Tivoli Alvor Algarve

Reception had only 1 person on during busy check out times which was surprising. My mother has had surgery on her knee and they advised we were on the ground floor when in fact it was not the case.

On departure tried to call to get help with the bags. No answer. Though I do understand it was a busy time but still.

Food pretty good. Not amazing choice but good. Very clean hotel . Staff were polite. Over a fairly nice hotel but I wouldn’t stay there again.

I will start the review with the most important information, do not consider this hotel if you have an allergy. My 5 month old has an allergy to dairy and she is breastfed it means I am unable to eat dairy. I made the hotel aware of this before arriving and was informed I would receive an allergen card to show at restaurants. After prompting I was provided with this and showed the card at every restaurant. I showed this at the start of the meal and every time any food or drinks were ordered. Unfortunately the hotel do not take allergens seriously and I was made to feel that it was my fault when I was served dairy multiple times. The buffet is also not trustworthy with a chef witnessed pouring butter on top of food with dairy not listed as an allergen. Thankfully I therefore avoided this food but god knows how many other meals at the buffet have allergens incorrectly labelled. One day at breakfast I was served hollindaise sauce and chocolate on my coffee after explicitly saying no dairy multiple times, when I sent it back the waitress told me I need to explicitly tell them not to give me chocolate or hollindaise sauce, there was no acknowledgment that they had illegaly served me an allergen I had made them aware of. The meal was then sent back to me with no sauce but instead bread containing dairy covered in garlic butter?? If you do not have an allergy then this is irrelevant, as below the food itself is nice, but if you have an allergy this hotel is unfortunately not safe. Thankfully there have been no serious consequences for my family from staying here but I cannot imagine how it could be if somebody staying there had a life threatening allergy.

However.. the hotel itself is nice and cheerful. We went with our 5 month old and her grandparents and had a nice time. The beach is easily accessible (5/10 mins pedestrian only walk) and very nice with large rock features. The town is close by with a train which departs every hour, which was a very nice touch. The food at the hotel wasn’t amazing but was definitely enjoyable. The pools are absolutely freezing which isn’t ideal with a baby but due to an unusually warm October it wasn’t unusable, just unpleasant. There are 3 family pools, 1 kid pool (with water features and a climbing frame) and an adults only pool, so lots of options. Unfortunately there were aspects to the hotel we didn’t enjoy, specifically the very very loud music blaring from 11:30am all day by the pool. The music also wasn’t what you’d expect by a family pool. The food at the snack buffet also often had flies on which was very off putting. Myself and my in-laws all had bad stomachs during our stay, I assume from the buffets. I probably wouldn’t stay here again nor would I go out of my way to recommend it, but if you’re considering staying here (and do not have an allergy) then you can absolutely have a great holiday here!

We’ve just returned from a week at Tivoli Alvor Algarve Resort, our first time visiting Alvor, and we had a fantastic holiday. We travelled as a family with our three-year-old son, and there was so much to enjoy. The hotel was one of the reasons we would happily return to Portugal, and we would definitely consider staying at Tivoli again.

The positives

One of the biggest highlights was the water park, which is included in your hotel stay at no extra cost. It was really easy to book through Guest Relations and was a fantastic added extra for families. It made a lovely change to have something like this included rather than having to pay separately for days out.

The facilities for children were brilliant. I particularly liked the platforms in the pools, which allowed little ones to play in ankle-deep water before moving into deeper areas when they felt comfortable. The pools themselves were lovely, with the infinity edges giving them a really nice look, and the adults-only pool looked beautiful too. The daily inflatable in the lower pool near Shore Bar was another great touch, and our son absolutely loved it.

The à la carte restaurants were lovely, particularly Roastic, where we had the sharing platter. The food there was a real highlight. The drinks and cocktails were also excellent, and you could genuinely tell the difference compared with some other all-inclusive hotels we’ve visited.

If we returned, I would seriously consider upgrading to All Inclusive Premium. It seems to offer a real fast-track experience, with shorter queues, better-looking drinks, nicer cups, more cocktail options and separate dining for breakfast at Mad Med. From what we saw, it looked like it offered some lovely additional touches and could be well worth the extra cost.

Our room was stunning, and the ability to cast from your phone directly to the television was a brilliant added extra, particularly when travelling with a young child. A little more storage space would have been useful, but overall the room was beautiful and very comfortable.

