Tivoli Alvor Algarve

We stayed at the Tivoli as a family of 4, with two 8 year old children for 7 nights. We regularly stay at 5* hotels across Europe and the Middle East and were very disappointed with the standard of facilities, service and food compared to other hotels at a similar price point. I would suggest this is more of a 3 star hotel.

The hotel is architecturally attractive and set in nice grounds. We had a deluxe family room which was fine, we didn’t experience issues with housekeeping or room cleanliness. We had plenty of towels etc. the showers were good with plenty of hot water.

The hotel was busy when we were there and felt crowded and over capacity. Reception could not keep up with the amount of new guests arriving, bars and restaurants were chaotic without enough seating or utensils and the staff just seemed to have given up trying to manage it or keep on top of it, this resulted in a number of these spaces feeling unclean.

The pool area was chaotic, unclean and it felt like they had filled every available space with mismatched loungers to increase capacity, some of the loungers were pitched on steep hills, in muddy grass or were dirty and broken. There were no tables next to most of the loungers to put drinks on, meaning people were abandoning their empty glasses/plates etc. all over the floor. There was no staff around the pool clearing it up and there was 0 poolside service for drinks. The water in the pool was clean in the morning, but given the amount of people using it, was filthy by lunchtime.

We ate at all the restaurants. Our meals at the Italian and steak place were enjoyable, but they were not 5 star standard. In both restaurants the starters and mains remain buffet options with only main course being picked off a menu. We did receive good service in these restaurants. The third restaurant, the chicken restaurant was the strangest meal I’ve ever experienced… just a buffet of random chicken based dishes for starter, followed with no option but a Nando’s style chicken and chips for main…

On a number of occasions we are at the buffet, we did expect it to be busy due to the season but we were surprised as how consistently stressful the whole experience was. Over the full 7 days, we did not not once go in and find a table that was clean and ready, every time we went they were wiping and laying the tables as we sat down meaning we regularly had items missing (cutlery, cups). The floor was not swept between seatings which given the amount of small children in the hotel meant the floors were filthy. On some occasions the staff due to the demand for plates and cutlery, the staff just have up and left the dishwasher racks of clean plates out next to the buffet so people could help themselves as there wasn’t the time to fill up the shelves properly. If you want a coffee cup or a spoon just don’t bother. After day three I settled for drinking my coffee from a juice glass and our children ate their icecream with a fork. I don’t know why the hotel management don’t just buy some new cups, plates and spoons.

The entertain team worked hard, the entertainment tent area is visually attractive but again too small for the number of guests. The evening bars don’t have enough seating and are unclean. On one evening our children started a game chasing cockroaches, whilst staff just walked past piles of paper napkins that had blown onto the floor.

Overall, we wouldn’t recommend here. So much potential, but needs a significant overhaul, some service training and reset of basic standards.

There is a waiter in the Essenze restaurant and his name is Pedro Lima. His service was exceptional... he was very attentive to us all evening and kept regularly checking if we were happy with our food and drinks....A very pleasant young man who made our evening meal an excellent dining experience....This young man has a lot of potential

Travelled with husband and teenager 17yrs old. Totally agree with those who also mention this resort is geared for family with younger children, if there was not an adult pool our holiday would have been a different story. 3 Kids pools are very close together and just screamed chaos mayhem, I’m sure the kids loved it, everyone seemed to be on top of each other and listening to thumping loud music most of the day. We could hear the noise from the adult pool, which was lovely quiet, always beds available and parasols so never needed to be up early laying out towels. Room clean and modern however, we were in Deluxe family room, does not state when you walk through the front door you are straight into bedroom ( with two beds). Sliding door takes you straight to bathroom and main bedroom and balcony. Daughter didn’t get much privacy. the air con unit seemed to blast out in one room and not continue through. Our accom was near the gym so we were from hustle and bustle which was nice. Balcony could have done with a built in airer for towels and swim wear. Noticed only two chairs and a table on balcony if a family of four you would struggle to enjoy the balcony. Overall, I would recommend this hotel for families with young children, teenagers not so. However I’m sure where you take teens on holidays now so if anyone has suggestions would be appreciated. We booked our holiday only a few weeks in advance and stayed for a week AI and we paid a lot of money to Jet2, definitely not worth what we paid. All staff friendly, restaurants had ample food throughout the day for all tastebuds. Evening entertainment geared for youngsters. We went back to our room around 2030hrs.