Vau Hotel

“ We have used this hotel in September for the last four years. It has always been very satisfactory.
We did have a problem this year with small ants which have always been there in small numbers but this time they were in far greater numbers and appear to be coming from the joints in the ceiling in our room. I would like to think this could be addressed by the hotel.

“ Top Tip: Rearaurants in Praia da Rocha are generally very good . In particular we like the Atlantis.
Our favourite bar for a quiet drink is the Algar where the staff are excellent and the coctails are very good. For music we like the Classics bar . We would also recommend the bar accross fron the Titanic Restaurant owned by Sylvia where the atmosphere is great .

“ a little bit out the way if the weather is bad, very good value, wouldn't rate it 4 star but no problems everything was ok

“ We had a pleasant stay here. The rooms were very clean and well equipped, but I would not rate this as a 4 star hotel. Breakfast was the same every day with a very limited choice and the bar was always deserted every night. We had shower gel and shampoo provided on the first day but then this was not replaced until the last day. The room was cleaned and towels replaced every day. The staff were very friendly and helpful. No complaints really but not 4 star standard.

“ Top Tip: Restaurant Casa da Roca between Plaia da Vau and Praia da Rocha on cliff top very nice. We enjoyed the set meal menu.

“ We had a senior apartment on the sixth floor which basically means you have a bedroom and a fold away bed settee in the lounge. There's a galley kitchen with a dish washer, fridge, filter coffee maker and a twin hot plate. No kettle so we boiled water in a pan. There's a verandah with a table and chairs for sitting out and a washing line for drying stuff on.

The Lounge has dining table, coffee table and cutlery and crockery in the cabinet. Only wine glasses however and I'd bring a decent bottle opener next time.

The bathroom has a shower attachment, basic hair dryer and bidet. Towels are replaced daily by the cleaner.

It's twin beds and they're comfortable. It's quiet at night and you'll get a good sleep. The telly has BBC World news, CNN news, the FOX channel, and other channels where they leave the English audio and subtitle the programmes in Portuguese. BTW if you love power ballads and polka you'll love Portuguese radio. KIss FM broadcasts in English with two minutes of news on the hour in daytime.

The hotel has two PCs in the lobby with free internet access, small reading lounge with donated books and daily Portuguese papers. The neighbouring shop stocks the Daily Mail and I'm sure he'll reserve any other paper if asked.

The hotel bar is reasonably price and particularly well stocked. Football on TV most nights and a singer?keyboardist?guitarist at weekends.

The restaurant offers breakfast and dinner and it's pretty good.

There is an unheated and 2.45 meter deep pool with free sun loungers and parasols. You can have coffee and drinks poolside and there's a dedicated toilet and shower facility too.

The staff are helpful, it's a clean uncluttered hotel popular with Portuguese families and there's a reasonable amount of car parking space.

“ Top Tip: There's a bar on the corner that has football on every evening with the TV audio relayed through the sound system. It offers snacks late into the evening and has a dartboard located in the smoking area. It's simple wooden bench seating plus a few stools.

Taxis from Portimao and Alvor are roughly five euros. The buses are 1.50 euros but don't run much past eight pm. The 2 takes you to Praia da Rocha if you don't fancy walking and then Portimao whilst the 7 runs between Alvor and Portimao. Check the destination board.

Praia du vau is a top class beach and was where the rich sunned themsleves before the hotel developments. It is cleaned daily. There are four cafe/restaurants on the beach serving simple snacks or lunches. I can recommend them all. They have similar fish based menus and will show you the fish bought at the market that day. Sea Bream, Stone Bass, Sea bass, Tuna, sardines are offered and marked on the Blackboard or displayed in the chill cabinet if you want to pick your own. There's not a great range on the menus. They will offer meat dishes usually accompanied by French fries and/or salad. Some offer pasta or pizzas. Couverts of bread, fish paste, butter, cheese and/or carrots, olives can make for a decent starter. Soups are are kitchen made and we did not have a poor meal in any establishment. O Lino is slightly more expensive but the food's great. They tend to be family run establishments. Drinks are reasonably priced and some still maintain the tradition of a free but small liqueur of schnapps, port at the end of the meal. The coffee is superb and people tend to drink espresso but ask for what you prefer.

At Lunch time you may like Pai Thomas on the hill for its atmosphere which changes on how Sporting Lisbon got on the night before.

On the other side of the street you will find four other bar restaurants. The jacaranda offers mainly well cooked English dishes, It's neighbour Patrimonia has more of a bar look about with leather clad booths and a mixed English/Portuguese menus. Four large screen TVs tuned to sports. Both places offer Cheap drinks to 9:00pm.