Hotel Faro and Beach Club

Having stayed at Occidental Hotels many times in Fuengirola, Cadiz and Malaga.

We decided to book the restaurant (sky bar) for our friend’s Birthday

There was no one inside the restaurant and to be fair only about 6-7 tables outside occupied when we arrived at 6.50pm

A very elderly waiter came to our table and ask if we wished for drinks before ordering. We said yes and ordered 3 cocktails and a coke.

At 7.25 still nothing so I asked another waiter out of the 3 who were working. His reply “who took the order” (my friend is Brazilian so totally fluent Portuguese Speaker)

The elderly waiter at this time had also come to the table so we all said “him” amazingly he denied taking the order???

The location and view from the restaurant is superb but it is very very confused

It offers “avante guard” menu (it states that on it) at expensive prices but I have never quibbled about a price in my life

However there were half named sunbathers at tables from the pool and people in baseball hats just drinking. No problem with that but not in an expensive restaurant.

Onto the food. I ordered the charcuterie board at 20 euros the elderly waiter described it as a sharing platter. There were 3 different types of very very good local ham but just 4 very small slices of each and 1 very small Luke warm chorizo.

I ate it by myself and I am not the biggest eater. Starters of Octopus Profiteroles were interesting and we ordered 2 starters of them. They were more of a canapé than a starter

Main course 2 of us went for the Prawns tagliatelle. What was served was Spaghetti with virtually no sauce and a crucified king prawn on top.

One of our group couldn’t eat it as it was bone dry so when eventually the elderly waiter came to the table he noticed it hadn’t been eaten so offered a complimentary dessert.

Her dessert arrived and she had finished it 15 minutes before the other 2 desserts arrived

Not once during the entire meal was there a check back “everything OK” from the staff

The best guy was a big youngish Brazilian who seemed to be doing all the work while the elderly guy was doing virtually nothing

We called him over and gave him 10 euro tip before asking for the bill. As we expected the elderly guy brought the bill over looking for the tip.

We paid the 288 euro bill gladly. On leaving the younger Brazilian was in between the elderly waiter and another waiter so I gave him another 10 euros for being the only one who seemed to work

Anyway the occasion was held in a place with a fantastic view but boy oh boy with a proper supervisor/ manager it could be so much better

The Occidental which is a superb chain of hotels deserves so much better from a restaurant with probably the best view of Faro

Stayed for 3 nights on b&b basis in room with terrace. Room was large and bright with walk in shower in bathroom. Very clean and had everything you needed including slippers. Breakfast was excellent fresh fruit. Yogurts breads cooked breakfast. cereals. Pastries and great coffee which could be enjoyed outside looking over the marina. Location perfect close to bus/train stations few minutes walk away. Close to coffee shops and restaurants.

We stayed here with family for a wedding in Faro. Our room was on 2nd floor facing the marina. Spacious. A little noisy from traffic but if windows closed, would not hear. Restaurant on 4th floor is amazing. A really great variety to choose from at breakfast and lovely omelettes cooked fresh by friendly chef. Fruit, croissants, cereals all really fresh. Staff lovely. You can eat outside on rooftop balcony overlooking Faro also. Quite expensive to eat or drink in restaurant at night but plenty of choice around locally. Free shuttle bus to beach but you must book beforehand. Would definitely recommend this lovely hotel in a fantastic location.