Another huge positive was the sunbeds. This is genuinely the first holiday we’ve been on where we haven’t had to get up early to reserve sunbeds or compete with other guests. We never struggled to find a bed, even at the front, and there was no fighting over them. It made such a difference to being able to relax and enjoy the holiday without that unnecessary stress.

The beach was lovely, and the little train into Alvor was a fantastic added touch. Alvor itself is beautiful, with a lovely old-town atmosphere, and we really enjoyed visiting. It was one of our favourite parts of the holiday and somewhere we would happily return to.

Although the resort is quite hilly, we managed well with a pram. There are slopes as well as steps, so getting around the resort was generally straightforward. We were allocated a room on the second floor, though, and there were no lifts in our building, meaning we had to carry the pram up and down the stairs during the day and each evening. This was manageable, but it is something families with young children may want to bear in mind when booking.

The staff were lovely, and the other guests were friendly too. We had a particularly good experience at breakfast one morning when we arrived early and were served coffee and orange juice at our table. It was a lovely touch, although this level of service seemed to disappear as breakfast became busier.

We had also let EasyJet know when booking that we were visiting to celebrate my partner’s birthday. When we arrived, there was prosecco and a gift waiting in the room, which was a lovely surprise. There had clearly been a small miscommunication, as the card said “Happy Wedding Anniversary” rather than referring to the birthday, but it was still a thoughtful gesture and much appreciated.

Areas for improvement

One disappointment was the food in the buffet restaurant. Unfortunately, I often found it was only lukewarm rather than properly hot. There was also a limited choice for children. Our son is generally a good eater, so we managed fine, and there was usually pasta and chips available, but I can imagine families with fussier eaters struggling a little more.

Lunch at Salty Bar was another area that could be improved. The seating was quite limited, and the food selection was essentially the same every day, which became a little repetitive over the course of a week. More seating and greater variety at lunchtime would make a real difference.

I was also disappointed that Mad Med was only open during July and August. Given how many guests were staying at the resort during our visit in October, I would have thought there was enough demand to justify keeping it open for longer into the season.

The room itself was beautiful, but I don’t feel the floor was swept or vacuumed as regularly as I would have expected. It wasn’t a major issue, but it was something I noticed and would have liked to see improved at a five-star resort.

Evening entertainment was enjoyable, and there was plenty for the children, which I couldn’t fault. I did feel there was something missing for adults in terms of activities such as darts and similar games during the day, although this didn’t affect our overall enjoyment of the holiday.

The birthday arrangement was another small area where the hotel could perhaps add an extra special touch. The prosecco and gift were lovely, but for a five-star experience, it would have been nice if the birthday had been acknowledged more specifically, perhaps with a birthday card, decorations or a banner on the door. It wasn’t a big deal at all, but small personalised touches like this can really help a hotel stand out.

The evening bar arrangements could also be improved slightly. After 7 pm, the other bars around the resort closed, leaving the entertainment tent as the main place to get drinks. It could become busy at times, and seating was limited. However, this wasn’t the biggest issue for us, particularly as we were travelling with a young child and tended to have quieter evenings.

Keeping Shore Bar open for drinks in the evening could help spread guests around the resort and make the entertainment area feel less crowded.

Would we return?

Absolutely. We would return to Alvor, and we would definitely consider returning to Tivoli. It was our first visit to Portugal as a family, and we loved the area, the beach, the old town and how easy it was to get around.

The hotel was one of the reasons we enjoyed Portugal so much and would like to come back. The facilities for children were fantastic, the cocktails were great, the à la carte restaurants were enjoyable, the rooms were stunning and the lack of sunbed competition was a massive bonus.

There are a few areas where the hotel could add extra polish, particularly the buffet food temperatures, lunchtime variety, housekeeping, storage space and personalised celebration touches. However, none of these issues stopped us from having a wonderful holiday.

If we returned, I would seriously consider All Inclusive Premium, as the additional benefits looked excellent and seemed to offer a more elevated experience, with faster service, better drinks, more cocktail choices and separate dining options.

Overall, we had a fantastic family holiday and would happily recommend Tivoli Alvor Algarve Resort. We would give it five stars because we had such a great experience, made lovely family memories and would genuinely return.

Thank you for a wonderful holiday! 🇵🇹