Pousada Palácio Estoi, Small Luxury Hotels

We had the opportunity for a last minute break and wanted somewhere close to airport and were delighted to find the Pousada Palace in Estoi, 20 mins from Faro. The hotel description is spot on; magnificent restored palace with all the modern aspects incorporated. The dining experience is wonderful, super breakfast and dinner was sublime! The town of Estoi is a 5 minute walk to tavernas for more local fare with small grocery shops, beautiful gardens and local atmosphere. A super team of staff run Pousada Palace but standout in terms of our overall experience was the Spa and of Ines and her Magic Spa! Ines is an absolute master. We had three appointments during our 5 day stay because she is so good and I highly recommend booking with her, it will make your trip for sure!

From the moment of our arrival until the time came to leave our time at Pousada Palacio de Estoi was just simply beautiful. The staff all so welcoming and polite. The hotel built in a modern way yet sympathetically fits with the Palace. The rooms within the original palace are stunning and the modern guest rooms large and cosy with a minimalist design. The morning breakfast had a great choice to suit all diets and was fresh. Nice touch with a Nespresso coffee machine and freshly squeezed orange juice. All in all a beautiful stay at a beautiful palace in a beautiful country.

We attended a wedding at the palace over 3 days and we had an incredible time. The views and architecture are stunning to say the least. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. The staff are super helpful and the breakfast was delicious. My husband made use of the spa and highly recommends the back massage. Overall a great experience. My only minor criticism would be to provide more irons, we had 25 rooms chasing 1 iron which when we have several events for a wedding is not ideal, although we are laughing about it now and it does not take anything away from our wonderful experience. Thank you so much Estoi palace for making my cousins wedding a dream come true.

A hidden gem. A fabulous place for complete relaxation. Staff were helpful and in particular Ines who is the one who gives lots of information and the most fabulous spa experience. That was the highlight! Thank you Ines. 🤩||The dinner menu could be a little more diverse & the cocktails 🍹 were just ok. |There were 4 of us & we ate out of the hotel. We didn’t find much of a selection on the dinner menu. ||Overall a great experience & we will be back!

Aircon does not work in the day when it is most needed, only at night. Had to keep the curtains closed all day to try keep the room a bit cooler. This was the same experience for 3 of the rooms we had. Concierge was not helpful at all for even basic requests such as ‘what restaurant is good’. Was one of the most slow check in processes I have ever at at a hotel and then even though we requested a change in time for the transfer the night before checkout, this did not happen and so we then had to wait an extra 30 minutes as they organised a new one. Food was okay and coffee was nice. No turndown service at night and most of the beds only had a thin sheet which meant it was freezing at night. No face towels either. Overall, it was not a bad experience but definitely not a 5 star hotel.

Very nice hotel with a pool and spa. During my stay, I had two sports massages with Ines, and I must say she is outstanding. She is not only highly professional but also incredibly skilled at understanding exactly where to focus and how to relieve tension. Her technique is precise yet relaxing, and she creates a welcoming and calming atmosphere from the moment you arrive. I truly believe a massage with Ines is a must for anyone visiting the hotel!

We had a wonderful stay at Pousada Palácio de Estoi. The location is absolutely beautiful and we were lucky to enjoy incredible weather throughout our visit. The service was warm and attentive – the team really went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and took such great care of both us and our dog. A truly memorable experience – we can’t wait to come back!

This is a hard review to leave. This hotel has a lovely setting with genuinely stunning views. However, it is definitely not a 5 star hotel. We were given a room in the 1st floor and ground floor. The first floor hotel air conditioning never kicked in and it was hot outside. If you held your hand to the vent you could technically feel cold air coming out but the room never cooled. However, our ground floor room was great and the AC had no problems. We were told we could change rooms by the very nice front desk person but the only available room was also on the 1st floor. That room had the same issue. We agreed to wait for some time to let it cool down but it did not work. It was not has hot as being outdoors but certainly not cool by any standard. My wife has a condition that requires her to cool down her body on hit days so this is why we booked a 5 star hotel. The manager was not not there so we told the nice front desk person to let her know we wanted to discuss a discount in the morning as this was not what we paid for. We then had dinner in a nice patio but were greeted with very average food. Not bad but certainly not worth the price. The shrimp was bland despite being called spicy ginger shrimp. And the octopus plate was poorly cooked with stale veggies. The next morning, I spoke to the manager and she explained that there is no technical issue with the AC. She said that the 1st floor is just harder to heat than the other two floors so they could not discount or comp our dinner. She insisted that there was technically cold air flowing so nothing was wrong. I would understand if this happens at a 3 star hotel. But I don't understand how you get 5 stars with average food and a weak AC for an ENTIRE FLOOR, not just a room. So if you get a very good deal, stay here the view is amazing. But don't pay full price, don't have dinner here (just drinks in the dinner patio) and DON'T STAY ON THE 1ST FLOOR, during summer. And know this is not a 5 star hotel.

The staff at this hotel were beautiful and the view was spectacular from our balcony. Our room had ample space and the bed was comfortable. The shower was not the best we've ever had, nor were the toiletries provided but they were both good. We were impressed by the connected restaurant and bar but the food again was just good, not great. One of our steaks came horribly overcooked but otherwise the soups and small plates were where we were most pleased. The accessibility to the town was nice and they had some beautiful walking grounds connected. Our main complaint was the cleanliness, we saw cockroaches throughout the indoor pool area, in the steam spa, and in the hallways. We notified staff but were not offered any compensation or extra kindness, just assured the staff would look into it. The front desk was constantly helpful which is why my rating is as high as it is. I would stay again perhaps for a night or two, but a deep clean of this place is definitely needed. The carpet throughout had stains and spotting and we noticed a fair amount of dust on their art and other amenities as well. On the plus side, the breakfast buffet was plentiful and changed every day. They had a wide variety of cold and hot food with sweet and savory options both available with beverages to pair including tea, coffee, fresh juices, and wine.