olimaspecto

Sheraton Algarve Hotel and Resort (2 nights – 4K points + $60/night)
This was my first Starwood property stay on this trip and I had been looking forward to it after reading the posts on the excellent service and beautiful grounds. We arrived at the hotel around 6:30pm after a 25 minute drive from the airport (about €30-€35). The hotel itself it is a relatively large complex and right outside the gates there are a number of restaurants and shops. As other posters have suggested, be sure to visit the grocery store there to buy your food, drink, snacks, etc. as the hotel prices are quite expensive (e.g. a 1L bottle of water at the hotel is €6.50, but at the store it’s €0.41 – a HUGE difference!) Reception wasn’t busy at all but it took a bit for the receptionist to get over to us to begin check-in. Very friendly service and seemed genuine. I had read previously about Platinum members receiving upgrades to the duplex suites with ocean views and hopeful that we would get the same. Desk agent said that we were upgraded to a junior suite with garden view and when I inquired about the duplex suites she said they were all sold out. I pressed her a bit but with no luck. The General manager was walking around the lobby and came over and greeted us (by name) and said that she was very sorry that no rooms were available tonight, but that they would upgrade us tomorrow night after a big convention group left. I received the Platinum amenity choice card, but since there was no points option I chose the in-room movie (which I ended up not using )

The Junior Suite with garden view we had for the first night was very nice, and well decorated. The style at the hotel is elegant but a bit dated, though they have LCD TVs and other modern amenities installed. Disappointing that neither room had hotel wireless in it, but that on the second night I was able to get the Vodafone wireless, but it was a very inconsistent and weak signal. The next morning we got a call about 11:00am from the front desk saying we could switch to the Duplex Suite whenever we were ready and they would move all our bags for us. The duplex suite was very nice – the upper level had a kind bed with a Romeo and Juliet style balcony facing the ocean and the bathroom was at the back; the lower level had a living room with terrace overlooking the ocean complete with chairs and a decent sized W.C. near the entrance. This room had not been redone as recently as the Junior Suite (e.g. lacked an Ethernet cable, no rainforest showerhead, etc.) but did have the nice view and was much larger. All-in-all I think that we would have stayed in the Junior Suite until they upgrade the duplex suites with more modern amenities. When they do upgrade the duplex suites and redo them, they will be definitely be my first choice. In the meantime, I’d be curious to try an Ocean view Junior Suite, though I’m not entirely sure this property has any.

Room service was expensive but the food was pretty good overall – though I would definitely checkout the restaurants outside the property as the quality difference is marginal, but the price difference is quite large. Part of the Platinum recognition was that breakfast was included each day – the buffet was good, but I wouldn’t necessarily pay for it and probably would have just went with ala carte, ate off property, or bought something at the grocery store, had it not been included.

As for the facilities, the hotel grounds are large and there are at least two (maybe three?) pools – outdoor and indoor. The fitness room was decent but not great, though between that and the trails throughout the property you should be able to keep a relatively strong workout routine. The beach is a bit of a trek, down stairs or an elevator and then a meandering boardwalk through the orange cliffs that the property sits on. Unfortunately it rained and was overcast for a good portion of our stay so we didn’t spend that much time at the beach, but from what we saw when we were there it looked pretty decent.

All-in-all the property is pretty nice and the service is great, but it is getting a bit dated. I’d love to see them redo all the rooms (similar to what they did at the Sheraton Kauai) and then I think this property would be top notch – that said, at 10,000 points/night year round, and a pretty consistent points/cash option, it’s a great deal, especially considering that the lowest rate I found during our stay was €205 for a standard room/night.

Sheraton Lisboa Hotel and Spa (2 nights - €125/night)
If there was a problem child property of the trip, the Sheraton Lisboa was it. We arrived by train from Faro at about 5:00pm – and for reference, this hotel is a good distance cab ride from the Lisbon-Oriente train station, so I would suggest getting off at one of the earlier stops in Lisbon closer to the city center. On the plus side, it’s a 5-10 minute cab ride from the airport, which is very nice.

I had booked a Superior double room and had seen that they had upgraded me ahead of time to the Club level room, but according to the website they had suites available as well. At check-in I asked about upgrade to a suite and the desk agent said they had none available. I pressed her on it (since I had checked the website just a few hours before) and she said there were none. I then asked her if I wanted to buy a suite, that there were none – and she said that was true. At that point I told her I was going to call the Platinum concierge and see if there were suites available and she said I was welcome to and if I “needed the number”. I pulled out my cell phone and called the Platinum line and confirmed that there were indeed suites available and then gave the phone to the desk clerk so that she could confirm it as well. The Platinum concierge confirmed it with her and then the agent called her manager; after she got off the phone she the admitted there were suites available, but that I was not allowed to be upgraded to one. I pressed further and then her manager showed up and apologized saying “we don’t normally give suite upgrades to Platinum members, but in this case we will make an exception.” The whole ordeal took 20-25 minutes but the added effort was more than worth it upon seeing the suite – two rooms, recently remodeled with a very modern feel – similar to many newer Westin or Le Meridien properties. The living room had a good sized desk, a love seat, two chairs, and a WC (no shower). The bedroom had two twin beds, plus a chair and small table. The windows in the living room had electronically controlled blackout shades which gave it a very theatre room-like feel, whereas there were electronically controlled blinds on the window separating the bathroom and the bedroom – serving a similar function to the “magic window” at the Princeville.

Unfortunately while the facilities were very nice the service and soft product was definitely lacking. Our room came with a free breakfast, either a full buffet in the restaurant downstairs or a continental service in the lounge upstairs. The full buffet was disappointing, with cold eggs, undercooked meat products, and very poor service. I had to ask twice for coffee to be brought to the table and they still took 10 minutes to get it to me. The executive lounge had good food presentation in the evening, but was relatively limited compared to other properties I visited (only one or two hors d'oeuvres for the food, and only champagne and wine for the alcohol. Room service was also slow and poor; I called down one evening and they said that they would call me back “in a while” – I still hadn’t heard from them 20 minutes later and so I called back, again being told they would call me back immediately.

To top off the problems, one week later I still have only received the points for one night of charges, and no Platinum amenity points, in spite of the fact I asked for and clarified both upon checkout. Overall, I’d say this hotel is a decent value at the rate I paid, but only if you can get upgraded to a suite. The service was consistently pretty poor and had I not received the suite I would have been a lot less forgiving. Next time I will definitely try Le Meridien, which is about a 15-20 minute walk and seemingly a bit more central.

These were the only two Starwoods we stayed at in Portugal, and the reports on the Rome properties to come later.