Pure Monchique Hotel - Villa Termal Spa Resort - by Unlock Hotels

I do expect a little more from a four star hotel. Initially we were contacted to say that the pool was going to be out of action, I understand this. When we arrived by bike after a long day riding through the mountains we agreed to shower and meet in the bar at six before dinner. The bar was closed. There were no drinks facilities in the room and so we were forced to wait until 7:00 ( reception could easily have told us this when we arrived) The soup was not hot or indeed that nice, two sent it back to be warmed, two of us were too hungry to wait. When the main arrived it was again on the cold side and not a lot to eat. We all had pudding and went our rooms to get food from our supplies. It is out of season and I guess there is not a chef, but it was the worst meal we had in our seven day trip ☹️ It was expensive because it was below an acceptable standard - sorry but you should do better

Waste of money. I’m currently here now and after paying a fortune, they say we have to pay 15euros to access the spa. Okay fine, now we go to the spa and they say it’s 15 euros for 1.5 hours. They say it’s on the website but I searched everywhere çant see that. We also paid extra for a Luxury room and they only give coffee in the Suites which are 500 euros. Do not come here.

Overall this hotel is okay. We got an awesome deal at about $80 Canadian per night which included breakfast and a session at the thermal waters pool/sauna/steam room. The location is in a very quiet area, with a few restaurants within a 15 minute walk. The room was clean and the bed was comfortable. The main negative is the noise from within the hotel. The walls are thin and if you have neighbours you will hear them. There is no carpet in the hallways and the doors slam very loudly which gets annoying and can wake you. If you’re looking for nightlife and excitement, this isn’t your place. If you want a quiet getaway it’s ideal. It’s also close to several nice hiking trails.

The staff at this resort was extremely unfriendly and made us feel unwelcome. We arrived a bit early (around noon) and to their credit, they did allow us to check in early. We were told when we booked that we would receive a welcome drink and pastry which we did not receive (maybe because we checked in early), certainly not a deal breaker. I'll start with the positives: The area of Monchique is beautiful. Very peaceful and quiet, but also a bit remote so I would recommend renting a car. The room was very nice. It was spacious with a nice balcony and large bathroom. The view from the balcony was lovely. We tried to eat at the restaurant 3 different times and were turned away each time. The first time at noon (they said they opened at 1) . We went back at 2:45 and they said the kitchen was closing in 15 minutes and turned us away again. They told us to go to the bar across the street. We went to the bar and they said they didn't serve food (despite the menu on the bar saying they served food from noon till 9). They offered us stale pork belly buns which were terrible. We tried the restaurant again that night, they seated us and gave us menus, but then the manager came over and strongly recommended we eat up at the hotel because they were having a themed Portugal night. We didn't really want to, but we were made to feel so unwelcome at the restaurant that we left. I should mention that the options for food are very limited as the area is remote and there were only 2 or 3 places to choose from. In my opinion, it was the manager and staff that created an overall unwelcome feeling. I don't know if it was because they were coming into the "off season", but I would not recommend this hotel because of the staff. It's too bad because the location and the hotel itself, weren't bad. I should add the manager seemed to be running the hotel, the restaurant, and the bar.