Our first trip to the algarve was not disappointing. Having read the very good reports of the Tivoli Victoria we managed to book a great deal on a junior suite through expedia. On arrival at the hotel we were greeted by our butler, James who was delightful! Our room wasn't quite ready so James called the golf club who sent a buggy to take us there for lunch whilst he whisked away our luggage.
The first suite that we were given had a slightly disappointing view, merely of the club house, however it was in a very quiet position & being that we wanted to relax in peace we favoured the quiet location over view. Next day however James came to find us to say that he had a first floor suite with a proper view of the golf course should we prefer that. Having checked that it was also quiet we did indeed move & were glad in the end of the view as we enjoyed a glass of port each evening on the balcony.
The room was beautiful, very spacious & lovely modern decor. The bathroom was lovely with a great rain shower & a vanity mirror that morphed into a tv should you have wished to watch tv from the bath!! It was kept spotless by the twice a day maid service & the sound proofing was excellent. We weren't woken or disturbed by any noise all week, which in our extensive travels is most rare.
We found all the staff to be extremely pleasant even though some of them didn't speak particularly good english. Breakfast was fabulous, a real smorgasbord of delights which filled us up until it was time for dinner. The waiting staff at breakfast were very professional & friendly & kept the buffet topped up right until 11am.
We ate out every evening in Villamoura, finding the shuttle bus at 2015 a very convenient way to get there. Sometimes we stayed to catch it back to the hotel & a few times we got a taxi which were easy to get & cost about 8 euros. As previous guests have mentioned, getting a taxi from the hotel is slightly more problematic & be prepared for a lengthy wait (apparently the local taxi firm isn't so keen on coming to the hotel for short trips). The marina itself seemed a little tacky though there was a nice square/alley of restaurants a few streets back which was most pleasant. The one restaurant that we did patronise on the marina was an italian called il lamparo. It was super! Fabulous food & wonderful service though male patrons may feel a little intimidated due to the ridiculously good looking waiters! We returned before the end of our holiday & were treated like friends with complimentary hor d'oeuvres & aperitifs.
All in all we would definitely recommend the tivoli victoria. We are quite fussy travellers who spend a lot of time in hotels for work & as such are very concious of any snags & annoyances of places. We wanted a relaxing week in the sun & that is exactly what we got. As previous reports have said it was very quiet in the evenings but not being fond of karaoke or cabaret entertainment that didn't bother us at all. Am sure that once it becomes more established the restaurants will get busier. We were surprised that the lobby bar didn't open in the evenings as it would have been the perfect excuse to have a cocktail on the terrace whilst waiting for the shuttle bus. Again this is likely to change as it gets busier & in fairness the staff were more that happy to bring drinks up to the terrace from the pool bar.It was quite noticeable that all the children in the hotel were very well behaved & should one wish to avoid any children there was another quieter pool away from the main pool. The spa was beautiful & very relaxing. Treatments were incredibly expensive but worth a splurge if you want to treat yourself!
Many thanks to James our butler for the very thoughtful bottle of champagne & fresh fruit platter that was placed in our suite on our wedding anniversary. Just one of the special touches that made the Tivoli Victoria that touch above the rest of the hotels we looked at. May it continue to be a little bit special & stay quiet & relaxing.

We have just got back from a wonderful week at the Tivoli Victoria. The hotel is a bit out of the way and quiet but this was perfect for us. The rooms were very clean and comfortable. The pool was wonderful - lots of lounger space, towels provided and very helpful poolside staff.
The spa is amazing - it's worth budgeting for a massage as it was unbelievable luxury - they don't come cheap, but was the most relaxing 1 hour 30 minutes I have ever spent!
The golf in the area is perhaps not as pricey as you would imagine, so if you're a keen golfer, it's woth packing your clubs.
We hired a car which was invaluable, as we could then drive to the marina for dinner each night and not have to deal with the transfer bus, which runs very infrequently. The marina restaurants are very expensive and generally not worth the money. However, if you head 300 metres inland from the marina, up the steps past the Guinness irish bar, you will find another area of restaurants; these are much cheaper and much better food.
We were told at hotel that we could use the "private beach" at the sister hotel, the Tivoli Marina - don't bother. The beach is not private at all, 2 loungers and an umbrella cost 30 euros to hire, and Falesia beach is 100 times nicer.
We did have one complaint with the hotel - one day we came back from the beach and the room had been cleaned. I went to pick up a bottle of medicine from the side and found that it had been broken and left on the side, causing me to cut myself. We complained at reception and the receptionist stated that the maid had reported that it was broken when she got there. We said that was simply not true but that was the end of the conversation - the receptionist would not take it any further and left us very frustrated and annoyed.
But, all in all, we had a fantastic holiday here. If you want a holiday where you can completely relax in luxury, this is the place for you. We would definately go back.

Just back from 7 days R&R in the Tivoli Victoria booked through Cassidy Golf in Dublin, only for them this gem would have completely missed our radar.

On the plus side it is of course a brand new hotel, excellent quality fit out and facilities, very clean, lovely grounds, superb buffet breakfast, friendly staff, super comfortable beds and bedrooms, very relaxing environment, plenty of areas to escape to, provides a free shuttle bus service to and from Vilamoura and right in the middle of the Arnold Palmer designed Victoria Golf Club which provides free use of the practise area to hotel residents.

On the negative side (which no doubt will improve in time) we found the dinner menu very limited in the Emo restaurant, lovely ambience but some of the staff are clearly not at 5 star standard. We also found the pool bar snacks (sandwiches etc) very expensive.

At the time of staying the underground access route to the Victoria Golf Club was not open which did not bother us but I am sure others would be disappointed.

Found the Fitness Suite to be lacking of some basic equipment, ie. dumbells / weights, swiss balls, mats, otherwise well fitted out.

It is also a terrible shame that so many cars are allowed park either side of the entrance, I have no doubts there is ample car parking below ground which should be encouraged / insisted upon.

Finally from a practical point of view the interior design team have a great deal to answer for when they choose white material for the sun loungers which from a practical point of view will be ruined very quickly.

Would we recommend the Tivoli Victoria - 'Yes we would' and hope to repeat the experience again.

Howard Kent

Just back from a weeks holiday at the Victoria. I agree with sum of the comments but i would not let these put me off staying here if you can get a good deal. the restaurants are very good and compare favourably in costs with those at the marina. Both are A La Carte in the evening. The rooms are excellent and very modern. Great expresso machine but you do get charged for using it in your room! Plenty of beds by the pools at the moment. I understand that the hotel was very busy during July & August but is much quieter now. It attracts guests from all over Europe includng Portugal so a lot of people staying there had cars and i think they went out in the evenings. The only restaurant nearby is in the golf course but as it closes at 8pm is of limited use at night. i think they need to sort out what meals they offer at lunch times. the pool bar is expensive and no one was clear whether the restaurant downstairs was open or not at lunch time. I think they would get a lot of business if they offered a better choice at lunch times. Obviously they also need to sort out the times of the shuttle to the marina which are inadequate at the moment. However if you want a quiet holiday in luxurious surroundings with good food then you cannot do better. We also found the staff extremely helpful and friendly and they all spoke excellent English (and other languages) However the staff who service the rooms were not fluent in any language but their own . As i cannot speak any other language but English I am always grateful when people overseas can understand me!