Hotel Rural Vale Do Rio

We booked a room for just 1 night as a little romantic getaway during our holiday in Portugal. Upon arrival the peaceful area in which the hotel is located really soaks you into an relaxing mood. We were welcomed by friendly staff and even tho we arrived a little early, they made sure that our room was clean and ready for us. The room is very clean, nicely decorated and breaths the peaceful environment of the area. The spa facilities are great, we were lucky to have them all to ourselfs. There is an indoor pool, turkish steam sauna, jacuzzi and sauna. Right outside the pool area is enough space to soak up the sun on one of the chairs, a bar and a children playground. The hotel offers a library, pooltable, restaurant, roomservice, minibar, lounge area and enough activities which can be booked as an extra for your stay. Breakfast is included in each booking. Our overall experience is that this was the perfect getaway to really enjoy the peace and eachother.

overall not bad, but the place the hotel is a bit shabby inside and a bit dirty in the pool area. the food in the restaurant is a bit overpriced. for example toast with cheese and ham costs 7 euros

I struggled with this review as the staff are really lovely, the location is amazing and the rooms and breakfast were lovely....but there is a massive hole in the hotel's 'Spa' offering. Not once did we see a member of the 'Spa Team' in residence, not even a receptionist, and when we tried to book a massage had to give 12 hours notice and our email address and mobile numbers (we never got a reply)....total madness and definitely not a way to run a business. The 'restaurant' was closed the entire time we were there which meant we had to drive in to the nearest town for dinner.....but the whole point was this was supposed to be a retreat! There is so much that could be done to make this place beautiful....but they just haven't done it yet!