In 2015 my fiancé and I had agreed to requalify for the Hilton’s loyalty program Hilton Honors gold status, so in January 2016 we pre-booked stays accordingly to achieve our goal.
One of those was the Conrad Algarve in Almancil and very close to Quinta do Lago. We stayed for 3 night/4 days in October 2016, after our 5 night/6 days stay at the equally gorgeous Hilton Vilamora As Cascatas Golf Resort & Spa. See our review.
The estate/resort entrance was impressive with a gate, white walls, and a fairly long driveway. The grounds were harmonious with white washed buildings - containing apartments (some were for sale) on both sides - a water feature, flowers, palms and lemon trees in the middle and the hotel as the center piece at the end of the driveway.
The location is ideal, just across the road from Quinta Shopping, a beautifully designed outdoor shopping village which also incl. restaurants, supermarket and more.
We were greeted warmly. Our suitcase was taken and we were accompanied to the reception by the bell captain.
Check in took a bit, because all the features of the hotel and amenities as gold members were explained. Welcome drinks were also served and included water and orange juice.
The lobby was impressive with high ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, an atrium, a dome, which was intricately painted, raindrop chandelier, different seating areas and the Lago Lounge.
The views were over the infinity edged pool and the gardens.
We were accompanied to our King Grand Deluxe Room - the room type we had booked - on the highest floor (the 6th), which overlooked the entrance.
Our luggage was soon afterwards delivered.
The room was large.
It was modern and Moorish inspired with lots of flower designs, wood and frames used. The floor was marbled.
The color scheme was brown, silver, metal and grey.
The room was dominated by the king sized bed with a chaise lounge in front of it.
There was also a club chair with ottoman and a coffee table beside the bed.
A table, seating for two, was frequently used by us to write or share a meal.
There was a credenza containing the minibar. Prices were high, for example 7 Euro, ca. 8.35 USD, for a 0.75 l bottle of Acqua Panna water, so we didn't use it, but once during our stay. Besides the content was more the usual things, like Coca Cola and so on.
A Nespresso coffee machine and tea making facilities were available too.
The air-conditioning was fast and efficient.
Internet was easy to access and fast/reliable at all times.
The flat screen LG TV offered 122 regional and international channels. There was a DVD player. DVDs could be borrowed from the concierge.
The lamps caught our attention. Some had a circle design, while others were mushroom shaped.
Storage space was limited and the room quickly felt cluttered with our personal items.
There was 24 hour room service available and we appreciated the welcome gift of local cakes. They were delicious.
Turn down was offered every night.
We enjoyed the balcony, which had two seating areas and was large.
The bathroom was also large and creative.
It had double sinks, separate bath tub and shower. The bidet and toilet were in their own room.
Above the bath tub was a small TV.
The bathroom amenities were Aroma Therapy Associates.
The room was completely marbled, had a small carpet in front of the sinks and there were gold tiles as well, plus a modern white chandelier above the bathtub.
The water pressure was good and the temperature even. There was a light flickering in the shower stall. It didn't disturb us, so we mentioned it only at check out.
Most intriguing were the flower motive and chandelier in the bathroom.
There was intricate Moorish metalwork, depicting also flowers.
The design didn't impact the comfort of the room and we felt immediately well, which added to our memorable stay.
An English speaking newspaper was daily delivered to our room. Originally we were a bit concerned, because experience at other hotels normally meant that the newspaper arrived early in the morning. Distribution at the Conrad meant it was only delivered late morning or early afternoon.
Other books/magazines on the room were the history about the art of the Conrad Algarve in Portuguese and real estate.
The hotel has many facilities, restaurants and bars.
Restaurants include Gusto by Heinz Beck [who holds 3*** Michelin Stars for his La Pergola restaurant in Rome] for fine dining at the Conrad, Gusto itself holds a Five Diamond Award and was the "Revelation of 2013" when it opened (We enjoyed one dinner there. Review to follow.), Louro for all day dining, Dado and Dado Seafood Pool Restaurant and Bar and Sereno, which is at the infinity pool, is connected to Lago and the tables have an interesting feature. When you want service or pay you can use different buttons to indicate what you need. The waiter from Lago will arrive soon afterwards.
We went to Louro for breakfast, which was included as gold member benefit, every morning. The first morning the experience wasn't too great, because the restaurant was very busy and we were forgotten by the staff. After a reminder to the hostess our table was cleaned and the service was more attentive from then onwards.
The presentation was very beautiful and the buffet extensive.
A bakery basket including bread and pasteis de Belem and tea or coffee and orange juice were delivered to our table each morning.
The buffet included cured and smoked salmon, a choice of cold cuts, jams (They were a bit difficult to get into the small pot with a big spoon. It looked stylish, though.), fruits, fruit salads, more pastries and bread, cereals, cheese, ten different juices, smoothies and much more.
We stopped at the Lago Lounge twice. Once to have a break and to relax. We ordered one hot chocolate, one peach juice, one Mind Revitalizer (a non-alcoholic cocktail), two lemon and two pistaccio macaroons and two Pasteis de Nata. The bill was 26.50 Euro / ca. 31.60 USD.
The other time we went to enjoy a complimentary experience as HH gold members. The second choice we didn't take would have been to make our own cocktails. The Tea Ceremony included Dilmah Private Estate Teas. We chose one pot of green and one Jasmine green tea. The scones had to be preordered, which we did the day before. We had one Algarvian orange and one fig and lemon scone and two chocolate macaroons.
Marco was on both occassions very friendly, informative and helpful. We felt well taken care of.
The Lago Lounge had a small library and a few board games. There were also flat screen TVs mounted on some of the walls, showing sports channels.
In the reception was a classic Mercedes car. There was an Art Space and Dunas Boutique to the left. The Art Space had an exhibition about Alain Bertrand and the art work could be bought.
There was a spa and fitness center. Classes on offer were yoga, stretching, belly dancing, zumba and much more.
Beside the infinity edged pool was a free form outdoor pool and an indoor pool.
Other facilities included a Billiard Room, a Nannie's Room and table tennis. We tried it, which was fun, but more often than not we missed the ball...he he!
The Tempo Sports Lounge and Golf Shop offered golf related material. An autograph of Tyrrell Hatton, who won the Dunhill Open in St. Andrews at the Old Course 2016, was displayed. It was an interesting connection, since we had stayed at the Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews just a few weeks before the actual tournament and our stay at the Conrad Algarve.
Of course there were tennis and basketball courts too.
A free shuttle service was offered to the beach from 10.00 hours to 12.00 hours and 15.00 hours to 17.00 hours.
A beach concession had to be paid, which was 20 Euro / ca. 23.90 USD for a full day or 15 Euro / ca. 17.90 USD for a half day. It included two sun beds, a shade, water and towels.
The concierge can organize many tours. I have noted some of them. You can go clam picking at Ria Formosa Natural Park, which is nearby. Join a wine master class or explore the local markets with the executive chef; afterwards you will learn how to make Cataplana. There was a speed boat trip
to a desert island and much more.
It's no wonder the hotel is award winning including "best resort in the world". Some of them were displayed in vitrines and on the reception desks.
The staff we encountered was friendly and helpful. Ordering a taxi was always done quickly. It was a private company and the system interesting too. The drive to the destination could be charged to the room, while the return journey had to be paid in cash or by credit card.
The Conrad was a good place to relax, have privacy, attentive service, fine dining on the premises, stroll in the garden or go upscale/luxury shopping. Visiting other hotels or have a meal at a Michelin stared restaurant was also possible incl. dinner at Sao Gabriel which we enjoyed during one of our evenings in the Algarve. For all those reasons we would return.
©2017
