Gloria Palace Amadores Thalasso and Hotel

I always used to walk past this hotel as a child with my mum and we both dreamed of staying here one day, I got engaged here last year on the island and wanted to celebrate it in a special way so we booked to come back a year later to this "outstanding and perfect hotel" which I paid £2100 for and can clarify I usually stay in incredibly cheap places and have always been happy, so I thought let's treat us to this!

So here's my review.

Reception 👥 Staff - 2.5/5⭐ Had one good experience with the lady who gave us our key cards when we first arrived, the rest were incredibly blunt and didn't seem happy at all to help.

Food & Drinks🍴 Breakfast - 3/5⭐ Lunch - 0/5⭐ Dinner - 0/5⭐ Drinks - 3/5⭐ Breakfast was just okay I don't really have anything more to say about that, it was simple and bland I guess.

We checked food every dinner and lunch and it was abysmal, no colour to the food everything looked bland, mostly fish (Herring🤢) even though it was themed nights, terrible choices that lacked flavour, so we just ate out every night and skipped lunch completely.

It was probably so bad because they wasted their money on the metric tonne slab of honeycomb they put out every morning, couldn't possibly pop a mushroom on your full English but don't worry there's 18 different types of jam to sample...

Staff in the restaurant were quite blunt and standoffish and none of them smiled or spoke to you, they let pigeons just get on tables and walk all over the cutlery outside and also let them eat off the side where they take the used plates and cups, there was no information inside of where to get a drink from apart from juice and coffee machines and a mimosa stand.

Drinks were okay but they were severely watered down, could barely taste any alcohol, but if you did want a decent cocktail or iced coffee you had to pay for it, even though it's all inclusive.

Room's 🛏️ (BLOCK 1) Room 1107 Bed - 3/5⭐ Shower - 2.5/5⭐ Amenities - 1/5⭐

When booking the hotel we booked specifically for a high floor sea view to be put on the ground floor cause it was fully booked? (make that make sense) Had to swap rooms on the first day because our aircon was broken, in this first room when we arrived we were told it was cleaned and all set up but nothing had been cleaned, our socks were black from the floor, there was hair in the shower and bathroom.

In the second room the aircon worked but after around 45 minutes of faffing with it, the shower leaks profusely onto the bathroom floor, bathroom door didn't shut correctly without slamming it with your whole body weight and vibrating the whole room, fridge is absolutely tiny, that small you can't even keep the complimentary waters in there unless you take the shelf out.

After the floor turning our socks black issue we decided to leave our door hanger out to have our room cleaned to see if the same would happen in this new room or if they actually clean the floors, shock horror they don't they just sweep so the dirt just builds up.

Bed was lovely and comfy but if you want to have a nice romantic time with your partner or sleep soundly prepare yourself to be spread eagle between both beds when they split like the red sea because they're on wheels and are 2 separate beds.

Main ceiling light in the fan was covered by a metal cover so you have to get dressed in darkness unless you stand on the bed and unscrew it so you can actually see where you are in the room, tv had 4 English channels despite being a smart TV it wasn't connected to the Internet so none were available.

Walls are that thin that you'll answer the door for your neighbour when they press the bell and you'll experience a free show of Morris dancing on the ceiling from the floor above at 6am - 10pm which is arguably better than the dire entertainment they put on.

The pools are absolutely lovely I have no complaints about them, but the week we came there was no atmosphere at the top pool unless you get lucky and a woman pulls up with 15 rails of clothes and a speaker trying to sell you the contents of the British heart foundation and oxfam put together but the day we left they'd set up what sounded like Glastonbury festival on our balcony, the bar staff were rude and would forget your order or just walk off and speak to a colleague for 10 minutes whilst your half way through ordering, also if you want a good sunbed be prepared to get up at 5am, towels are already out by then.

Constant drilling and construction work happening, cars/lorrys/construction vehicles driving past every 5 minutes, the actual building work wasn't an issue in our room but the vehicles drove past our front door every morning it was like staying in the back of an arctic lorry going down the M1 Motorway.

And that's the end, you tell me if you think that's worth the £2100 for 7 days cause I for sure will be going and staying in cheap hotels again.

We stayed at Gloria Palace Amadores Thalasso & Hotel as a family of three with our 18-month-old daughter, and overall we’ve had a fantastic holiday.

Before arriving, we’d read reviews mentioning building work, troublesome lifts and even pigeons, so we were a little apprehensive. In reality, most of those concerns turned out to be pretty minor.

The hotel is currently renovating some rooms and the spa was out of action during our stay. Our room was one of the newly refurbished ones and it was excellent. Modern, clean and finished to a high standard, with an outdoor jacuzzi bath on the balcony which was a lovely touch. The room also had both USB and USB-C charging ports by the bed. The bathroom was equally impressive, with excellent shower pressure, something that’s often overlooked but as a brit, I must comment on.

