Bela Vista Hotel & SPA - Relais & Châteaux

We planned our first trip to Portugal together with my son, and only later found out the hotel was for adults only. They kept our payment and wouldn't refund it. If a hotel has no heart for returning people's money, I don't think we should be spending ours there.

The terrace and sea views made for a peaceful afternoon, and the service was warm, professional, and attentive. Everything we ate was beautifully presented and full of flavor, with a lovely balance. The oysters were especially good, and the beef tenderloin was excellent; the sides worked perfectly with the mains. We also loved the homemade dessert, which was finished and decorated with real care. This place lives up to its Michelin star and Relais & Châteaux title. Highly recommended.

We spent three nights at Blue House in May 2025, and my husband, my parents, and I were all very happy with our stay. The staff were friendly and did everything they could to accommodate us. Breakfast was delicious, with all sorts of breads baked by the in-house pastry chef. VISTA Restaurant, which I reviewed separately, is amazing and a must try. This is a real gem in the area, and the property is beautiful. I'd definitely come back if I return to Portugal!

We spent two days and three nights at Bela Vista, and the service issues made it hard to see this as a five-star hotel. We wouldn't recommend it to Portuguese or international visitors staying around Portimão or Praia da Rocha. The pool and its bar and restaurant area were our only usable outdoor leisure space, but on day one they closed at 5 PM for a private event. We had been told about the event days before arriving, yet still paid the full reservation price for a partial day. The offered consolation was waiving the service fee on room service orders for guests who weren't at the event. There were also several basic problems. The first day, WiFi was down, but guests weren't told about the outage or the efforts to fix it. When it came back at 8 PM, no one apologized. On our second day, the street had no water. At 8 AM we were offered jugs for showering, then heard nothing more until service returned at 7 PM. That same day the pool area was closed again for an unknown reason. The chairs had no towels or cushions, and the bar window was shut. The concierge said the area was open when we asked, but it never opened that day. On our 6 AM departure morning, our room's overhead lights, phone, and several outlets didn't work. From what we saw at the front desk and during checkout, the rest of the property didn't seem to have electrical problems. We know unexpected things happen, and some are outside a hotel's control. What it can control is how it communicates and supports guests. When Bela Vista ran into problems, we felt the response amounted to a shrug and a “Good luck!” Maybe that would be understandable at a hotel without five stars, but Bela Vista can't use that as an excuse. After hours of back and forth with management about our concerns, we were told we'd get one night's refund. We still haven't received it, and the front desk couldn't or wouldn't give us anything at checkout confirming it was on the way.