Vila Gale Tavira

Hotel Vila Gale Tavira Door Slammers

by A TripAdvisor Member

I would have given the Hotel Vila Gale Tavira an excellent review, but for some unexplained reason, many of their guests, especially those in tour groups, don't seem to be able to understand how to close their doors with the keycard without slamming it shut. This occurs day and night and is extremely disturbing, even if you're a good sleeper.
I contacted the General Manager regarding this specific problem and received a form reply which didn't address the problem. Perhaps tour group organizers should be made aware of the problem in advance and inform their clients on how to close their hotel rooms in a more civilized manner, so future visitors can have a more pleasant stay at an otherwise fine hotel in a lovely, relatively unspoiled area of the eastern Algarve.

Excellent Value for money

by A TripAdvisor Member

I think is important to say that the Vila Gale Tavira Hotel is excellent value for money for a couple of reasons.
I found a magnific every day breakfast with fresh fruits, pastry, cereals, juices and everything I need to have a excellent breakfast.
I found a staff that work to guest expectations, the reception desk was all information with smile style, the bar staff was every night busy but we saw that doing their job with effeciency.
wonderful dinnig and staff very very well trained and managed. amazing buffet with variety, colour and every night different.
Nice pool.

We reccommend his hotel for sure.

Perfect hotel for a leisurely break

by TripAdvisor Member regularbreaker

Stayed for four nights at the Vila Gale Tavira. Excellent, friendly staff, who's grasp of English was far superior to my poor attempts at Portuguese! Everything worked well, the breakfast was typical for a resort hotel, but plenty good enough. Room was comfortable, what I would expect for a 4 star southern European hotel. Other than breakfast, I didn't eat in the hotel, as the town has plenty of restaurants to choose from. My tip, don't eat at the three restaurants on the riverside nearest the hotel (close to the modern road bridge). Firstly, the food was pricier than the restaurants further into town, second I hate it when waiters tout their wares at passers' by! Third, you will be eaten alive by the mosquitos! Try the Imperial on the hotel side of the river by the old road bridge, and another place over the roman bridge on the left. I also echo the point made by the Northern Ireland user - I was bitten a dozen times, so take insect repellent with you and use it all day.

superb

by TripAdvisor Member stapletons66

stayed at villa gale tavira 1 week from 10th april 06

superb location,very friendly staff excellent buffet breakfast,

hotel had everything you could want.

tavira was positioned ideal for exploreing algarve and a short journey into spain.

we will definatly return--we had the best food weve ever had on holiday.so many lovely restaurants.drink and food so so cheap everywhere,what more could you want.

Beware of the Mosquitoes

by TripAdvisor Member IanS11

Hotel premises and staff were good,several tv sets positioned in main lounge/bar but staff not allowed to turn up volume even for major sporting events e.g. Grand National.

We only ate breakfast in Hotel, just OK,many excellent restaurants in Tavira for other meals.

Hotel is situated near estuary and marshy areas loads of mosquitoes, keep bedroom windows closed and come prepared to be bitten!l

average some prblems

by TripAdvisor Member morseey

just returned from vila gale tavira.chose hotel as a base to golf in eastern algarve.hotel is modern.bar waiting and maids very good and exceptionally helpful.reception needs to have a follow up system.air con did not work first 3 days.only batteries and the maid sorted it,despte telling reception twice a day.no tv remote for 3 days,again maid sorted it.first 3 days were hell due to mosquito bites,something we have never suffered before.we eat a la carte first night.expensive food.good.wine excellent value.breakfast fine.tried buffet lunch,poor choice and value.pool area nice but no evidence of a daily washdown,although swept daily.hotel full of golf groups who seemed to have left their etiquette on the golf course.also groups frm the usa and saga.also visited vila gale albacorra.isolated.tavira is old portugal with helpful and friendly residents.restaurants on river are poor value and mosquito infected.go over the bridge and try some of the bistro style restaurants in the backstreets,in particular patio and those near to this.mama mia italian on the main square,opposite the taxi rank,is excellent for value,quality and sevice.we pre booked airport pick up with a taxi frm daily tours[see their website for what they offer].a half hour journey ,after hanging around at the airport,took one and a half hours as the driver had no idea where he was going.cancelled the return and used luis frm rotaxi,tavira.return airport journey,on the clock was 10% cheaper and took 25 minutes.if you want to practice your short game or are new to golf,colina verde is a must.because of the golf,the weather and the locals we had a thoroughly good week.

Picturesque Tavira

by Lenox

"One of the most charming towns in the Algarve"

Simply beautiful especially early in the morning when the streets are empty. We spent four days in Tavira and stayed and the Hotel Vila gale Tavira which was an awesome experience.

Tavira - Portugal

by datapanik

Tavira is the oldest town in the Algarve region of Portugal. It is reached by heading east along the coast from Faro towards Spain. Its main feature is the river (Rio Gilao) which divides the town. From a jetty by the river you can catch a ferry to the nearby Ilha de Tavira where there is a long sandy beach; the trip takes about ten minutes. The sea temperature here is warmer than on the western Algarve coast. The town is quite compact and you can easily cover everything on foot.

Ben-UK's Tavira, Portugal page

by Ben-UK

Tavira doesn't really make any concessions to tourism - and I liked it for that ..

A former tuna fishing port on the eastern end of the Algarve, Tavira is split by the River Gilao, crossed by a seven-arched Roman bridge.

The best view of Tavira is from the walls of the Moorish castle - behind the castle is the church of Santa Maria do Castelo, built on the site of a Moorish Mosque and in it are the tombs of Dom Paio Peres Correia and his seven Knights.

If you would like to see more photos, please visit my Tavira Travelogue on this page - thanks.