Vila Gale Marina Hotel

The last time I went to Portugal I was 8, that's 20-something years ago. At that time, VIlamoura had all the touristic appeal of "Carry on Abroad" (that may mean more to the Brits on here rather than the rest of the world!). I decided to grab a week away recently and with the aid of a last minute website I booked the Vile Gale Marina. Have to admit I was really, really pleased with the hotel and Vilamoura itself. The hotel's clean and modern with the friendliest staff you could possibly hope for. I'm a regular Marriott stayer and have to admit that Vila Gale isn't far off that kind of Business class hotel but at half the cost. The one thing I did notice is the continual cleaning and painting that goes on - and as a result it's a really pleasant place to spend your holiday. The pool area's nice (though in the height of summer it might be overrun) - but the beach is only a 5 minute walk away (and that's almost as clean as the hotel too - with lots of Blue flags waving away). The buffet breakfast is great with plenty of choice and that goes for the restaurant too. The only slight complaint (have to try and find one!) is that the room service menu is a bit boring - lacking anything local (where were the sardines even!?) Vilamoura itself is OK, but definately caters for the Brit abroad, lots of bars (albeit nice ones) and restaurants serving Egg and Chips but it's more of a family place than a Club 18-30. Anyway, if I was going back, this would be one of the first choices, it gave me a really relaxing break.

Having just returned from a week in Vilamoura, staying at this Vila Gale Hotel. We were very pleased with the hotel and surrroundings, both in our 20s we were looking for a quiet break as it was our first holiday abroad. The hotel was clean, and always well stcoked and cared for. We had a small balcony and overlooked the marina on the third floor. Stayed bed and breakfast and the buffet style breakfast was excellent, the variety was perfect, and we only queued one day on the saturday morning. There were alot of golfers staying at the hotel but had no nuisance from them. The hotel staff were very polite and courteous The evening menu we had a la carte one night and it was ok, but after decided we should've had the buffet dinner. The only downside was that the vegetarian optins seemed limited. One thing missed was tea coffee making facilities in the room, after a day out it would've been nice to be abke to go upstairs and make a drink and relax, instead of sitting in the bar downstairs. There was entertainment on every night, live groups, dancers to kareoke, someting for everyone There was 2 small pools outside that looked tempting but it was a little cool to be swimming outside, and to go inside you are requested to wear a swim hat! Chambermaid service was second to none, it's nice to have someone make your bed and give you fresh towels every day We found a few places were closed over the new year period, but several places opened the last few days we were staying there, the weather was about 14 - 20C varied from day to day, had one day of bad rain but overall summer clothes & shoes were worn all week, the portuguese were in winter coats and scarves though!

We visited the Vila Gale Marina in September 2005 on honeymoon. I'd never been to Portugal before although my husband had and recommended Vilamoura. I was nervous because we usually head to places off the beaten track and I wondered if this was going to be slightly too commercial for us. On arrival at the hotel, we found champagne and snacks in the room, which was an extremely kind gesture and our room overlooked the Marina, although the hotel is not right on top of it which was good. The hotel itself was clean and we had a large bathroom, the room was quiet and we had no complaints, although I can see why people with children were not so happy. It did not seem to cater for kids, which was great as far as we were concerned (being on honeymoon)but not so good for families. The pool was freezing, so we went to the other Gale Marina hotel on the beach for the facilities there and the pool was much warmer, being in the sun. Vilamoura Marina restaurants and bars are expensive, beware, I guess Vilamoura caters for the tourists, particularly rich ones who own yachts! Still, we didn't mind as the atmosphere around the marina was just what we were looking for, cosmopolitan but didn't feel too touristy (maybe the time of year). We did a fair amount of travelling to other resorts, but Vilamoura was definitely the nicest area for couples looking for a quieter holiday. Gale Marina is a lovely hotel and we had a fantastic 10 days there.

Visited this hotel with my wife and one year old baby, could not fault the hotel, the staff bent over backwards to help especially to help with our baby. Hotel does need a revamp in some areas but would certainly recommend this hotel. The location is good and Vilamoura is suited to people of all ages. The resort certainly has alot of golfers but we found them all very well behaved.

After a busy summer in the tourism business my wife and I chose the hotel Vila Gale Marina for a relaxing break. We were not disapointed. The hotel is very professionaly run with pleanty of friendly staff on hand to look after all your needs. The buffet breakfast were unbelievable and very tempting leaving us unable to eat again until well into the evening! Bedrooms, lounge, bar and dinning rooms are well appointed and comfortable. We would recommend to anyone.

I spent a lot of time researching where to stay in Vilamoura and found this web site to be an excellent source of information. We chose the Vila Gale Marina due, in a large part, to the reviews and also ensured that any negatives identified were mitigated. We took our own kettle for example!! The staff at the hotel couldn't have been more helpful, they even let us check-in as soon as we arrived ... at 10:30am, and although they only had rooms available on the 3rd floor at that time we could move the next day if we wished. As it turned out, the hassle wasnt worth it and we stayed put in two adjoining rooms, and we were still high enough to see the sea! The breakfasts were fantastic ... one review has criticised them for being the same every day. That can only be because there is a choice of everything ... cereals, fruits, many breads and pastries, cold meats, bacon, sausage, beans, eggs (done many ways), cakes, etc. The hotel has a games room with pool, table tennis and air hockey and an indoor pool which has to be a bonus as the weather becomes lest predictable. The only negative that I can think of is the design of the hotel being horse-shoe with a pool in the middle which probably works well in the summer when the sun goes directly overhead. Whereas later in the year when the sun is lower in the sky the west facing opening only gets a glimmer of sun-light on a few of the sunbeds. However, with the beach only being 200 yards away and other excellent resorts being only a short drive away this gave us no problem. We found that the Italian restaurant - Nosolo (with the Orange awnings) was very good, the fact it was busy every night was testamant to that. And Vilamoura itself was probably the most classy resort we visited. Top holiday and saved loads by booking it all myself!! Highly recommended.

