Crowne Plaza Vilamoura

First time to Vilamoura and it didn’t disappoint. Loved it and exactly what I needed. Stay was with friends who were at a nearby hotel so booked solo at the Crowne. The hotel was brilliant attentive and friendly staff. Immaculate hotel throughout and excellent facilities including the gym. I had a massage and used the spa and very high end experience I’d highly recommend if a solo stay or couples very relaxing. Thank you Paula for the massage. Couldn’t fault this hotel and just to say the room, shower and bed and storage was the best I’ve seen in along time. Outside pool and seating area fantastic and again immaculate clean. The hotel is also very children and family friendly and as as a father I would bring my children here in the future as the area is well suited for all types. Exceptional would love to come back. Great for location 10-12 min walk to heart of the marina plenty little pubs cafes shops nearby. Oh and the hotel Breakfast very very good with so extensive choice. Tip - come before 9am peak. Thanks again team. Coleman 623 11th - 14th June

Very good hotel. Clean, good facilities and good bars/restaurants. Can’t fault it. Standard towel wars in the morning but the hotel do sometimes combat it.

We stayed for three nights in June and came away feeling disappointed with our stay. There are definitely some positives, but overall this hotel no longer feels deserving of its five star rating.

We’ll start with the positives first. Every member of staff we encountered was friendly and welcoming, especially upon checking in. Our room was very clean, and the bed was big. We don’t normally eat breakfast when we’re away, but we tried it here and we were impressed. The selection had everything you could think of including a fresh omelette station, a crepe maker and lots of hot and cold options.

And for the negatives…

The hotel itself feels very tired and in need of a refurbishment. It may well have been a five star hotel when it first opened, but it certainly doesn’t feel it now. Throughout our stay it felt like a three to four star hotel at best, with very little that felt luxurious or high end.

The biggest issue, and the one that genuinely left a bad taste, was the charge of €2.50 per hot drink in the room. After paying a significant amount to stay for just three nights, we were disgusted to discover this. Charging guests for a €0.15-0.20c coffee in a supposed five star hotel is outrageous and we didn’t purchase any out of principle. I wouldn’t even expect this from a two star hotel. It completely missed the mark on what a guest would expect from a premium hotel.

The pool area was quiet and peaceful, so if you’re looking for a chilled vibe you may enjoy it. For us, though, it lacked any atmosphere and felt flat so we avoided spending much time there. The complimentary pool towels had run out by around 10:30am one morning. Some of the sun loungers were broken, and one collapsed underneath me when I laid back.

The air conditioning in the room was poor. It uses an old system that didn’t get the room cool enough, and the ceiling fan is positioned in one corner of the room rather than above the bed, making it ineffective whilst we slept.

When we checked out, nobody asked how our stay had been. It felt like a missed opportunity to hear guest feedback, especially given some of the issues we experienced which we would have verbalised if we were given the opportunity.

Overall, this isn’t a terrible hotel, but it certainly isn’t the luxury five star experience we were expecting. With some investment and attention to detail it could be excellent again, but in its current state it falls well short of its rating. The coffee pod charges alone summed up the experience for us: charging extra for something so small after guests have already spent so much money felt out of touch and something the management should re-consider. Unfortunately, we’d be unlikely to stay in a Crown Plaza in the future after our experience.