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The real story about the Algarve Lake Spa Resort in Vilamoura"Great 5-star hotel near the beach and marina – shame about Algarve Lake Spa Resort in Vilamoura The Lake Spa Resort occupies a quiet location in
Vilamoura,
just half a kilometre from Vilamoura Marina. It is easy and quick to get to from Faro airport, being only 23 km away.If you want a little 5-star luxury either for a family get-away or a romantic vacation, then there are worse places you could go. It was built in 2005 and the six-storey building is an impressive piece of architecture set in a large area of parkland with a big man-made lake in the middle. It has all the facilities you would expect from a modern 5-star establishment. One of the big positives of the place it the fantastic service offered by the staff. If it falls a little short in other areas, it certainly doesn’t in terms of service, which is what you would expect from its 5-star rating. The Lake Spa resort has 192 rooms, including 9 suites, and 95 luxury apartments (with their own kitchenettes). The guestrooms, which are of a good size with comfortable beds, are spotlessly clean. If you don’t have one, you can upgrade to sea view, although don’t necessarily expect to see the sea! Surprisingly for a 5 star hotel there are no tea and coffee facilities in the room. You can rely on room service, but at €10 a go, it soon adds up. If you want to fill up with supplies of cheaper bottled water, the nearest supermarket is about 15 minute walk away, which can be a bit of a pain. Algarve Lake Spa Facilities The hotel has three swimming pools, including a shallow one with a sand filled bottom, pretending to be a beach, which is very popular with the kids. One of the pools is heated, while the third is not. Around the poolside are relaxing bean bags and sunbeds, if you want to take it easy while the kids amuse themselves in the children's playground. There’s also the Koala Club offers a play area and outdoor pool for kids, as well as a range of supervised activities. The Algarve Lake Spa gardens are set in about thirty-thousand square metres of grounds and are very pleasant to wander around. Walking through the hotel grounds for a few minutes will bring you to the Falesia beach and the Ocean.  If you’ve come here for the sport, then you’ll be a bit disappointed to find that the resort has no tennis facilities of its own, although they can organise it for you at courts about a 10-minute walk away. There is no golf course within the resort, but the hotel provides a shuttle service to any of the
five Vilamoura golf courses.
Restaurants and Bars at the Algarve Lake SpaI suppose it will come as no surprise that it is rather expensive to eat in any of the hotel’s restaurants (which comes with the 5-star territory). You could probably live with this for first class food and first class service. I’ve heard no complaints about the service at the Lake Resort. The food, well that’s a different matter. The restaurants get very mixed reviews in terms of the quality of the food, at the prices charged. This is particularly evident at the Fusion restaurant, which tries to be a little different with its attempt at fusing Asian and Portuguese cuisine. It’s all very subjective though. If you want better value for money, Vilamoura marina is about a 10-minute walk away, where you’ll find plenty of restaurants, to suit all tastes and pockets.The three restaurants and two bars in the resort are: Fusion Restaurant - a superbly designed restaurant serving contemporary, dishes in an attempt at mixing Portuguese and Asian cooking. Possibly, they have taken this a little far, and charge a little too much, but only you can be the judge. It is open for dinner. Gustatio Restaurant - an airy, modern restaurant which serves a range of international and Portuguese dishes. Expensive, it is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Marenostrum Restaurant - housed in a wooden building floating on the lake. It serves light meals, including grilled meats, fish and salads. Great location, but overpriced for what you get. Breakfast is the one meal that is consistently given high marks, and is complimentary to guests. It is a buffet style breakfast with a large selection of cold meats, sausages, smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, cereal, fruits and a selection of breads etc. However after a week, even this can become a little boring. Bars - there are a couple of bars on the resort. In the lobby is Zanzibar, African themed with a terrace and views of the lake and gardens. There’s also a poolside bar, the Blue Lagoon which serves snacks, drinks and light refreshments. Check out deals at the Lake Resort Vilamoura Getting to Algarve Lake SpaTaxis are available from Faro airport outside the terminal. Be prepared to pay up to €30 to get to the Lake Resort. Alternatively the hotel can arrange transfers to and from Faro airport for a charge.Driving directions: From the airport, follow signs for Portimao/Loulé for about four kilometres. Take the junction for the A22, following signs for Portimao/Lisboa. Leave the A22 at the exit for Boliqueime/Vilamoura and follow signs for Vilamoura. On reaching Vilamoura, continue along Avenida Eng. Joăo Meireles and Avenida Vilamoura XXI to the sign for Praia da Falésia and Avenida Carro da Vila. Turn right here. The resort is along this road on the left-hand side. Algarve Lake Spa Contact DetailsThe Lake ResortAvenida Cerro da Vila Praia da Falésia Apartado 811 Vilamoura 8126-910 Algarve, Portugal Contact Tel: 289 320 700 Return from Algarve Lake Spa page to Vilamoura Holidays page
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