Lopesan Villa del Conde Resort and Thalasso

Just got back from Villa Del Conde and had a nice holiday. Rooms are massive, we had a large balcony and even a walk in wardrobe. The bathroom was also very spacious with both a bath and shower which was well powered and plenty hot enough. We did unfortunately get a few cockroaches come into the room but i don’t think that can be helped with how hot it was. The rooms were kept very clean and drab towels, dressing gowns etc supplied which was a nice touch. The bed was super comfortable for our 10 night stay. It was a shame there wasn’t a single bottle of water in the room for our arrival as we didn’t arrive til late and no shops in the area were open.Little touches like this you would expect from a 5* hotel. The buffet restaurant was great. Ample choice at both breakfast and evening meal. Fresh cooked pancakes and omelette/eggs in the morning and meat and fish cooked fresh of an evening. Was a bit disappointing for a 5* hotel that you have to get your own coffee/juice and it’s not served to the table for breakfast but coffee was of decent quality. The drinks on the evening are quite expensive even just for some bottles of water as they are in glass bottles. We dined at the à la carte in the hotel and didn’t enjoy the restaurant at all. There was little choice on the menu and you aren’t able to have wine by the glass there either. The callao restaurant by the beach at the Faro was amazing though and we had a nice meal in the Baobab too. the dine around half board plus is definitely worth it. (some meals have a small supplement and still pay for drinks). The entertainment in the hotel is a bit hit and miss. My son loved the putting competition every morning and winning a few cocktails but there wasn’t much tennis on like in other hotels, no music by the pool unless it was aqua aerobics just lacked a fun vibe which left it a little dull during the day. We didn’t watch much of the evening entertainment as we ventured out it was generally a DJ or musicians in a square which was quite nice to see when going in the buffet restaurant . The hotel location was good it’s about 8 minute walk to the shops and the main part of Meloneras. If you walk to Faro bus station you can hop on a bus to pretty much anywhere for a really good price. It was very easy to grab a sunbed around the pool even after midday. Unfortunately the service at the pool bar is very slow, i also don’t think the beach towel exchange is available for long enough during the day as we missed it open a couple of times. Reception were helpful during our stay and organised a couple of golf trips locally for our son. overall the hotel is in a nice location, room was the biggest and most have ever had but unfortunately it just wasn’t lively enough for us with things to do but great if you want to just come and relax and reqs a book by the pool.

AIR CONDITIONING: This is set to 22 degrees - much higher than the recommended level for sleeping. You cannot make it cooler so it is hard to sleep as too hot. When I complained I was fobbed off saying it was hotel policy. DRINKING WATER: You are charged for this - the only hotel I have ever been to that does so. VEGETARIAN FOOD: Hardly any other than salad and carbs. No vegetarian protein at dinner. ROOM: If you have a less expensive room they will put you next to the plaza which has late entertainment. The rooms have no sound proofing and the noise is unbearable till around 11pm. CUSTOMER SERVICE / GOODWILL: The other adult in my party did not come on holiday. We had paid for half board. I asked for some hotel credit for the breakfast and dinner x10 not utilised as a gesture of goodwill - they said no. This hotel has a veneer of being 5 star but the service is poor and they don’t care if your sleep is bad - they can take the inflated money for a 5 start hotel while cutting corners and giving you a substandard experience. I would never return and if you haven’t booked it yet, I would urge you not to - there are so many great alternatives.