Pestana D. João II Beach & Golf Resort

Great hotel with fabulous views. Happy hour in the bar 18.00 to 19.00 indoor and outdoor pool spa and outdoor gym. Rooms are a good size with a balcony lifts to all areas. Access directly to the beach and promenade

Despite some positives our overall experience with this hotel was not great. The hotel (and their travel agents) are advertising 'deluxe' rooms which are not deluxe in any shape or form. In hotel speak there is a difference between 'standard' and 'deluxe' with the latter indicating more space, better view etc. Our room looked onto a car park. No view of the gardens or sea and simply as seen in the picture. When we complained we were told to contact our agent. And given some useless corporate waffle about 'lead in rooms'. Most worryingly the receptionist described the room as 'the cheapest view' and wanted the around €800 euros to upgrade. The room we had was costing €299 per night through Sunway. Additionally we were told we would have a three hour wait for our room to be ready upon arrival. Rooms are not ready until 3pm and this appears to be non negotiable. You can get changed in the Spa toilet of you want to put your bags into storage. Apart from the view, and the general tiredness of the room (peeling bathroom door) there was an additional 10% service charge for drinks at the bar/pool. Just to pull the pint or pour the drink. We also had three out of six days when our room and the neighbouring rooms were made up by three pm, meaning we had to request maid service. To be fair about it thisproperty has a lovely garden, some nice features, decent location near sea and boardwalk and a few EXCELLENT staff members but the overall sense was that reception staff were disinterested and service was minimal. I would add that the town of Alvor is a taxi ride rather than a walk and though the fare is only €4 or so, there are no paths to walk along if you go on foot. Breakfast was fine. Is this hotel living up to it's four star service and potential? I would say definitely not.