Hotel Vila Gale Tavira

We had a very nice stay at the hotel. The pool area is great as well as the activities for both kids & adults. The bedroom was ok. The bed was a bit hard and the breakfast was just ok.

Nice hotel, good for families. Well located.

Sadly, this hotel has been taken over by the birds. Pigeons roost, use the pool’s edge and the kids’ pool as a bird bath. Rooms on the 3rd floor have balconies which are rendered unusable with poo. It was impossible to leave anything out to dry. The hotel itself is in a good position for exploring Tavira. Many guests had trouble with key-cards. Rooms are spacious but the wardrobes use a clumsy system of hangars placed behind each other - hard to access clothes. There are 2 lifts but one with a faulty door. There is an extensive breakfast buffet. Early birds go in at 7am but if a coach party is checking out the place is over-whelmed. I found the dark Moroccan décor depressing. Left luggage is in a locked room. There is NO aircon in the corridors. There is a market about 200 steps away so you can buy fruit and cheese, a bakery for rolls and pastries. Within 15 mins walk are larger supermarkets such as Continente, Pingo Doce. Closer to hand is a small Mini Preço. I used the spa - great – though noise from random golfers returning to use the shower facilities interrupted the quiet in the treatment rooms. Sun beds are comfortable and there is an activities programme. I don’t think I could use this hotel again due to the bird situation. Whilst there are spikes on the roofs to stop the pigeons roosting, no other measures are in hand to scare them away and the maids spend an in-ordinate amount of time cleaning up after them; that is not good business practice.