The Residences at Victoria

A VERY VERY LONG ONE BUT HONEST REVIEW

We came late September so some of what im about to say may only be because of the time of the year...

I'll start with the bad parts which isnt really "bad" more disappointing... We arrived at 11pm on a Saturday and it was completely silent took a couple of goes to actually get into the premises with reception answering the buzzer on the second time of me buzzing.. got our key card, paid the tourist tax etc and I asked if there was any way of getting food and was given a straight NO. I appreciate it was 11pm but a different accommodation in albufeira had asked us if wed like a food parcel for our late arrival if we obviously paid ahead. Now for breakfast.. we paid the extra for the breakfast included and that doesnt start until 9am which is absolutely baffling and bordering brunch.. that finishes at 1130. The pool bar wasnt open at all and according to some guests who were there for 10 days prior it wasnt open either of them days.. if we wanted any form of drink or snack food we had to travel at times 330 meters there and back to the plaza where you get breakfast which may not sound like a lot but when your relaxing by the pool and wanting a quick drink it all adds up.. and that shut at 1730. Well technically earlier because they'd start cleaning up earlier which among other guests it was quite annoying as the sun didnt even start to disappear until after 730pm..

The main pool was actually very good although you couldnt tell at all if it had any form of chlorine or related chemicals it just felt/smelt like normal tap water. The indoor pool had plenty of broken tiles on the floor in the pool which resulted in me cutting my toe so I stayed out of it.. one morning we saw a man jet washing the patio under the sunbeds and pushing the water into the pool which again baffled me.

ANTS. Plenty of them in the apartment and they only seemed to turn up at night time which was weird.. we were greeted with them and nearly left with some.

On the website it was stated that there is a shuttle bus to the marina when I asked about this they said no to which I replied its on the website and showed the man which has since been removed, the website also stated you could visit the neighbouring hotel to use the speciality dining and their facilities and again I was told thats not possible anymore and that also has since been removed..

The nearest shop is a brand new supermarket which has only been there 10 months apparently and thats a 30 minute walk away so im not entirely sure how people survived prior to this arriving.. you are genuinely in the middle of nowhere surrounded by other 5* hotels which offer everything needed but you cannot use unless your a guest.. there is an italian restaurant right outside but absolutely nothing to do with the residences.

We ended up relying on using Uber and bolt and Glovo for food deliveries so keep that in mind.

Portugal have legislation where they state 5* accommodation must have all sorts of requirements and this place is missing several of them for sure. 24 hour service for starters as you cannot include a security guard who doesn't know what day of the month it is, they must also provide speciality dining breakfast lunch and dinner which they dont.. there is absolutely zero entertainment so be aware of that too with kids..

Now im not posh in the slightest but ive stayed in several 5* accommodations over my lifetime and every single one provided room service food 24/7 and many many more services...

Now the good parts.

Breakfast was absolutely unreal NUNO I believe the guys name was is genuinely the only thing that makes this placs 5* he was amazing with the kids and did great food. Breakfast was a 3 course meal in itself the variety unbelievable..

Our apartment ants aside was massive we stayed in the 3 bed superior and we had 3 balconies, washing machine dishwasher and a big fridge freezer.. 2 of the bedrooms had bathrooms and showers and the other had a bathroom just outside the door. The beds were hard which I genuinely loved i hate soft bouncy beds. The living room was huge and the tv even bigger which came with majority of british channels including sports we just unfortunately came during the international break.. no movie channels except film 4 and the Internet was good enough to watch Facebook on your phone but not good enough for the tv to use YouTube netflix etc.. we had an amazing view of the golf course and to be fair it was nice and quiet all day/evening.

Now I appreciate we came in the end of september BUT portugal itself is busy from March till end of November and constantly booked out and always at a minimum 25 degrees between them months with the odd day of rain which is usual.. and having spoke to some guests who stayed in the first week of August they said it was exactly the same situation as end of septmeber with regards to breakfast start times and the pool bar actually being open but until 7pm.

Its not a 5* accommodation according to portugese legislation and is 4* at best. We would probably not come back due to the kids not having much to do beyond 7pm when the pool shut and the fact you need to get taxis to anywhere is annoying. They do have a park onsite but its extremely tired lol..

I do want to add that due to being messed about by easyjet something to do with strikes this wasnt our preferred destination and we were originally meant to be flying out on the 10th of october to a different location entirely and then the 3rd of october to the same place and we were literally told on the 19th of September that our flights had been cancelled for the 3rd time and that we had to go on the 26th and that left us not many accommodations to choose from and I chose this place on the phone due to it being an alleged 5* accommodation and being the best available BUT that doesnt take away from the fact this place not being my first choice isnt a 5* place and certainly didnt live up to expectations.

Our recent visit to Portugal we stayed at the residences in Vilamoura , I’ve stayed there before . The apartment we stayed in looked very tired and needs a refresh also the indoor pool water was really cold and not heated like before , the outdoor bar was closed very early . We had breakfast on our first morning , the eggs and bacon were cold and the toast was over cooked like a concrete paving slab . The “ orange juice” was more water than juice total cost was nearly €60 for the privilege . In my opinion it’s not a 5* any more !

Absolutely brilliant place and we couldnt speak highly enough of the manager Nuno always a smile and really friendly attentive service would recommend to anyone!