Penina Hotel & Golf Resort

Excelente

Beautiful hotel.. need an update in decoration and a better quality bedding Service is ok overall

What must have been a magnificent complex when built in the 1960’s is now showing its age both in design and maintenance. The one thing that is probably the same is the friendliness, helpfulness and competence of all the staff. They were all without doubt wonderful! The rooms are quite small but bed comfortable. Bedside light switches some way to reach and water pressure pretty awful. Major problems is the almost non existent WiFi in our room - apparently just changed suppliers who do not respond to emails! Downstairs area are vast and tiled meaning normal noise levels are highly exacerbated! Indeed more so by some of male golfers - English of course - drinking outside after their morning round and being so overwhelmingly noisy - especially as they left to wreak havoc on some poor undeserving town! Bar service for pre dinner was chaotic and service slow but the buffet dinner was really good which could not be said for the Italian dining which in itself is in a magnificent setting! As buffet (and Italian) was closed on Sunday - did not know that! - we ate in the lovely club room. We each had the crab starter whereas one between two would be more than sufficient - tasted very like blitzed crab sticks in mayo? - and burgers which were the best we have had in a very long time!! Special shout out to the guys at the pool who were great, the pool enormous and the beds super comfortable! Just a shame the place looks - even the front of the hotel facing the pool - in need of a lot of money spending on it to bring it up to modern day expectations. If we were to go back to the Algarve, this hotel would certainly be considered and, if that money was spent, be a certainty for a return visit!

Back at Penina for a golf trip after an enforced absence for a few years. Was really excited to be back as this is my happy place and I was relieved it was as great as it always has been in the past. Penina has never been modern glitzy luxury. Rather the delight of the place is in its rustic old world charm, tranquil environment and brilliant staff. A high proportion of the people staying here are returning guests (the best measure of a hotel’s success) and there is very low staff turnover with people working here for decades (and having great pride in providing excellent service). New guests receive a warm welcome and returning guests are greeted like extended family. It was great to see lots of old faces still here, like Carlos at the front door and Nelson at the Club/Grill. The place has a great sense of history and tradition e.g. the snooker table that was originally a gift from the British King (and which John Higgins used for practice before his first World Championship win) or the Beatles song named after the hotel that Paul McCartney wrote when staying here in the 60s. Rooms are simple, clean and comfortable: breakfast is superb; the pool is massive and lovely to sit at; the grounds are beautiful; the Championship golf course is excellent. It was a joy to be back and I’m looking forward to returning soon.

Some of the reviews here suggest a tired & dated hotel. That’s unfair. Is it 5 star? No. Does it need a refresh in some areas? Yes. However, our room was perfectly acceptable. Breakfast was superb and the staff were fantastic. It has a lovely ambiance and we felt at home immediately. We were booked to play the resort course on day 1 but heavy recent rain made the course unplayable. Subsequently we were upgraded to the championship course (with buggies) at no additional cost. Our two subsequent rounds were also on this challenging course, in excellent condition. Our party of four would not hesitate to return, especially with the town of Alvor only 10 mins away by taxi, with lots of nice restaurants and bars. We booked many months in advance via golf breaks, to get a cracking deal.

Service in the Monchique bar poor for first 2 days. No pool bar service for 3 days Very poor TV channels in room for a clientele which is largely English speaking No Sky channels in Henry Cotton bar so could not watch PGA championship Unbelievable for a golf resort However Pool was excellent as was breakfast buffet For all that still a very good 🏨