Marriott Residences Salgados Resort

Let’s start with the positive aspects of our stay : the front-desk and buffet staff were consistently friendly, attentive and helpful. Thanks to our Marriott status, we were also upgraded to a pool-view room. The suites are spacious and have a large balcony. Negatives : unfortunately, almost everything else. Our stay fell significantly short of the standards expected of a Marriott property in almost every other aspect. Upon arrival, there was a noticeable sewage smell coming from the drains in our room, which running hot water did not resolve. The next day, we noticed that the same strong sewer odor was also present outdoors around the pool areas. It didn’t stop there, as live maggots came crawling up directly through our bathroom sink drain. Discovering maggots in our sink was extremely alarming, completely unacceptable and raised serious sanitary concerns for a hotel of this category. We immediately wanted to check out and leave the property, but due to the very high last-minute accommodation prices in the region, we unfortunately could not. While maintenance was dispatched and the worms did not return, the sewage odor persisted in the room for the rest of our stay. General cleanliness was also an issue throughout the property, with trash bags left outside guest rooms in the hallways for several days. The swimming pool located in front of the buffet was also closed for approximately three-quarters of our stay, cordoned off with red tape, for reasons that were never explained to us. We had a half-board package, which is priced at €30 per person per day, and it proved very disappointing. The buffet offered very few options, and the overall quality of the food was low. A weekly menu displayed a specific theme planned for each evening, but these themes were never respected (we asked one night, and the nice waiter confirmed most dishes wouldn't be available). We dined at the restaurant every evening but one, and never once saw the advertised show-cooking station in operation; it was always closed and unstaffed. The same issue occurred at breakfast with the live omelette station, which was mostly unattended. Last but minor gripe: the room TV had its HDMI input disabled, so I couldn't plug in my own laptop or streaming stick. Not a big deal, but worth knowing beforehand if you like watching your own content. Given the severity of finding maggots crawling in our bathroom and the persistent smell, we requested at least one complimentary night as compensation. Management refused and merely offered a few loyalty points along with complimentary spa access. Considering the widespread hygiene issues observed throughout the hotel, we did not feel comfortable using the spa facilities and declined the offer. Although the staff members we interacted with were pleasant and attentive, the overall sanitary issues, poor dining experience, closed pool and inadequate response from management fell well below the standards expected of any Marriott property.

So for context there were four of us away for 5 days playing golf in a 3 bed apartment. We were on the semi all inclusive which was breakfast, evening meals and drinks from 5pm to 11pm. The real positive was the apartment. It was modern clean with rainforest showers and toilets in each room and another off the kitchen and lounge area. After 20 years of golfing we agreed this is the nicest accommodation we have had. It was cleaned everyday. Breakfast was ok and evening meals were ok but lacked a bit of variation. If you like fish you will be fine. All the staff were friendly and demonstrated great customer service. If you like sport there is a big screen with the sport on most evenings. We did not use any of the other facilities as the golf took up most of the day time.