Grand Muthu Forte do Vale

The service was very poor and the experience nowhere near the advertised five stars, three at best. I’d honestly avoid this hotel, and MGM hotels if this is what they consider good service. It looks great, but the food and drinks were terrible, and options were very limited depending on the time. We had one bottle of water in the room on arrival, then had to buy more despite being all-inclusive. Water was only available by the glass. Pool towels also cost extra, and we had to leave a hefty £100 deposit against the room. Our all-inclusive ended at the same time it began: we arrived at midday so we could have lunch after travelling, and it ended at midday on departure day, even though our flight wasn’t until 7.15. At checkout they physically cut off our bands, so we couldn’t have lunch or dinner that day. The main bar was only open five hours a day. When it rained, as it did for us, there was nowhere inside to sit and talk with people, and the only place to get an alcoholic drink was outside by the pool until about 6.30pm.

We had a really good stay. The service, rooms, cleanliness and location were all five-star for us. I’d recommend this hotel for a trip to Portugal.

The staff were good, and the cakes were nice. The beer, Sagres, was okay, and the spirits were local brands but mostly decent. Still, I was disappointed and wouldn’t come back next year. The hotel needs repairs and a serious upgrade. Its website photos are from much better sister hotels about a 20-minute walk away, and the pictures and description were very misleading. We did try a sister hotel near the beach, and it was so much nicer. This was meant to be five-star, but felt like three at best. The rooms are huge and have a full kitchen, dishwasher and fridge, but ours smelled of rotten eggs. The rooms were clean, though extremely dated. The pool bar was tiny, with just a few cheap plastic chairs. Pool towels cost €5 to rent, which seemed odd. The all-inclusive food was absolutely terrible. Most of it was cold, breakfast was awful, and there was little choice. Aside from the staff and cakes, there wasn’t much to recommend.

We had a very nice experience here and would recommend it. We stayed twice during our trip to Portugal, before Covid, and would have scored everything 10/10. The hotel was lovely, very clean, with nice staff, a lovely pool area, good food, and it felt safe. Sadly, prices have shot up since Covid, so we can’t stay here anymore.