Bela Vista Hotel & Spa - Relais & Chateaux

Hands down the most beautiful property on the beach in Portimão. The main house is stunning and was initially built as a personal home that was transformed into a hotel after the revolution. The pool is heated and right next to the ocean. That said, I’m giving it 4 stars for one main reason - cost relative to value. 1) the rooms are tiny. 2) the service is spotty at best - you have to ask to order breakfast, the people at the front desk could be welcoming, 3) we had to ask for evening turn down service at 10:15p which we were told had up until 10:30p to refresh the room.

Amazing experience, service is definitely 5*, this is the biggest plus to this stay. Decoration is eye catching, original, cosy, we will definitely come back to this exceptional hotel ! The pool is beautiful, food is great, nothing else to say, thank you to the teams for making our trip so special !

A wonderful and luxurious experience at Bela Vista Hotel & Spa! The property, service, and overall amenities were first class.

We have returned from the Bela Vista and it's disappointing, the return that is, not the Bela Vista. My husband and I have been staying there for a few years and each time just gets better. We don't think it needs to change but there are subtle changes taking place. After having read some of the reviews, I'm not sure what some guests are looking for but we find the authenticity and character fantastic. So maybe some of the aging tiles don't match or similar cosmetic things are not perfect but surely that adds to the original aspects and the location is what it is. Maybe if the other guests didn't appreciate these things, they should stick to a hotel chain where every rooms the same with no character. I have noticed how busy it's become but we stay in the main building and find once you are in the room, there's not much noise after hours. I've never had an issue with folk looking in from the buildings across the way either as stated in previous review and I've stayed in all areas of the hotel but there are curtains from floor to ceiling, infact there's two sets for privacy. The breakfasts are great with plenty of top quality offerings and nothings too much bother. We had lunch at the pool which was delicious and I'm a very fussy foody. The house keeping staff are extremely meticulous, well mannered and well organised. The front of house staff are the same and very pleasant. We met the general manager again this time, he seems to glide around, sorting cushions, moving chairs, a perfectionist. He greeted my husband and I with a very warm hug. Super friendly just the way we found everybody at the hotel. We had a balcony which was amazing as it was 38degs, we would never have had to leave the room if we chose not to. There's complimentary water, tea and coffee all in the room. The pool is like the rest of the hotel, spotless. We loved our stay and can't wait to return

Nice hotel in exciting part of el garve. The room ; the nicest suite ; was average. The front desk experience at check in lacked the enthusiasm of all the 4 and 5 star experiences we have had and frankly was almost scary. . 5 dollars service charge for a bucket of ice brought to the room was ‘bush league “ and severely disappointing. I mean spend 1k a night; frankly it’s a slap in the face. The toilet water was running all night and while I know I could have called we didn’t discover until we were in bed so we just dealt with it. Another very odd thing was the in room safes weren’t bolted down. It was just loose in the closet sitting on a shelf. Very strange. I might as well leave our valuable out .just weird. They missed turn down service and then told us we told someone we didn’t want it. Big lie. Get back to,the room after a night out and no towels etc. spoiled the wife’s mood . And ruined my night lol. On the plus side the dining experience was spectacular and the pool folks we attentive and great. I would not recommend this hotel in the future

Wonderful, chic boutique hotel with terrific staff service, amazing food and great views. Well worth the extra cost for a sea view. (and in our case, a seating area in the Garden House wing). The town is not sophisticated (that's an understatement) but it's fun and lively and has lots of local restaurants --not the same standard as the Bela Vista but gives a different idea of local cuisine. This is not a resort, hence tennis was 40 mins away, so be aware. Golf is probably closer. Ask the concierge what activities can be arranged long before you arrive-- our mistake. I heard someone went a couple hour boat trip along the coast--would have loved that. I am sure the hotel has contacts. Anyway, all in all, we were there for 5 nights and wished we had stayed another night or two!