Nau Sao Rafael Suites - All Inclusive

I was slightly apprehensive when reading some of the previous reviews, however we found the hotel and facilities excellent. I agree that the hotel is not quite 5* but I would say a good 4* absolutely. good points excellent location - 10 mins walk from a beautiful beach lovely pools, with plenty of sun loungers friendly staff food excellent - different choices each night/breakfast spacious room with lots of storage excellent evening entertainment areas which could improve bathrooms are dated and quite dark a la carte restaurant a bit lacking in atmosphere

We have been here the first weekend in March for the past 5yrs. We did another hotel in Nov that was allegedly a 4*. Don’t come close to this hotel and its staff!! It’s spoilt us! The company and hotel chain Nau have been bought out which explained why the hotel was available late to book this year! Hotel was in its first opening weekend and there were lots of “Suits” about! But super friendly. Hotel has been refurbed in reception and main bar area. Restaurant also has had an update. Looks nice and open plan but maybe the removed tv needs a place back as some sport events are still worth watching! Some lovely smell is pumped through the corridors too! Kept asking what it was! No entertainment our weekend which usually is on but understandable if it was launch weekend. It would be back on the following weekend. The hotel was as usual only semi open and they were still refurbing the 2nd pool. No disturbance at all by this! We were down that end of the hotel on the ground floor but for some reason were soon upgraded to the left hand side of the hotel and on a sea view floor which was nice overlooking the pool that was open. Food again was excellent as normal. Staff super attentive and friendly. Place is spotless again as far as we’re concerned. Staff always cleaning. Breakfast on Friday fell on International Women’s Day so we were gifted a flower, a verse and a cocktail especially for that day. That was sweet! We were given access to the Atlantico suites spa as ours was in refurb. You can pay extra €10 each for access to the full spa with sauna and steam room and jacuzzi which we did on the second day due to unseasonal weather. There is a bus that goes into Albufeira I believe but we take a car rental. We had had some issues with hot water in our room and Pedro the manager was super apologetic and left us a cheese platter and bottle of red in our room. Things happen and as we’ve always had little issues here we had no complaint and in fact had made none! All inclusive food was hot, tasty and plentiful inc fizz in the morning! The all inc drinks are the basic which is fine but suggestion was given to add dark rum. I think any own branded booze could be inc or any “cheap” booze without being too dear for the hotel to foot so a cinzano could be added too. They have stopped the pay €15 per day for full booze choice. Nice to see some familiar staff there again!l I hope with the new take over it’s not changed too much or to the detriment of our usual experience. The usual clientele of golfers were there who were well behaved to be fair. We’ve never seen any issues or heard them. It’s very quiet in the hotel bedroom areas. I hope this target area isn’t stopped as it makes a weekend entertaining g to meet different people. Looking forward to next March! Room 220 - 3 mad Mums on tour!! 7-10 March 24.

Hotel is ok but needs updating.. rooms were very spacious but again needs updating. Food was below average and the choice was minimal considering the size of the hotel, I visited on a golf trip with 20 guys and everyone was disappointed with the quality of food. I found the staff disorganised and in some area abrupt and rude. We didn’t have our room cleaned or towels changed. All in all this hotel is at best a 3 star and I would not recommend and will never return.

PROS: - Huge bedroom - Great bed and pillows - Great pools - Food at the buffet has great quality CONS: -Pool towels only available from 10am onwards on the spa -Only one electric charger available on the hotel -Midnight snacks have a really poor selection - Service at the buffet is not the best - There’s a karoake next to the hotel. Stayed at room 003 and it was terrible on Saturday night - There’s no vegetable milk or non lactose’s at the buffet

Pros Very spacious rooms Lovely staff Good Location Beach nearby Good selection of food at buffet Cons Limited restaurants could only book 1 Poor decor No milk alternative at breakfast on display Poor kids club Lack of drinks variety No gym

This is not a 5 star hotel! Don’t get fooled! Location is spectacular, beach is near by not too far from Faro airport! This hotel has official 5 ⭐️ rating, however we didn’t experience 5 star service after all! Food was a big disappointment! Very basic, no variety, trays are always empty! As hotel runs all inclusive service, I did try a few cocktail, witch are already pre-made and very sugary! Bar staff gets annoyed easily if you ask for something specific and gives you a dirty looks, it felt quite unpleasant when I asked for Baileys and espresso with some ice! Next step, to the rooms! Quite a good size and comfortable with a good size balcony! Bathroom and shower was quite a struggle, literally the smallest shower cabin I have ever experienced! If someone with an extra few pounds I doubt they can squeeze in! Can get very noisy at night as our room was right above the bar and we experienced 2 very noisy nights in the row! Witch ruined our time! If you’re looking 5 star experience I wouldn’t recommend this place, not worth the money! Plus annoying photographer constantly asking for taking pictures, it makes you feel under pressure! We ended up taking some pro pics bear in mind it’s €8 each pic and you do want them all 🙃

Beautiful hotel. Staff amazing and great amenities. Breakfast and dinner were of high standards. Unfortunately there is not much in the area so albufierea is the best place to go but requires a taxi.

I think it should be illegal that they have this as a 5 star resort. It is more like a 3 star. Cleanliness - the hotel is dirty. Corridors, restaurants etc. the floors don’t get cleaned often. You will see a spillage sitting in the same place for hours. It is filthy. Food - horrendous. There is only one main buffet restaurant. If you want to eat the same thing day in, day out then you’ll be happy. The lack of variation is awful. The food is bland. And mostly cold. They just top up warm food occasionally on top of the cold food. Lunch is pretty much always going to be the same as dinner with a couple items swapped out. You will see the same items reappearing every other day. It is a help yourself drinks situation - once seated - get your own coffee (which is very watery & all machine), pour your own wine drinks etc. the same wine everyday. Food options are very limited. I ate chips, potatoes, pizza, fish fingers everyday for 5 days. They have 1 bottle of sparkling wine at breakfast but it isn’t there every day. Food will fall on the floor or be spilled and not get cleared for ages. Flies swarm the drinks machines. Plates are frequently dirty, alongside glassware. The page you are given when you check in claims there are morning snacks, afternoon snacks and midnight snacks in the buffet restaurant. I never saw these once during the stay. There is no where to get food outside of breaks, lunch & dinner. The lobby bar claims to be open all day, but we were asked to leave at 3pm with no where else to go. Entertainment each night is the same - a singer from 2030 to 2330. Some of which are very depressing songs all night. The hotel is very small and there is not much at all to do. If the weather is bad, you’re best just to sit in your room. Cocktails are machine made so they all taste weak & inauthentic. Housekeeping don’t sweep the floors when they make up your room or replace toiletries for example toilet tissue. I had a makeup stain on my bedding, they simply turned the sheet over and made the bed. When you check in they ask if you want lunch on that day or checkout day as you are not eligible for both. Once you check out they will not allow you to eat afterwards. I would never return to this hotel. I was also asked how my stay was when checking out - I said terrible but they had no response. Don’t know why they bother asking. The beach is also about a 10 minute walk away so I don’t know why this comes up as beachfront. The rooms are also very dark with minimal lighting. Hotel and rooms needs major refurbishment. Decor is old, damaged and looks awful. A lot of stains on walls, floors, curtains etc. There is also no help with luggage when you are arriving or leaving. You must manage everything alone.