Thanks for the detailed report, sounds amazing! How was the pool/weather during April? Warm enough to swim?

I have a summer booking at this hotel and was surprised with the 30-day cancellation period; is this normal for this hotel? Also, if you have not booked a non-refundable rate, do they pre-authorize the credit card on file or do they do so when you actually check in?

Looking at a week's summer holiday in Portugal - is it worth splitting time between this Conrad and Hilton Vilamoura (or indeed any other hotel)? i.e. is 7 nights a bit much for this property?

No, 7 nights is fine - I had 6 nights in October and could have stayed longer. I don't think it is worth splitting the trip because of the hassle of moving. Plus, Vilamoura is a pleasant short drive away so you can easily visit if you like.
It is worth considering which location suits you best and what the cost difference is - the Conrad can hit some pricey room rates in high season.

I'm looking at booking another trip later this year but might end up returning to the hilton since it is around EUR100 per night cheaper. Both hotels are good - the Conrad is definitely best, but the value at a 100E delta is debatable.

Enjoy your trip, wherever you stay!

I have completed a 5 night stay on points. Honestly, I thought, this stay was out of this world. The staff's kindness and motivation is hard to believe, but true, consistently.

Pre-arrival upgrade from King Deluxe to a King Deluxe with pool view. On arrival upgraded to a Grand Deluxe Suite (no pool view). High quality in the suite everywhere plus a large balcony. We were overly happy. The GM took her time to great us on arrival and on departure.

As reported before here, excellent house-keeping and reliable turn-down service. Breakfast was extraordinary in terms of items and service. We only used the sauna once but not the outdoor pools which were opened only few days before our arrival.

There is a "cocktail experience" for Diamonds. You just have to register with the front-desk and from what I understand, this is necessary for an individualized experience. The bar keeper created a special cocktail for us while having a conversation with us about cocktails, ingredients, preferences and experiences.

We took advantage of the small supermarket at the other side of the road in the little shopping mall. We ate in one of the "Italian" restaurants one night but honestly spoken, we better should not have. There is the "Alambique" restaurant nearby. It is walkable within 15 to 20 minutes. However, there are no side walks. In daylight this is not a big problem but for the way back we used Uber (about 3.30 €). We also used Uber for a restaurant visit in Quarteira (about 10.10 € one way).

The only draw-back was that you cannot walk out of the hotel going for a stroll. You do need a car to go to places.

All in all a fantastic stay!

Sounds good. Who is the GM here?

Excellent stay
 

We stayed here for 3 nights at the end of July and absolutely loved this hotel. We used points, so booked a standard room. Received an e-mail from Guest Relations with questions about our arrival etc. Not pre-upgraded before check-in, but at check-in upgraded to a King Grand Deluxe Suite. The building and the grounds are spotless. This hotel definitely deserves all the award it displays next to the entrance. You get a completely different feeling once you step inside and reach the check-in desk - everything revolves around you. The room was huge.:) The balcony was about the size of what I'd call a standard room in Europe. Not even sure we needed that much space. The bathroom was very nice (also huge). The room had many closets, and I am not sure we used them all. Breakfast was free due to the DIA status, and it was great. We were really lazy and never left the property during these three days, opting to lounge by the pool (they make excellent drinks there!), and ate both lunches and dinners on property. Pricey but convenient if all you want to do is hang out by the pool. We got a bottle of wine as a welcome amenity, and also got a bottle for free at Louro restaurant (very recommended for both dinner and lunch). They also treated to to a few glasses of the local sparkling wine on a few occasions. The service was top notch everywhere (and I am not the one who is actually seeking such things out). It's unlike any other property that I have been to. What I would have imagined as a high end resort. Very much recommended.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4777312ce9.jpg
Bedroom
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Living room
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Infinity pool
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View from the room
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View from the room
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Balcony
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Pool

Stayed a week here in early August.
Booked two rooms on points. No upgrade given, but then it was very high occupancy, and I was happy enough getting connecting rooms (that they rip you off for if you want to guarantee in advance). On arrival, in the room we had large plate of fruit and a bottle of prosecco on ice. Couple of.days later another bottle of wine was given, and later still a plate with chocolates and macaroons. Also received the free bottle of wine for eating in Louro. So quite a nice set of amenities. Not sure how much if it was due to being diamond or not.

Breakfast was free for both rooms, given diamond status. The breakfast spread was good, but was to be expected for this price point. But wasnt the widest selection. Prosecco was available in the buffet, if you're a morning drinker!

Rooms are very nice and well equipped, as discussed much in prior posts. Odd point probably would be the shower cubicle which was unfortunately too small.

All resort areas very nice and clean and contemporary. Suprisingly however, some of it is done somewhat on the cheap. For example there is lots of stone cladding around, to give the impression of stone walling, but the stone cladding is so thin, and big gaps that you can quite easily see the grey concrete wall behind, so not a nice effect imo.

Despite being high occupancy, almost nobody uses the indoor pool/jacuzzi/sauna area, which is a very nice space. So we went there for a bit every day after time at main pools. Visited the spa area, which seemed a bit pointless. The indoor pool area has everything the spa area has, with fewer people, and more space!

Wife had spa treatment, and said it was the best treatment she'd ever had, so glowing praise there.

Everyone is very friendly and helpful, but the guest service offering doesn't try to maximise guest value. For example I sat with guest services whilst they phoned their car hire 'partners'. All their prices were coming in at £140 for one day. I asked about the car hire location just over the road (which I found out was half the price), but the response was that they are 'not a Conrad partner'. Conrad shouldn't limit who they deal with if I am the one paying.

Similarly, the beach area is very nice but the 'concession' is nothing more than Conrad having block booked a few sun loungers from the local beach hut. Price is £30, or if you go to a non-conrad lounger next door, it's only £15!

All the residences which line either side of the long driveway in to the Conrad lie eerily empty and dusty. Apparently upon completion, the developer went bankrupt, and all owners lost their money. Has been a legal battle for 6 years. Conrad are attempting to buy the residences, but the court case isnt expected to end any time soon.

I have a stay over Christmas coming up at this hotel and wanted to make dinner reservations. They replied back asking us to wire them money to confirm the reservation. Is this normal for Christmas time? I've never encountered a hotel asking for a money wire instead of just using the credit card on file.

I see this message pop up (that a Hilton hotel may ask for payment via a third party site) and have read of reports mentioning they had to pay like this but it seems (anecdotally at least) to be limited to North American travellers visiting Europe or Asia...can’t comment on whether it is required/legitimate but it has come up more often of late on some hotel threads here and FB. Safe travels.

A group of us have a long weekend stay coming up at this resort, really looking forward to it as last stay was 2 years ago now! Weather isn’t looking great so hoping to enjoy the spa /indoor pool areas and check out a few nearby towns/cities. Booked a table at Gusto’s, curious to see how it’s developed since getting the Michelin star, prices certainly went up for the tasting menus!

as another FTer says ‘I’ll report back’ once we’re here!

safe travels everyone.

😂😂

Look forward to your report, it’s been a couple of years for me as well. Quite keen to stay there again next year.

We were underwhelmed by Gusto - plenty of style and excellent service, but the food was less enjoyable than we'd had elsewhere. Admittedly that was also before the star... By contrast, we had fantastic tasting menu at Henrique Leis (a short drive away) and also a great dinner at Aquarelle. Worth trying one of these if you have a few evenings free. Have a great trip!