More about Pestana Alvor Praia
Our Winter Retreat
by Balam about Pestana Alvor Park Hotel
The hotel is part of The Pestana group of hotels and resorts, one of 5 in Alvor. beautifully furnished rooms with all the amenity's you would wish for, (there are 55 apartment type rooms). the staff are friendly and helpful. The first year we stayed there the restaurant was open in the evenings and the food if not a little pricey was first class, but in 2007 they had decided that it was not worth opening in October because it was not that busy and so it just opened in the afternoon for lunch which was a great disappointment and also proves inconvinent for people who do not wish to walk into or around Alvor when it may well be cold and raining. Another great let down is the hotel bar, now we don't want long nights of loud disco music and alcohol fuelled conversation but a few drinks with a bit of music would be nice, instead all you get is a TV with football on or silence. absolutely no atmosphere at all, something that they really do need to do something about. Just some music would help.
In Oct 2008 i have arrived to find that they are now charging for use of the wireless internet and at €8 per hour it can work out very expensive for people who have work to do or just like to keep in touch with friends.
The Aparthotel offers a swimming pool, Health club, sauna, spa, laundry, Restaurant/snack bar
all in all it is a nice hotel but it really does need a few points addressing
View from our Balconey
We liked this hotel
by TripAdvisor Member Caancokildare
My wife and I stayed at the Pestana Alvor Praia for seven nights from the 21st March 2007. We found the staff very friendly and helpful. The hotel facilities were excellent, very good wellness centre, nice indoor and outdoor pools, nice restaurants. We enjoyed the breakfast, which was extensive with good choice, and we occasionally had lunch at the pool-side bar which was also nice.
We normally had dinner out in Alvor (Por Du Sol is good, also Buzio overlooking the beach and our favourite Amadeus, which is about 9 km from Alvor). We had the hotel buffet on our first night but it was expensive.
There is no tea/coffee making facility in the room, but otherwise the room/bathroom was fine, with small balcony and nice sea view. The beach is beautiful with direct access from the hotel by lift or steps.
Drinks in the lounge were reasonably priced and all told we enjoyed our stay. We would use this hotel again.
Pastries
by Balam
Many of Portugals lovely pastries were invented by Nuns during the 18th century. As times were hard the nuns made and sold them as a means of supplementing their income.
Many pasteries still have interesting names like Toucinho do Céu (bacon from heaven) Barriga De Freira (nun's belly) and Papos De Anjo"(angel's chests) all assosiated with the Nuns whe created them
A particularly delicious pastry and mine an my Mums favorite is "Pastéis de Nata," a small custard tart sprinkled with cinnamon i was shown how to make these by a Chef at The Pestana Alvor Pria Hotel were they make the best Pastéis de Nata i have tasted (up to now).
08/12/09
The Alvor Pria's Pastéis de Nata were the best untill i went to Belem during Euromeet 2009. we had the famous Pastéis de Belem and they were delicious.
Pastries
by Balam
Many of Portugals lovely pastries were invented by Nuns during the 18th century. As times were hard the nuns made and sold them as a means of supplementing their income.
Many pasteries still have interesting names like Toucinho do Céu (bacon from heaven) Barriga De Freira (nun's belly) and Papos De Anjo"(angel's chests) all assosiated with the Nuns whe created them
A particularly delicious pastry and mine an my Mums favorite is "Pastéis de Nata," a small custard tart sprinkled with cinnamon i was shown how to make these by a Chef at The Pestana Alvor Pria Hotel were they make the best Pastéis de Nata i have tasted (up to now).
08/12/09
The Alvor Pria's Pastéis de Nata were the best untill i went to Belem during Euromeet 2009. we had the famous Pastéis de Belem and they were delicious.
Great Hotel for a Conference
by TripAdvisor Member Jingsabove
Arranged a 3 day conference for 80+ people in the Pestana Alvor Praia. Comments are as follows:
Location - Approx. 50 mins from airport. Decent journey from airport to Hotel in terms of quality of roads & scenery. Only 10 minute walk into Alvor for lots of decent restaurants & pubs. Portimao only 10 mins taxi drive from Hotel too (approx. 5 - 10 euros for taxi). Hotel located in quiet area with a magnificent beach in front of it. Lift or stairs down to beach, so suits all abilities.
Food/Drink - Excellent choice for breakfast & lunch in main restaurant (didn't take dinner in Hotel). Food quality great, both there & at Pool Cafe area. Nice bar & drinks not too expensive (in comparison with UK Hotel bars). Entertainment provided in the bar in the form of a guitar player or electronic piano/organ player. Not everyone's cup of tea, but if you want to dance you can!
