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- Vila Gale Tavira
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Vila Gale Tavira
Portugal, Europe
Tavira
This hotel is located on the banks of the Ria Formosa, in the centre of Tavira. Right in the centre of town only a few metres away from the Gilão River and Ria Formosa, and within walking distance from the shopping district and the promenade cafés of Tavira. The hotel is surrounded by Ria Formosa Natural Park, gracing the hotel with one of the most alluring landscapes of Portugal. Guests might also like to drive to Spain, which is only 40 kilometres away, or to the Barlavento area of the Algarve, 30 minutes' drive away. The on-site wellness center features an indoor heated pool and hot tub; The gym is also available so that fitness lifestyle lovers can keep fit. The rooms aim to provide effective rest in a cozy design and comfortable furniture, each room is fully equipped to make guests feel as if they were at home, so they can search for adventures in the locality and return to a optimal rest.
Hotel Information
Pamper yourself with a visit to the spa, which offers massages and facials. You can take advantage of recreational amenities such as a health club, an outdoor pool and an indoor pool. Additional features at this hotel include complimentary wireless Internet access, an arcade/games room and gift shops/newsstands.
Facilities
- Other Protocol
- Golf practice facility*
- Darts*
- Billiards*
- Fitness
- Aerobics
- Spa centre*
- Spa treatments
- Massage*
- Hot tub*
- Please note some facilities may incur an additional fee
The Local Area
Tripadvisor Reviews
4.0 Very Good1,688 reviews
Excellent
29%
Very Good
44%
Average
20%
Poor
5%
Terrible
2%
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Lack of security, careful
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.
Review by Kathy S Seville, Spain
Mostly good, some room for improvement
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.
Vila Gale Hotel
We stayed here as part of a walking group. Overall the hotel is a good 4* with no frills.
The pool area was well maintained with plenty of sunbeds. My room was originally on the ground floor next to the pool but I asked to change to the first floor for more privacy.
Breakfast and dinner provided a good selection. There was always freshly good fish at dinner.
Although on half board we opted to eat out every other night as there are many good restaurants/bars within walking distance of the hotel.
The lovely beach is a short ferry ride away and is truly beautiful. The area is very unspoilt and not as ‘touristy as western Algarve.
Our walks took us along the coast and inland. All very scenic. This was our second holiday with Involved Holidays who are excellent.
The only complaint re Vila Gale was the evening entertainment which was diabolical. They could have just had a decent singer, with some accompaniment or even some nice music playing, rather than the children’s entertainers from the day time or Elvis impersonator who couldn’t sing very well. They need to up their game with this as people will just go out or go to bed. It was really poor.
Review by Krissie76 Yorkshire Dales National Park, United Kingdom
No hot water for both nights of our stay — completely unacceptable
We have been without hot water since we arrived here at the end of our cycle yesterday and the hotel’s response has been astonishingly dismissive. This is not a minor inconvenience; it is a basic failure to provide a fundamental facility that guests reasonably expect to receive when paying for accommodation.
What makes it even worse is the attitude of the staff. The manager has been conspicuously unavailable and is apparently hiding rather than speaking directly to the people affected.
Problems can happen in any hotel. A good hotel though responds when something goes wrong. Here, there has been neither effective communication nor visible accountability — just 2 nights without hot water and staff behaving as though guests should simply accept it.
I would strongly advise potential guests to think carefully before booking. A hotel that cannot provide hot water for two days, cannot produce its manager, and treats paying customers’ complaints as trivial does not deserve the rating or the money it receives.
Review by RiverDad1969 Marlow, United Kingdom
The whole hotel is dark!
I would echo much of what has been said before. The hotel is large and spacious and very clean. The breakfast is plentiful and varied but the restaurant dark, noisy and soulless . The staff are all pleasant and helpful. Our room was dark and lacking in sockets and storage, I had to hang dresses in the bathroom as the wardrobe space wasn’t tall enough. The bed was comfy. We didn’t use the bar, the muzak out me off, it was also left playing all night on one occasion and kept us awake. The shower was feeble and on one occasion the water was cold, the sink tap leaked and the drain smelled bad when we arrived but improved quickly. Overall it was fine for somewhere to sleep for a week but I wouldn’t say it was a four star experience.
Review by JanieG59 Winchester, United Kingdom
