A resort built round a magnificent looking golf course, which unfortunately I didn’t get the opportunity to play this time round . We stayed in a deluxe king room with a small terrace and garden at the front . The room was magnificent with everything you could possibly need , including a couple of fedora hats to keep the sun at bay (Nice touch) The sprawling resort is meant to resemble a small hilltop top town , it was very quiet , I’m guessing the time of year, the only two places available to eat practically was the club house restaurant and the central restaurant the Ombria Kitchen. The Cass E Fora restaurant and bar attached to the club house has a magnificent terrace with incredible views and is perfect for a drink and the food is great , the staff at this bar were the best we encountered at the resort , they couldn’t do enough for you . Definitely eat here if you go . The Ombria Kitchen is where breakfast is served each morning and it’s incredible, fresh fruits to Omelette’s, bacon and eggs to pastries . In the evening however the service can be a little hit and miss , which isn’t what you expect from a 5 star, but the food was always good. In short if you want a peaceful , restful time with good food and incredible accommodation in a lovely setting , this is your spot .