Viceroy at Ombria Algarve

Super!

Having read the reviews online we decided to stay for 8 nights. Our duration of stay means we got a very good sense of the resort. You will see from my portfolio I very rarely bother to leave reviews as I am usually in agreement with the general sentiment but not this time. We usually stay in Marriott group resorts (Ritz, St Regis, Luxury Collection) but thought we would try something else for this trip. I would agree with the other reviewers - the hard product is mostly good. The rooms are large and comfortable - however there is a big problem with them. The light panels are unreliable and it can take multiple tries to turn lights on. Additionally - the sensors around the bed meant the lights turned on when either of us would go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and maintenance had to come in to put tape over them (my wife is pregnant so up at night and this was very disturbing). The pool area was nice but there were no shaded areas at all and nobody ever came over to offer drinks or help with the umbrellas (the umbrellas themselves are too small to shade two sunbeds). The thermal experience in the spa is nice but guests shouldn’t have to pay €75 each to enter - no other guests came in for the full day when we used it. The main issue was the service and it was really poor. Here are some examples. My pregnant wife was denied entry to the restaurant due to a corporate event and asked to come back at 9pm. There were loads of empty tables and plenty of space, and no other open restaurants on site. The restaurant did eventually agree we could go in after complaining - this shouldn’t have been needed. When we asked to speak to a manager at the front desk - we were told there were no managers overnight and they would contact us the following day. Unsurprisingly they never did. How can a 5* resort not have a manager on duty overnight? One morning I contacted the front of house at around 8am and then again at 8:45am for coffee pods - they never arrived and we gave up until breakfast. Our package came with free wine tasting that I had forgotten about and the hotel never mentioned. I only remembered in the last couple of days and they arranged for us to do a chocolate making session instead, because they said the hotel wasn’t offering wine tasting (we wanted the alternative anyways given my wife’s pregnancy, but it’s strange that the hotel is selling a product they aren’t able to provide). I should not have to remind the hotel what is included in my rate. We also had a cleaner come into our room when we were in bed, without knocking. The service really let the property down and I would suggest people avoid this resort until management can resolve the poor service levels.

SPA REVIEW ONLY - we booked a 4 hour couples massage experience which included a 60 minute massage, some sort of spiritual cleanse using herbs and incense, a sound bath, and time in a large private suite with a steam room, jacuzzi, and lounge area. The massage itself was very very poor. I always get frustrated when you book a “deep tissue” service and the masseuse applies zero pressure. The staff then automatically includes a 20% gratuity and makes you proactively ask to reduce it. Tips are optional and should reflect service experience… don’t pre populate tips please! For the extreme price tag on this spa, I would only go if you want very low pressure massages.