Sam B.
Yelp
We stayed there in 2016 prior to the much-needed renovation and returned in September, 2018. The needed renovations were mostly in the rooms, which used to have "your grandmother's" décor. They are much nicer indeed. Aside from that, most of the changes were in layout of the lobby, where breakfast is served and the addition of the rooftop Sky Bar. That said, for a hotel that is essentially US$300+ for a decent room, we were very disappointed.
* Let's start with room problems:
o The DeLonghi pod coffee pot didn't work.
o Multiple light bulbs were out.
o There are a lot of light switches by the night stand but none are labeled and two killed all lights or the switches/wiring is faulty.
o The bathroom is an open plan shower but there are no bath mats.
o Laminate on the door frame in the bathroom was already peeling off.
o There are not enough racks and shelf space in the shower. Nor is there a fan.
o The towel rack was already coming of the wall.
o The shower is overhead, not wall mounted. The optional hand held shower dispenser didn't have a wall mount to secure it.
* Outside the room:
o There is not a concierge desk and no stand with information for tourists. You have to wait in line at the front desk to get any and all information, including requesting taxis.
o Azur Bar: The young servers are incredibly slow. I asked one for the check out on the patio and he told me to go inside to get it from the bartender.
o Mare Bistro (poolside restaurant): Sadly, after the renovation, it has the same shit hours and doesn't open early yet closes early. I went down on Sunday morning and they didn't open until 11AM. It closes at 6 or 7PM. No morning coffee or sunset cocktails for you.
o Speaking of coffee, there is no where to get coffee in the hotel in the morning without going to the breakfast café. Even in there, where there is a breakfast buffet, there is no self-serve coffee station. You have to wait to be served coffee at your table.
o There is no newsstand, gift shop, anything to buy anything, whether it be a newspaper, toothbrush, or, again, a cup of coffee.
o The included breakfast buffet includes much less options than before the renovation when the breakfast was downstairs. On top of that, the quality has decreased. The scrambled eggs and "bacon" were horrible. There was no cold milk available to drink, only warm sitting out for cereal.
o As we were checking out very early, we ordered a private car hire from the front desk the night before. We were offered a boxed breakfast to take with us since we would miss the buffet. Upon checkout, they had no record of our boxed breakfast request.
* The pool and access to the beach:
o The pool decking and furniture looks much nicer after the renovation.
o Access to Praia de Vale Covo is not the hotel's responsibility, but they need to get the municipality to fix the railings and steps down to the beach. It's very dangerous now.
The thing about this Tivoli property is that they have the view, a view that not many other properties in the Algarve can offer. But they need to get it together and make it worth the US$300 a night for more than the view. I will be looking for alternatives, sadly, for our next trip to the Algarve after this visit.
