Grand House - Relais & Chateaux

They’ve got it right. Ambience, location, staff, food and drink. Couldn’t fault it. And good value. The town is laid back and quiet (off season). Two great boat trips. Perfect. Beach club is similar - not loud music and posers, but nice laid back little place with great staff.

This hotel was built during previous century, and recently renovated. He offers a luxury experience, with all the people willing to offer you a wonderful stay. From the parking management till the room very well equipped, though the beach club they own & fine restaurant, the customer is pampered.

The hotel is in a beautiful old, renovated building across from the river. The décor is exquisite and matches perfectly with the Belle Epoque/Art Nouveau style of the building. The furniture artwork and textiles are very stylish giving the rooms a lovely ambience. The breakfasts were great and dinner is also available in the dining room. We did not eat there because the menu was limited. BUT Vila Real de Santo Antonio is a very small town with limited dining options and tourist attractions, unless you have a car and are prepared to drive to other towns in The Algarve or, into Spain. The hotel has a beach club but, not mentioned on the website, is that it is a 30-40min walk from the hotel. They will drive you there and pick you up, but this means you have to wait a little. The beach club has an unheated swimming pool with no direct access to the small beach nearby. To access you have to leave the club and walk a short distance to the beach. There is a restaurant and the food and service are good. The beach club is closed on Mondays. The main reason we would never return was the service did not match the standard of the rooms. Very little information was provided on checking in and there is no information folder in the room. On our second last day, we did find that the mobile phone located beside the bed had a wealth of information about towns and restaurants in the Algarve. It would have been helpful to have known about this when we checked in. There are no laundry bags in the room and no mini bar. There is a small fridge which contained a large bottle of water and this was replaced every second day. There were no tea and coffee facilities in the room nor in in the guest sitting rooms. Having been travelling for two weeks, we did some washing when we arrived and hung it in the bathroom. When we came back from the beach club we were asked to wait because the manager wanted to speak to us. She said and I quote “ We are Relais and Chateau, you are not allowed” to hang laundry in the bathroom. She then said they would do our washing free of charge. This was news to us. When we got back to the room the washing had been dried, ironed and hung in the wardrobe. On checking out, the receptionist apologised because the printer was not working and we would have to wait for our invoice whilst she fixed it. She then called the concierge and spoke to him in Portuguese. It was obvious that she was stalling and he was asked, indiscreetly, to go and check the room. Fair enough if there had been a mini bar but there wasn’t. We are frequent travellers and cannot remember this ever happening anywhere else. We felt like ‘criminals’.

This hotel is architecturally really lovely. It’s five stars is propped up by an excellent chef and some wonderful waiting staff. And now the however. The front of house staff are ill trained and from the check in onwards the standard of service was variable. The dining service was impeccable as was the beach club. But frankly the hotel is not five stars for service nor for room amenities. Not even the basic things one would expect were present. no shower cap, no kettle (albeit they provided one when asked) no robe no slippers no mini bar (an empty fridge). They cannot make a decent cup of coffee and as none of the staff were local they had no idea of anything of the local area. We had a question as something was taken from our room (purely accidentally there is no doubt) and we asked the manager and staff but received no reply and no follow up. Party lovely, partly very disappointing.

I stayed in this Hotel last february and I´ve had one of the saddest and also worse experiences in an Hotel ever. It all started when I spilled my drink on my bed, this was late in the night, around 1am, so I called the reception excepting to ask for someone to come upstairs and change the bed, but after my several calls had not been answered I had to come downstairs to speak with the receptionist. When I arrive at the reception, there was no receptionist at all, but a man in his normal clothes, on his cellphone. When I tried to ask for help with the sheets, he responded that he was not a receptionist, he was just "guarding" the Hotel, with the little english that he could speak. When I asked where was the receptionist, he answered that he was the only employee at the Hotel, which is UNACCEPTABLE FOR A 5 STAR HOTEL. No receptionist, no Room-service, nothing, when for a 5star you have to have both 24 hours. Only a guy in his normal clothes that was basically useless to deal with my problem. So, without my problem being solved, I came back to the room and decided to try and make the bed by myself, but, as soon as I take out the old sheets, I saw the condition of the mattress, and believe me, I never saw anything so disgusting, it had mold and was dark, when it was supposed to be white. I ended up sleeping on the floor and left this 2 star Hotel first thing in the morning, with 2 nights left to end my stay. At the reception I tried to get my money back for the 2 nights I wasnt going to be there, with no success. Also asked why there was no receptionist or room-service during the night, which the receptionist answered (she was very kind), with the lack of staff and that in fact, the current employees did not receive their salaries for 2 entire months. This is unnaceptable for the price you pay for a night here. This is unnaceptable for a relais & chateaux. AVOID AVOID AVOID

From the moment you enter the building, it truly is a Grand House. The staff are warm and friendly and very informative. The interior of the house has been very tastefully thought out, with a lot of attention to detail, and lovely little touches. Although the communal rooms are small, they are perfectly formed, and you could just relax with lovely vistas and never need to leave. There are plenty of books to read, a chess board, and the setting is so peaceful. Our room had everything you should need, and has the most beautiful linen and towels. It was light, cool and airy, and a wonderful nights sleep was had in the very comfortable bed. At breakfast, you are seated in the dining room which overlooks the marina, and is extremely picturesque. Breakfast is buffet style, and then you have a small choice of a cooked breakfast and other items off the menu. The coffee is the nicest and hottest I have tasted in a long time. As part of The Grand House experience, you can also use the facilities of The Beach Club. A car will take you direct from the hotel, and the beach club is less than 5 minutes away..... and wow.....absolutely gorgeous when you get there. A lovely infinity pool along with very comfortable sun loungers, towels and cushions. The staff are very friendly, and helpful, especially Guiri. He was the perfect host, and even though they were busy, made you feel so special. I would have no hesitation in recommending The Grand House and Beach Club to anyone. A very special place.

We loved our 5 days at the Grand House. The building itself is beautiful, historic and excellently cared for. The food, at both the hotel (breakfast & dinner) and the Beach Club (lunch) is exquisite, Michelin-star worthy imo. But above all it is the staff who make this place extra special. Professional and caring, nothing is too much trouble. Their attention to detail is faultless. Rosa and Dulce on reception will help with any queries you have, bookings you’d like to make, etc, patiently and with a smile. Guri and Flavio and their team on the restaurants/bars strike the perfect note of professionalism and personalised, friendly service to ensure every meal and drink you have is to the highest standard. This is a high quality establishment for the discerning traveller who values quality and service in peaceful, relaxing surroundings. We cannot recommend it highly enough. We will definitely return.