Palacio de Tavira

"I don’t want to be too negative so will start with the good things. - The location is perfect, right in the centre of town on a pretty square. - The main building is nicely appointed in the Scandinavian style. - The food at breakfast is good with lovely fresh bread and pastries, good coffee and the hot food orders are delicious. - Our room in the main part of the hotel, when we eventually got there, was spacious and comfortable. Now the not so good: - We had chosen and booked our room in March - a de luxe double in the main building - and paid a substantial deposit. When we arrived we were told we had been ‘upgraded’ to a junior suite in the Médina (the new part of the hotel). We said no thank you, we’ll stick with what we booked. It then transpired that our room had been given to someone else. After lengthy negotiations with the Manager we had no choice but to accept a room in the Médina (up three flights of stone stairs - we are 82 and 74) for the first night and we eventually got ‘our room’ in the afternoon of the following day. The Médina rooms are far less attractive in our view, with brick floors and rustic decor and with external doors. To us they felt more motel than hotel. - We were refunded for the first night of our four night stay and given a complimentary dinner. However this meant we got off to a very bad start and would have far preferred to simply have been given what we booked in the first place. - Dinner was ok but underwhelming - good oysters, sea bass in a beurre blanc was in a flour based concoction, and my husband liked his tuna tartare but not his fish cannelloni. - The service at breakfast the first two days was shambolic with tea and coffee arriving long after we had finished eating. We were told that only one person was making it and that orders were dealt with in sequence. We and others complained and suggested that perhaps more than one person could be appointed to this task (perhaps one of those standing around at reception) or that a different system could be adopted. Clearly the staff really struggled with replacing items on the buffet and generally with busy times though things were better the second two mornings we were there. - The outdoor space is disappointing. There are two plunge pools on the roof of The Médina with a couple of sad looking deck chairs. It’s hard to imagine anyone using them. The small garden space on the ground floor lacks comfortable seating and needs a rethink. - We feel this hotel has potential with better management but is certainly not of a five star standard at the moment."

"Fabulous hotel, wonderful staff, perfect location, decor is outstanding. One of the finest hotels we have ever stayed in. Not inexpensive but real value for money. Boutique hotels of this standard give such a warm and welcoming feeling."

"Very beautiful hotel with traditional architecture, recently restored in the heart of the old town of Tavira in the Algarve. Beautiful, bright, and very well-appointed rooms, very good restaurant although with a limited choice of dishes, nice bar, rooftop pool with a very beautiful view but much too small. Adorable staff."