Just got back last night form staying in Vila Gale Marina. Hotel was good, but as I like my coffee in the mornings and plenty of ice in my drinks, not having coffee making facilities and no ice machine on each floor, this is the only downfall for the hotel, although I think this is the same for most of the hotels in Vilamoura, even the 5* hotel, doesn't have these facilities. The breakfast choice was fantastic, including the champagne - so bucks fizz everyday, helped us on our merry way. Hubby did get a bad steak in one of the restaurants (the 19th Hole), and another restaurant overcharged us ( Carvers ???) We did favour one chinese restaurant over the rest of the eating places - they came over and talked to you - welcomed you on entering, and acknowledged you on leaving. One waitress actually ran after us on our last night, and hoped we have a nice christmas - it was called the ???? Ming Beer prices did differ - for a large beer in some bars cost 4 euros, in others it cost 2 euros All in all it was a great holiday

Excellent hotel. Rooms are very clean. Food is available in large qauntity and the quality is great, during breakfast and dinner. I did not go out eating. The staff is very helpful. Price/quality=excellent. It is a pitty that "some" British golf players celebrate their victory at night and sleep during the day...

Just back from after 10 great days staying at the Vila Gale. I can not for the life of me understand why anyone slates this hotel. We found the hotel very clean and the staff most helpful. We stayed on the 9th floor which had fantastic views of the marina and the beach. The rooms were very clean with fresh towels everyday, the air con was definetly a big plus!The breakfast buffet was fine, yes it was the same everyday but it was always fresh with plenty of choice, we only had to Q one day and thats only because we left it until 10am to come down, i cant understand a previous review advising that they had to use dettox wipes, i couln't fault the cleanliness at all. I'll admit the outdoor pool could have been warmer, but once you were in it was fine. They have a pool table, table tennis table all situated beside the sunloungers, which was great. They also have a games inside room another pool table, air hockey, table football game, card tables and about three video games, great for one of the rare days that rained. The inside pool is great, and is was usually very quiet. Eating out in Vilamoura is difficult.......''only because there is so much choice!'' The restaurants on the marina are more or less the same price, we tended to eat at the restaurants just behind the marina although we did have two great meals at the Chinese Harbour View, which is situated i would say i the middle of the marina, we had the set menu for two, which i can say was fantastic, we also had our 8yr old daughter with us who they quite happily made a smaller portions for. Just behind the Marina we had a great meal at Rui's Carvery, huge portions and a great kids menu, pretty reasonable too with ever smiling staff. Roughly behind Rui's was Bocca Della italian, again lovely meal, quick service and the staff made you feel very welcome. The Casa do Pescador was ok, but nothing special. Wasnt really impressed with the Vilamoura steakhouse which is also situated in the square, very run of the mill. Although we didnt have a chance to eat there, we met a lovely couple who ate at the O'Colonial and they said it was lovely. The street just before McDonald's(if you are headed up from the beach)there is a lovely restaraunt called ''Concorde'' just behind the Cataplana restaurant, the guy in here is so friendly and it obvious that people come back time and time again as he seemed to know everyone. Very Very reasonable, and the food was great, we ate there twice. All in all i would say the prices are very much the same as the UK. I can recommend a trip to the Zoo Marine, even if you dont have kids, you can usually book this through your hotel or we booked through a shop just next to the Ali-super, across from the Dom Pedro Golf hotel, the guy offered a 10% discount and he was also really helpful about local info. There is a Zoo Marine bus that will pick you up at various locations in Vilamoura and bring you back the day just wasnt long enough!! Plenty for the kids to do and great shows as well. We also visited Slide and Splash Water Park, again great for all ages, with plenty of rides to keep you entertained, only complaint was the food was really crap inside at the main cafeteria....''dont order a burger'' The beaches at Vilamoura are really clean and loads of sunloungers if you want to rent them. There were a few timeshare people about, my advice is for you to say you have been here 2 weeks and this is your last day, and that way they wont pester you to attend a presentation.''Dont be fooled'' Well think i better leave some space for some other people now, but all in all i can say that the Vila Gale was a great place to stay and that we would certainly go back, Vilamoura is a lovely place to visit and i would recommend it to anyone with our without kids.

Please disregard the review below where they slate the hotel - in all honesty and not meaning to be rude or disrespectful to anyone, why take a baby abroad? What fun is it for them to be stuck in the heat which they will find intolerable. When our childeren were very young, we had the sense to take them to places which would be fun for them (Haven, Butlins etc) and not to a resort which is clearly a place only selfish people would take very young children. ANYWAY - MY REVIEW We had absolutely no hiccups during our stay at this wonderful and scenic hotel. The service is absolutely fantastic. The staff are so polite and helpful in every way. Whatever the situation, there is always a smile on there faces. The breakfast has a good range of food, something for everyone. Breads, jams, ceriels, bacon, eggs (scrambled, fried and boiled), beans, tomatoes, sausages, fruit, fruit juices, cheese, cold meat, hot drinks and even a healthy living selection. The waiting staff are very efficient, clearing tables as soon as guests have finished. The cleanliness of the hotel is fantastic. The maids make sure windows and floors are cleaned daily as well as the rooms. Fresh bedding on towelling are provided on a daily basis. The pools and health suite are also cleaned daily. I would recommend this hotel to anyone who is looking for a relaxing break in the sun. We have stayed in 7 hotels in the area and this one will be the last one we visit - only because it will be the only one we will ever go to again.