Estrela Do Vau Hotel

Just returned from the Estrella do Vau, party of 8, and did not rate the hotel at all. It is supposed to be a 4 star but we would rate it barely a 3. The rooms were spacious but quite shabby and although there was a daily maid service, you did get clean towels regularly; the room wasn't cleaned very well.
The entertainment was none existent, nothing during the day time and the night time was terrible. We got the impression the hotel was winding down but we were still on our holidays and had paid for entertainment which we didn't get. The pool was very cold and after a couple of days, quite dirty...
On a brighter note, the beach was lovely although a good 15 mins walk and there was a few bars just by the beach where you could get a large beer for 1 euro. Also a lovely bar restaurant called Jacaranda, which served gorgeous meals, very reasonable and well worth a visit.
Taxis were quite reasonable and you do need to use them to go into the other resorts, Praia do Rocha has some good bars and restaurants and it costs about 5 euro one way in a taxi. For shopping I would go into Alvor or Praia do Rocha as the supermarket in the hotel is very very expensive.
All in all we did have a good holiday, the weather was fab, but I don't think I would go back to the Estrella do Vau. It was not like the brochure said and I would stay nearer to Praia do Rocha or Alvor as we spent a small fortune on taxis.

My husband and I stayed here for 1 week, it was supposed to be 4 star accommodation but I would rate it more a three, it wasn't clean when we got there, the wardrobe doors were broke, the toaster was melted and the windows looked like they hadn't been cleaned for weeks.
We went to the beach one day (quite a walk it was too) and when we came back to the apartment at night to change we left a trail of sand on the bedroom floor which was still there on the day we left.
We were woken up on two occasions at 3am by other holiday makers screaming and laughing in the hotel lobby, the staff on the 24 hour reception did nothing about the noise and when I tried to phone them to complain the phone did not work.
The supermarket on the complex was a rip off (tin of beans 90p) and the drinks in the bar were very dear too.
The nightly entertainment was very poor indeed. It is a bit out of the way and there wasn't much to do in the area so we spent much of our money on taxi's, the best part of the holiday was a little restaurant we found 5 mins walk down the road, it was run by fantastic people and had a fabulous atmosphere, we would go back to Portugal but would not stay in this area.

I have just returned with my family from the Estrella Du Vau apartments. Complex, and we all agreed, it was a great holiday. In the complex itself, the apartments were big and spacious, and also very clean. Reception staff were all very friendly, and at times couldn't do enough.
If I had one slight issue, it would have been the entertainment. The day time activities were quite good, with the girls working very hard to please, but the night time entertainment was very different. For a complex that had so many children around at night time, I think it could have been a lot easier to involve them a lot more. One exception was the Friday night parrot show and dancing.
All in all, it was a very nice holiday, pools were lovely, and beer was cheap, once you didn't mind queuing in the bar for ages at times, to be finally served by grumpy roger.
We may just try and go closer to the beach and airport next time.

We have just got back from a fortnight at Estrella do Vau. We took our two sons aged 7 and 3 for a relaxing break in the sun and largely this place ticked all our boxes. Good points are the apartments are spacious and clean, beds made every day, clean towels every day and cleaners and staff in general very helpful.
The kitchen is well equipped but no oven and strange soup bowls for mugs! Plenty of hot water every day and a great shower. Air conditioning was very welcome.
The kids club was fantastic but we found that because we had not booked through a recognised tour operator we would have to pay for our son to attend, he did however join in the poolside activities and the two girls running it, Carol and Ana are excellent and loads of fun.
The pools are adequate but freezing and a bit 'murky' after 2 weeks and definitely look better in the brochure than in real life!
The apartments are in a very quiet area with hardly any amenities locally but the taxi service is good and everything you need is only a short trip away.
The local beach is lovely and clean and well worth visiting as is the Praia do Vau beach a bit further along.
The local cuisine is lovely especially if you enjoy fish although this can be expensive unless you stick to sardines!!
The not so good points are that most of the rooms are off the impressive entrance lobby and as such we found ours to be noisy at night when people returned late from their nights out. A bit of sound proofing with a blanket round the door helped greatly but we were disturbed most nights. The beds are very hard!
The morning farce of reserving sun beds, despite it being forbidden, had to be seen to be believed! Queuing at the pool gates began at 8am and the queue was long by the time the cleaners finally opened the gates and let the stampede for sun beds begin at about 9. By 9.03am 99% of the sun beds were reserved with people then disappearing off for several hours before taking up occupancy.
The supermarket on site is handy if you have forgotten something but the prices are extortionate.
We had a good holiday, plenty to keep the kids occupied for 2 weeks but if I went back I would have to have an apartment away from the entrance lobby, at the end of one of the wings where it would definitely be quieter.

