My husband and I have just returned from Portugal having spent a week at the Atismar Hotel. On our arrival we were disappointed to see so much graffitti in the general area of the hotel and in fact on almost every wall and buiding in the area!!. The hotel itself appeared clean and inviting however, but sadly the man on reception when we arrived was far from welcoming and just managed to bring himself to tell us our room wouldnt be ready for three hours so we might as well come back later!!.
Agreed, we arrived at 11 and it did state rooms were not available till 2 so we asked if we could leave our cases somewhere safe while we went to find some lunch. The grumpy man just pointed at a back office and after parking our luggage we made the very short walk to the seafront. Another disappointment, most of the restaurants were empty and appeared very tired and in need of a refurb, none appealed to the eye in any shape or form. We decided to just browse the cheap tacky shops filled with the usual holiday rubbish and then sat on a bench by the sea. The beaches are gorgeous, they go on for ever and are clean and of white sand.
We returned to the hotel at the alloted time and went to our room. Top floor (there are 11 floors) and we had a balcony looking out over the sea, the view was truly amazing. The room was small but clean and adequate but the beds were rock hard and very uncomfortable.
The breakfast is indeed very basic and the restaurant staff are the most sullen miserable people I have ever encountered. Not a good morning or smile for the entire week. The reception staff were equally rude and miserable not acknowledging us at any time. The lady receptionist and the night reception man however were very nice, spoke excellent English and helpful.
The hotel was quite busy with guests, the average age of which was around 60. Most were German or Spanish/Portugese so it was impossible for us to mix in any way with them. There was only one other British couple that we saw there, we spent the rest of the week with them and had we not have had them for company we would have been even more bored and fed up than we were.
There was supposed to be entertainment in the hotel coffee shop on the Tuesday night, this was advertised in the hotel but it didnt happen. There is no ambiance whatsoever,
In the evenings we only went for a short walk keeping to the main street as the location is not the best and there are many beggars and shifty characters walking the streets and this did make us quite nervous to say the least.
There is a notice in the rooms stating that if bed linen or towels are stained with unmovable marks then the guest will be charged. The towels are white and I made the fatal error of getting a small amount of face foundation on one of the hand towels. The chamber maid folded the towel displaying the makeup and layed it across the sink, to make a point I guess, but I found this very insulting and petty to say the least. I washed the towel out myself and of course the mark easily came off. So beware, dont dare to dirty a towel or pillowcase!!!!. We used our own towels from then on.
Bath plugs are not provided, best to take one with you if you like a bath because trying to get one is quite a feat!!.
We found a little Irish bar nearby that did nice food and we spent most evenings there as there was nowhere else worth going to and as I mentioned earlier, its not the best place to wander about in at night.
We would not return to the Atismar or to Quediera. However, we did spend a day in Albufera (15 euros return on the bus per person) and it was a lovely place.
This was our first time in Portugal, we have visited Spain many times and never been disappointed so it was sad that our first experience of Portugal was not a good one.
The Airport however at Faro is great, no delays or big queues and some really nice shops.