As for the building work, yes, it was happening, but we barely noticed it. Realistically, if rooms are being renovated, there will be some noise from time to time, you can hardly put a SDS drill on silent mode, but it wasn’t enough to spoil our holiday.

The lifts seem to attract a lot of comments in reviews. They occasionally have a bit of a mind of their own, but when you’ve got hundreds of guests all trying to use the same lifts, it’s hardly surprising. We never found it to be a major issue.

One feature we really liked was the lift providing direct access from the hotel down towards Amadores Beach. Your room card is used to access it, making it easy and secure to come and go without having to walk around the long way, which is a calf killer.

The food was consistently good throughout our stay. We’re not food critics or particularly adventurous eaters, we’re mainly chicken eaters, and as a family with a toddler we never struggled to find something to eat at any meal. It’s your typical all-inclusive buffet with plenty of choice, and we certainly never went hungry.

Dinner changed theme throughout the week, with evenings including Spanish, Irish and Mexican cuisine, which helped keep things interesting rather than feeling like the same buffet every night.

Breakfast was spot on every morning and coffee was perfectly drinkable, If you prefer a stronger coffee, adding an espresso gives it a bit more punch.

The snack bar at the top pool was another pleasant surprise. Instead of queueing up for food, it’s table service, which gave it a slightly more upmarket feel. It also meant there weren’t people carrying plates of food around the pool all day, helping keep the area feeling cleaner and more relaxing. You can however take drinks to the pool, these are in cups rather than glasses.

The pool areas were excellen and the children’s splash pad was an absolute hit with our 18-month-old. Between the splash pad, slides and play area, we genuinely struggled to persuade her it was time to leave.

Unlike some resorts, there didn’t seem to be much of the usual sunbed race every morning. There were always the odd early risers dashing for poolside beds but we never had any trouble finding somewhere to sit.

I’ve seen reviews mentioning pigeons around the outdoor dining areas. Honestly… where there’s food outside, there will be birds. We certainly didn’t experience pigeons landing on tables or stealing bread rolls, and it wasn’t something that affected our holiday in the slightest.

Entertainment was exactly what we’d expect from a good all-inclusive hotel. There were the usual daytime poolside activities for those who wanted to join in, while the evening entertainment was enjoyable and a nice way to finish the day.

The location is another big plus. The lift takes you straight down towards Amadores Beach, which is absolutely stunning. To the right is the larger, man-made beach (we were told) with plenty of sunbeds (around €5 each) and a promenade with shops and cafés. Heading left takes you towards the marina, and from there it’s around a 20min walk into Puerto Rico if you fancy more bars and shops. After a warm evening stroll, a taxi back to the hotel cost us around €5.

The staff deserve a special mention. Every member of staff we encountered was friendly, welcoming and clearly worked incredibly hard. One evening our daughter accidentally soaked part of the bed with water. We mentioned it before heading out for the evening and by the time we returned everything had already been changed.

A special thank you goes to Teo and Juanjo, who were both genuinely warm, friendly and always seemed willing to go the extra mile, our daughter loved them. They’re a real credit to the hotel and helped make our stay that little bit more memorable. If there are concerns about staff efficiency, maybe lend a hand by stacking your plates etc at the end of the table, will help them get their job done.

We also made use of the gym a few times, It has a surprisingly good range of equipment for a hotel gym, although it could definitely benefit from air conditioning, workouts become sweaty very quickly! The only slight downside for us was that both the gym and breakfast open at 8am. If you like getting an early, fasted workout in before breakfast, you’ll be cutting it a bit fine before breakfast service finishes. Likewise, early risers may find an 8am breakfast opening a little later than expected, although it certainly wasn’t a deal-breaker.

One practical thing worth mentioning is check-out. Standard check-out is at 12pm, but if you have a later flight it’s worth asking reception on the morning of departure about a late check-out. We were offered an extension until 3pm for €35 (subject to availability), which made our last day far more relaxed, plus you can make use of your all inclusive as your card is scanned for food & drinks etc.

Overall, we’ve had a fantastic holiday. No hotel is perfect, but Gloria Palace Amadores gets far more right than it does wrong. The ongoing renovations never affected our stay, the refurbished rooms are excellent, the staff are wonderful, the location is superb and it’s a brilliant choice for families with young children.

If you’re expecting a flawless, ultra-luxury five-star experience, you’ll always find something to complain about. If you’re looking for a clean, modern hotel with fantastic views, friendly staff, good food and a brilliant base for a family holiday, Gloria Palace Amadores delivers exactly that.

Would we come back? Without hesitation. Thank you to everyone at Gloria Palace Amadores for helping make it such an enjoyable stay.