Falesia Hotel

We visited the hotel for the 15 time and have seen many changes since we started coming in 2013 mostly for the good of the hotels ambiance We had read the reviews before we came and noticed there had been changes in staffing and the bad reviews for the evening meals but we came with an open mind. Upon arrival we greeted at the reception in the usual friendly manner that we had been accustomed to on earlier stays. The hotel is of a very standard of cleanliness and the housekeeping is exceptional. The breakfast well presented with lots of choices again as it was on previous visits and staff are very friendly and efficient. Now regarding the evening buffet there is indeed a booking system in place and we had no problems booking our preferred times even on the first day. The quality of the food was good although the choice was not as extensive as our past visits but we felt that the ingredients used were of a good standard and the chefs were very open to try to accommodate your choice should you not find anything to eat on the buffet. You only had to ask and they would prepare it for you especially. We found that the negative comments raised in previous reviews could be due for personal taste and therefore don’t be discouraged from booking this hotel particularly if you want a peaceful hotel. We will definitely be returning to this hotel in the near future Many thanks to all the staff for making our stay enjoyable as usual

Honest review from a first time guest! Just returned from a 10 day half board break staying at Falisia with my husband and another couple. Having read some of the negative reviews that have been given recently, and having booked it months ago we all thought we’d go with an open mind. We have stayed in Adult only hotels for the last few years. Reception, on arrival, were very friendly and efficient, neither rooms were ready until 3pm but that was fine (glass of bubbly given at reception) so we had a drink at the pool bar. The hotel is lovely, airy and spacious with nice garden areas with plenty of nice places to sit, lots of grassed areas with loungers on too. The fire pit area is very pretty, not sure it needed lighting every evening as it was 32 degrees every day! The hotel has a very chilled ambience about it. Small area with a pool table too. The pool area is a good size, lots of loungers with the pool bar close by, comfy sofas to lounge on around there. A varied range of usual drinks available, Super Bock only draft drink, there is a small snack offering from there. The main bar has a nice seated area outside overlooking the pool too, again Super Bok was the only draught beer available. Sandwiches/snacks available from there. There are rooms with TV’s that were showing the World Cup and Wimbledon. Our rooms were everything you would expect from a 4 star (tea/coffee facilities also in the rooms). Clean, airy, nice balcony, good shower! Housekeeping cleaned them daily. The staff we encountered throughout our stay were hardworking and friendly. Some guests were keen to share how much it had changed from previous visits and said that it had been significantly refurbished in lots of areas, but not all of their feedback was positive. It isn’t particularly nearby to any thing in particular (we knew this) although a small supermarket is a 5 minute walk away and a couple of bars and small restaurants. We visited Albufeira and Vilamoura, both very cheap to get to in an Uber. You can take a walk around Pine Cliffs resort next door to get to the nearest beach in about 20 minutes . We didn’t use the shuttle bus or the spa/indoor pool area which looked mainly unused. We also did not book into the new restaurant, however I looked in to find 2 poor souls sat on their own in silence with absolutely no atmosphere to it whatsoever. So here’s the thing…..it is a lovely hotel but it is lacking in some areas.

1. Most of the staff are new in the customer facing areas such as the bars and restaurant. They were lovely and hardworking but there isn’t enough of them. Some appeared to be learning on the job and trying their hardest but there didn’t appear to be any management or supervisors to oversee service or customer needs at all. There was daily confusion with drinks, slow service and long waits. They were stretched. The only draught beer pump broke, they had no bottled beers apart from 0%. It did get fixed sooner than the 4 days we were told it would be and they got a beer delivery after a day.
2. The pool area needs some attention. No staff are evident around it which is the first time I have seen this when we have stayed in similar hotels. Nothing is served or cleared through the day at all. There is a shortage of umbrellas for the amount of loungers, so that encourages beds being reserved from early (there are still plenty without shade available). The pool is a good size but does look like it could do with a clean, the tiling is dirty.
3. Restaurant. Breakfast was as you would expect and was lovely, good variation in choices available.

Evening buffet was pretty standard and is subjective, it did lack choice with the hot food and is very samey, that’s just my opinion but it does fall short of the usual choices and variations that are offered in similar hotels. Again, staff were stretched here and didn’t get chance to clear and set tables regularly. 4. Evening entertainment. Adult only, in my experience, appears to be a bit dull in this area and this was no different. The singers/musicians were very talented though but it could be a bit livened up to create some atmosphere, it’s not quite the “old people’s home” as someone put it but was a little too “tranquil” for us for the most part!

We have enjoyed our stay at the Falesia but it does have a bit of work to do to bring it up to 4 star expectations. The most apparent thing to me was a lack of management or leadership to support the staff in giving a good customer experience throughout a stay with them. There is no one to adapt or problem solve to everyday customer needs. I’m hoping that in a few months it will be more established in its reinvention and not just left to get more negative reviews, we really did enjoy our holiday but from a customer point of view it fell short in some areas.

We have just returned from a weeks stay at this hotel. We were concerned with the negative reviews regarding the evening buffet but we found no problem with either the quality or range of food available along with the soups available which were different each night and hot! It was no problem for us advising in the mornings what time we would like dinner. This definitely worked well as far as we were concerned as there were no lengthy queues at the buffet and no trouble finding a table. Food was topped up regularly. The bedroom had everything you needed for a relaxing stay and we liked the little touch of a switch by the bed for a light under the bedside drawer and bathroom so ease of finding your way to the bathroom during the night if needed without turning the lights on! The sunbathing areas were truly relaxing especially in the gardens and no reserving of sunbeds required. The entertainment was passable some better than others but that's normal as far us we are concerned. Our only slight disappointment was the lack of staff in the bar areas sometimes it was difficult to order a drink from the waiting staff and even if you went to the bar you could still have a longish wait as only one person was serving. On our last night it was much better so perhaps it was staffing problems but like we said disappointing. However this did not spoil our stay at this very relaxing classy hotel.