ROBINSON Club Quinta da Ria

We stayed here for 5 nights in October and the weather was still hot. The hotel on the whole is very good. Food for an all inclusive was excellent and varied. They had oysters one night for example and a BBQ night. Drinks were good too with decent cocktails on offer and the wine was good. I am not sure if it was the time of year but it was very easy to get a bed by the pool and no rush. Staff were helpful and friendly. A few things made it 4 rather than 5. The beds were two singles pushed together which is always annoying. They wouldn’t let us have a late check out even though our pick up was 5pm. The place couldn’t possibly have been at capacity. Also one day our room wasn’t cleaned despite being out all afternoon. If there is two of you there are limited tables for food. There are a lot of bigger tables where people more sociable than us like to mingle, but we would rather just eat and chat without being surrounded by others. Was good value though on the deal we got. Fiancée went to the spa and enjoyed that. It is a German resort which is fine by us but if you are looking at some of the activities in the day and by the pool it might be more challenging although I’m sure they have all of that covered.

We stayed at Robinson Club Quinta da Ria as a really last minute (booked two days before!!) 4-night break. This place is fantastic. The staff are adorable, polite and efficient, the food is really high quality with a huge range of options. And the facilities are incredible: communal areas and rooms are clean, well maintained and very attractive. Just being a fly-and-flop, we didn’t think we’d do much beyond eat, drink and lounge around the pool - but there are so many activities on offer, I ended up checking out the gym, sauna and body balance class (all excellent) and we really enjoyed the two live bands and DJ. Don’t worry though - it honestly wasn’t forced fun! The beach is a fair trot from the hotel - but it’s a lovely walk through the golf course and past beautifully maintained fig and olive trees. Then when you get there, it’s a protected area full of natural beauty. Plus you’ve got a beach bar plateau with sweeping views of the lagoon. I can’t pick my favourite aspect of this resort: there’s just too much to choose from. If you’re dithering over whether to book or not: just do it!

Eight of us stayed for three nights and four rounds of golf, two rounds on the Ria and two on the Cima. The golf courses were fair but a bit scruffy in places and the first round on the Cima course the greens were heavily sanded but apart from that were enjoyable. The hotel was almost faultless, despite most guests and staff being German ! The rooms were comfortable and well equiped, even a coffee machine provided and a free safe. The bars and restaurant were very good, service excellent and good quality food and drink. The food in particular was right up there with any All Inclusive i have ever experienced and i have probably stayed in at least thirty all inclusive hotels over the last fifteen years. One night freshly cooked beef filet and the next Tuna steaks freshly carved and cooked, and both in front of you while you watched. All in all i would thoroughly recommend the hotel, although i have played much better golf courses in the Algarve, the convenience of them being on site was a plus.