PortoBay Blue Ocean

My husband and I have just returned from our stay at PortoBay Blue Ocean and honestly, what an incredible hotel! We were extremely happy from start to finish and I very rarely write reviews, but this hotel genuinely went above and beyond our expectations.

The staff are fantastic — every single person we met was polite, professional, friendly and genuinely happy to help. Nothing ever felt like too much trouble, and that really added to the experience.

The hotel and grounds are absolutely stunning. Everything is beautifully maintained and has such a peaceful, luxurious feel. We were lucky enough to receive a special upgraded room for our celebration, and wow — it was gorgeous! Huge, beautifully decorated, spotlessly clean and incredibly spacious. The bed was absolutely massive and SO comfortable; we had some of the best night’s sleep we’ve had in a hotel. The little touches really stood out too, particularly the Rituals hand soaps, USB charging points and the TV with Netflix, YouTube etc.

The hotel also made our celebration incredibly special. We were surprised with chocolate-covered strawberries and a bottle of champagne delivered to our room, which was such a lovely gesture. Even better, the staff happily let us take the champagne up to the adults-only pool to enjoy and celebrate. It was such a thoughtful touch and something we’ll remember.

The adults-only rooftop pool was another highlight. It’s incredibly peaceful, with comfortable beds and beautiful surroundings — the perfect place to relax. Despite the hotel being family-friendly, we were genuinely amazed at how quiet and relaxing it was. We had absolutely no issues with noise from children at all, and the whole hotel had a lovely calm atmosphere.

The food deserves a special mention too. We genuinely thought it was great quality food, with plenty of choice and everything we tried was lovely. We honestly couldn’t fault it.

The location is also brilliant. It’s in a lovely, quiet area with a good selection of bars, restaurants and shops, and there’s a beautiful beach around a 10-minute walk away. We also got a Bolt into Albufeira for a night out and it was only around £2.50 and took about 10 minutes, so it was incredibly easy and cheap to get into the livelier areas when we wanted to.

One of the unexpected highlights was the hotel’s full moon party, with an outdoor DJ and saxophonist. It was so much fun and something a little different, but still felt very classy and sophisticated. We absolutely loved it!

Overall, I genuinely cannot fault this hotel. It managed to give us everything we wanted from our holiday — peaceful and relaxing when we wanted to switch off, but with plenty of fun and entertainment when we wanted it.

PortoBay Blue Ocean completely exceeded our expectations. Thank you so much to the entire team for making our stay so memorable and special as the hotel promised. It was genuinely one of the best hotels we have ever stayed in, and we are already looking forward to coming back.

We absolutely loved our stay and would recommend this hotel without hesitation. A massive thank you for everything- we hope to see you again soon.

Lovely clean and well maintained hotel, with a relaxed atmosphere, attentive and helpful staff and close to the beach (although down lots of steps which wouldn’t be suitable for some). We would definitely go back.

We stayed for 4 nights in one of the adult only rooms. Hotel was lovely, rooms clean and recently updated. The adult only room patio doors came out on the same level as the adult only pool had two reserved sun beds (not the comfy ones). We never had an issue getting one of the comfy beds when wanted but they did fill up much quicker than the other pool. They do have a policy if belongings are left longer than 90 minutes they will be moved to reception.

We had breakfast included. Could be more varied but all good quality. We always managed to find somewhere nice for dinner, all walkable from the hotel.

It should be noted that the hotel is at the end of a dead end road with 3 other hotels, so is around a 8-10 minute walk to the closest shops/restaurants. There were 3 beaches we visited, one by the harbour in town, around 15 minutes away walk away, one which is reached by boardwalk and steps accessed from the road outside the hotel which leads you to a small cove, the third being our favourite which was accessed by using the boardwalk through the sister hotel, leaving this hotel via the gate at the end (remember your room key) then going down around 120 steps to the beach. As a result this hotel may not be as suited to people with mobility issues.

The aircon with the ceiling fan made the room cool enough for us after the first night, it takes a while to cool down in the first place though.

Minor thing which could be improved on, the fridge never seemed to very cold.