Staff - Very attentive, efficient & friendly. Sometimes felt that the service at reception was a bit slow.
Conference Facilities - Although in the depths of the Hotel, the Pestana has excellent conference facilites, with one massive conference room & various smaller ones dotted around.
Bedrooms - Bright & well lit. Not huge, but big enough. Balcony fairly small. Lovely bathroom. Everything in working order.
Amenities - Small gym & indoor pool. Outdoor pool looked terrific, but too cold to try it out in Jan/Feb! Play area available for kids & small crazy golf in grounds too. Spa treatments on offer also which looked to be reasonably priced.
Liked the Hotel so much I would consider going back with the family when it is a bit warmer, although as the weather improves, the prices start climbing also!!
Great location, best hotel in Alvor
by TripAdvisor Member vhuk
What a great hotel. Stayed in the Beach Club part of the hotel which consists of studio and 1 and 2 bed apartments on 3 levels. We were on the ground floor and had a private grassed area where we could sunbathe. We could walk right out to the pool area through our patio doors. We stayed in a studio apartment which was very comfortable with a very nice bathroom. Air conditioning proved handy on a couple of nights.
First impression on arriving at the hotel was it's sheer size. It's built on a number of different levels and split into hotel / timeshare apartments, the beach club apartments are just past the pool area and other apartments and the beach can be reached using the 3 lifts next to the outdoor pool. The decor is grand - marble staircases, pools and fountains with fish swimming through the bar areas, seating areas all over the place; each floor is different. Very impressive, just what you'd expect for a hotel with this reputation.
The hotel has a number of restaurants, food is good although some of it is a little on the expensive side. There is a special deal available from reception which gives better value on the food though.
The bar area is very big and has live entertainment on every night, most of it was very good but there was the odd dodgy act. Service is very quick in the bar area and the beer prices are very reasonable, shorts and cocktails are more expensive so head out into Alvor if you're having more than a few drinks. The bar tends to empty out after 11pm so is nice for a quiet drink if you get back early.
The size of the hotel means that you tend to get lost on the first few days. Other facilities we noticed were a gift shop, massage parlour, giant chess (next to the pool), internet cafe, games (pool, air hockey), crazy golf, kid's playground.
The hotel has 2 pools, the indoor one is heated but is very small and around 5 foot deep at it's deepest. You can easily graze your knees at the shallow end. Once you get more than 5 or 6 people in the pool, it becomes a bit cramped, There are 2 jacuzzis built into the pool, plus 2 water jets. These are turned on around 11am and run on about 15 minutes intervals till around 6pm (or depending on when the staff turn them off). They are very relaxing to use. The pool is virtually empty between 9 and 10.30am, and again between 6-8pm, so in general these are the best times to go. There are also sunbeds around this pool which is handy if it gets cold outside.
Just past the pool there are showers, a sauna, and a steam room. Again, these tend to be empty earlier and later in the day so these are the best times to go. There's also an icy cold plunge pool for cooling off.
The outdoor pool is massive and is over 3m deep at the deep end. Be warned though, it's the coldest pool I've ever experienced in my life (even when it's a hot day), so it's a bit of a shock getting in. It's worth going in the plunge pool first to acclimatise yourself to the temperature. Once in though, it's very pleasant on a hot day and keeps you cool. Probably because of how cold it is, the outdoor pool is generally very empty, even when most of the sunbeds around it are in use.
There are plenty of sunbeds around the pool and we never needed to reserve one. The hotel also has private sunbeds on the beach (all free of course). These can fill up by noon so get down early if you want a spot. The hotel loans a free large beach towel per guest (next to the pool), but you can swap this as often as you want if the towel gets wet, dirty, etc.
The hotel is located right on the Três Irmãos beach, to reach this you take a lift from the pool area down to level 1, and walk down a short corridor to the beach. In terms of location there is almost no hotel to match it. The beach is great and you can find some smaller, more secluded beaches by walking around the cliffs next to the hotel. Beware, you can get trapped by the tide so you have to get a lift back up or walk the many stairs up the cliffs to get back. A couple of nice little cafes around here.
Alvor is less than 5 minutes away by taxi (4 euros), and you can walk it in 15 min (by the road), 20 min (by the beach). Plenty of nice restaurants and lots of choice. Vegetarians should try Villa 45 and Captains Table. You can pretty much walk around the whole of Alvor in an hour or two, and it's fairly quiet at night - only saw one tout and he gave up as soon as we waved him away. If you're looking for a noisy holiday with nightclubs similar to Albufeira, don't bother. If you want to relax, then it's the perfect place to visit.