4 readers found this review helpful

The apartments are shown as four stars which I disagree with. They were very much three star.
The complex is quite a walk away from any beaches, 15 minutes walk would definitely be the closest one. The pool area was pretty good even if some of the sun loungers had seen better days.
The poolside bar and cafe was fine, food good and not expensive. All of the staff at the complex were very nice and helpful.
There is a restaurant and bar on site which is open nightly with entertainment - if you are looking for somewhere with a community centre feel then this is the place - absolutely dreadful.
It costs about 4 Euros to get a taxi into either Alvor or Praia do Rocha - Alvor is definitely the nicest of the two. There are some excellent restaurants and I would highly recommend Vagabondo (a steak restaurant) which is on the main stretch in Alvor.
The beaches are absolutely beautiful and are well worth the trek to get to them. All in all the area was lovely but we were disappointed with the accommodation.

This holiday was perfect; Praia du Vau is a quiet area not far from the main town of Praia du Rocha.
I stayed at Estrella du Vau; we had a lovely apartment which was very clean and spacious. The pool and pool area were always clean, with plenty of sun loungers for everyone.
The staff were friendly and the pool side bar was reasonably priced. I would suggest getting a taxi into Praia du Rocha and using the main supermarket there as the hotel supermarket is quite expensive.
There are lovely beach side restaurants in Praia du Vau with excellent local cuisine or many other types of restaurants in Praia du Rocha which is either a short taxi ride away or a half hour walk down the beautiful beach.
Once in Praia du Rocha if you keep exploring you will come across a beautiful harbour hosting various bars and restaurants which make a perfect evening out.
My partner and I enjoyed this holiday so much that we are returning this Saturday to the same resort and hotel and this time we will be taking our 2 year old son with us, as it is a perfect place and apartment complex for children.

These apartments are very good but I would not rate them as a four star probably a good 3 star. The room we had (207) was large & clean but some of the drawers & wardrobe doors were damaged and a mirror in our room had been taped with masking tape instead of replacing it.
Obviously well worn but very comfortable and clean!! (important!!1)
The staff are very helpful & the minibus is a useful facility. Don’t use the super market near the hotel unless you don’t mind paying extortionist prices.
The restaurant adjacent to the hotel is very good & comparable to the prices of other restaurants in Alvor.
We had a family of 5 & experienced difficulties when using the local taxis as they are designed to carry only 4 people but this was a minor hassle. We did not like Praia do Rocha but Alvor was great with a wide selection of restaurants.
The beaches were excellent but the walk from our hotel to the beach was 15 minutes down a steep hill in places and the return walk had to include a break at a pub for a drink as the hill would kill an alpine Sherpa in the heat but it did not stop us going to the beach most days. We found a short cut down a sandy road but it was very rough and not suitable for the older generation or prams.
All in all a good holiday and different from Spain & the canaries. I would recommend these apartments as they seemed a lot better than every where else in the region but would suggest that you look for something closer to Alvor so you can walk to the beaches there 7 into the town at night and save a fortune in taxis, our taxi fares averaged about 7 euro per trip for a family of 5 from this hotel to Alvor. A family of 4 would expect approx 5 euro per trip. We did our shopping in the modelo hypermarket in Portimao & lidl is next to this over a footbridge. Taxi is the best way, but the hotel minibus can be booked at certain times & is cheaper.
All in all we enjoyed Portugal & the people are very friendly but I don’t think I would go back, it is not that type of place.