Vila Gale Tavira

Had a lovely relaxing week here in lovely Tavira, our second this year. The location is excellent and the hotel has good facilities. It was full so very busy at breakfast, but not really a problem. The evening buffet was much better some nights than others. We enjoyed the Mediterranean buffet in particular, but the last 2 nights we were there the selection was quite limited. The salad options were basic with tinned carrot and beetroot, would have benefited from tuna or sardines, widely included in buffets we have had elsewhere. The fresh bread was nice though, also the selection of meat and fish. The restaurant is a bit dark and does not have the same atmosphere as the local restaurants, but if it were brighter it could feel too canteen like. It is just a different experience and we personally like the choices a buffet can offer. We found it reasonable value for money and enjoyed our meals in relaxing surroundings.

Rooms are nice and spacious with comfortable beds. Just very lacking in storage for clothes and lighting too dim. We thought the evening entertainment was poor, as others have said a singer/duo would be better than the novelty acts which only lasted a short time anyway. The Elvis impersonator was better and he did perform for a reasonable time. We went out most evenings after dinner but would have stayed at the hotel bar more if they had live music of some kind.

The water was not very hot and for 2 days was actually cold. It got fixed the morning we left, but it might have been good to have at least provided some information/acknowledgment for guests about the problem in view of the significant inconvenience.

On balance though a positive experience, we are definitely intending to book again for next year.

Lack of Security at Vila Galé Tavira

At approximately 9:30 p.m., when we returned from dinner, we encountered an unidentified person leaving our room. He claimed to be checking the lights and air conditioning, but we had neither requested maintenance nor received any notice. We were never given confirmation that he was a hotel employee.

We reported the incident twice to reception and spoke directly with the hotel director, who acknowledged that this was not normal. Despite this, we received no clear explanation, confirmation of the person’s identity, or meaningful follow-up. This left us feeling unsafe and seriously concerned about access to our room.

The hotel also appeared understaffed, with check-in and check-out taking around half an hour each. The breakfast buffet was chaotic and disappointing, and our room had an unpleasant smell from old, dirty carpeting.

Guest security and privacy are basic expectations. The unresolved incident and management’s inadequate response overshadowed our entire stay.

We spent a week here at the end of September on B&B basis and this could have been a five star stay. But unfortunately several small, annoying things let the hotel down overall. I will start with the positives. Excellent location on the edge of the Old Town, which was quite quiet but all the main bar and restaurant areas were within a fifteen-minute walk and the ferry to the beach, a mere five-minute walk and there is a couple of small Mini Marts within a five-minute walk also. The hotel is only three floors which means if you are on the top floor like we were, the two lifts in each wing are fast and efficient. I would recommend going for a pool facing room as some of the outside ones do face roads and we found the noise from the pool area to be minimal most of the time. The two pools and spa area are a highlight of this hotel. I cannot comment for high season but for our week there was no problem getting a sun bed next to the pool in a good position at any time of day and some days we wondered where the crowds we encountered at breakfast were. It was such a pleasant experience knowing that you could take your time and could find a decent bed by the pool at any time of day. One reason may be that the hotel is utilised by tour group companies and people on golf breaks, who obviously have other things to do during the day. Now for the not so positives. As for the other areas of the hotel, I can understand why previous reviewers have referred to the breakfast service as chaotic, as it certainly does have that feel. The main issue is the central layout of the serving area where everything is basically on or just off of the one long gondola, which has the essentials but not in any great quantity, meaning that the assorted areas run out quite quickly at busy period. However, we soon realised that the staff are absolutely superb at replacing a tray within minutes of it being emptied, as they were at refreshing tables and frankly the breakfast service only works due to the staff performing heroics and impersonating a colony of honeybees constantly buzzing about and therefore also adding to the general chaos of the breakfast service. The available selection was adequate but not really inspiring and unchanging, meaning by day 4 of your weeks stay it all gets a bit samey and boring. We were only on a B&B basis but took a look at the buffet one evening to see if we would be tempted to use it one night and came away very glad that we were on B&B only. Tavira is full of excellent restaurants at reasonable price points and I would seriously recommend looking at comments from other guests who did go half board before you choose. And now for the bedroom. The plus points were that it was adequate size and the bed was comfortable although the usual two single beds pushed together to make a king sized double. Nice little balcony overlooking the pool and the wardrobe area contained a fridge and the room safe, which was free to use. Efficient air conditioning and the Wi-Fi worked well in the room. The negatives, however, were a) The available storage is woeful. It’s nice having a fridge and a safe, but not when it takes up a significant section of the wardrobe space. Apart from three small draws in the wardrobe area which were just about deep enough to get a pair of socks in, there are no drawers anywhere, none in the desk, none in the bedside units and no useful ones in the wardrobe area. So, you have to rely on the hanging rails for basically everything and as usual the supplied number of coat hangers was minimal, so a top tip is bring a load of thin metal ones with you. The desk and bedside unit design basically just provide a flat surface and with no drawers these have to be completely covered with all the paraphernalia you bring on a week’s holiday. b) The room lighting is very poor. Amazingly there is no central ceiling light in the bedroom area meaning you have to rely on a room lamp and the two dim bedside lights. This makes the room very atmospheric at night, but completely useless when you are trying to get ready to go out in the evening. c) No tea and coffee facilities. Really couldn’t believe this one but no they do not provide it. If you want it, the Spanish room information book says you can request a kettle or coffee machine at reception, so we did, and again, and again and basically four times until one materialised in our room. All the staff we encountered were friendly and tried to be efficient, but you got the impression that the systems of the hotel impeded their ability to be so. For example don’t get me started on the system they employ in the bar for the pool table. Shame really because this hotel could be a great hotel if it made improvements to the room and its breakfast service and some extra staff in the bar of an evening.