One more tip, if you get the Pestana Gold card, a number of places in Alvor accept this (get a list at the welcome meeting), so don't forget to show it before you get the bill for 10% off food and drink.
Overall - a well deserved 5 star rating for the Pestana Alvor Praia
Best Hotel in Alvor
by TripAdvisor Member LizMLondon
I highly recommend the Alvor Praia. Rooms very spaceous, good decor and sea view rooms have very nice large balconies. Fantastically located on the beach which is beautiful. Also has a large outdoor pool (very cold water!) but also has indoor pool which is heated. You will find steam room, sauna and small gym also located here, all areas very clean. Breakfast is a treat with everything you could possible wish for, Lunch menu also good with seating by the pool and games area. Evening meals expensive in hotel compared to going into Alvor where there are many good restaurants, jump on the local bus outside Hotel Pestana Delfin (located next door) takes only 5mins or Taxis easy to get and not expensive.
Restaurants recommended in Alvor: Goodvilles + Vagabonds, Blue Reef, Captains Table, Italian opposite do excellent Pizzas, BBQ restaurants
on Harbour front great for fresh fish! Pick up free map in Alvor of all Restaurants + Bars.
If you fancy a bit of retail therapy hop on bus to Portimao, takes only 15mins good for clothes, shoes, interiors, etc..
Just Loved
by TripAdvisor Member NoahGu
Great Time there. Staff very friendly.
I just had a great time in the Hotel and in Alvor village. The beach it’s just what I was expecting from a beach in the Algarve.
I had a nice and clean room, but for me the best was the big pool area and the service.
The Management was always very worried about the guest’s wellbeing.
I’ go there again next holiday.
Wonderful break
by TripAdvisor Member goelas
Went here for a winter break. Glorious sunshine every day.
The hotel facilities were excellent. Just a short walk down some steps to the beach. Nice indoor pool.
Plenty of places to eat in Alvor only 10 minute walk away.
A car is a must to get around. With some beautiful out of the way places. Other towns nearby however are catering for the tourist market and have lost old world appeal to the need for making the tourist feel at home...Irish bars, fish and chips etc etc. It is a holiday resort so if you want old culture you will need either to stay away from here or get a car.
The hotel itself was comfortable,relaxing and quiet this time of year.
I would suppose in the height of summer it would be crowded and noisy but its a nice spot to explore the Algarve from. Depends on waht you want from a holiday, but for somewhere nice to stay this hotel is excellent.
Forum Posts
Christmas Dinner
by karen-ann
Can anyone advise me which restaurants are open for Christmas dinner. Also of those that are open, which do you recommend?
Re: Christmas Dinner
by Balam
I will ask around next week and try and find out some menu's and prices.
Re: Christmas Dinner
by karen-ann
I'm not really bothered as long as it is welcoming and it offers a traditional Christmas dinner
Re: Christmas Dinner
by karen-ann
Many thanks. I look forward to your reply.
Re: Christmas Dinner
by Balam
Although i am still asking around it would seem that your best bet is going to be at one of the Hotels as all the portuguese restaurants seem very shocked that we would even think they would be open at christmas and many are closed over the whole period.
If you wanted to choose a Hotel like The Alvor Praia it will be costly and you would have to book. I will continue to ask around though and will keep you informed.
Re: Christmas Dinner
by Balam
Ok, it seems that on the 24th of December everywhere will be closed as that is when the portuguese have their main Xmas celebrations, Some of the English and other forighn Restaurants will be open over the xmas period but thay have said probably so they obviously do not want to commit themselves just yet, although we have been told that the 'Seattle Style' next to the old Lifeboat house will be open over xmas.
Re: Christmas Dinner
by casa365
Karen-Anne
I was in Alvor last year and was dissapointed with the number of restuarants closed for christmas day. The only one i found open was the "indian Hut" on the main road down the hill to the harbour and this year i found also "Seattle Style" next to the lifeboat station will be doing a traditional xmas dinner but are now taking bookings. The only other places are as another reply mentioned are the hotels but they tend to be on the pricey side. The portugese families all close there businesses on xmas day with very few exceptions and it is near impossible to find anywhere at the last minute. The phone number for seattle style is 00351 916 584 872 and ask for Malcolm or Lynn, sorry i do not have the number for the indian hut but as long as you book the day before you will get in.
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