Belmar Spa & Beach Resort

Very disappointing stay. From check-in there was no welcome, only rude demands. Staff show no interest in guests — they just do the bare minimum, with no sense of hospitality. If you’re unlucky enough to stay in an end-of-corridor apartment, you’ll have to deal with maids resting all afternoon, speaking loudly, and laughing as if they were in a bar. Pool towels are a particular embarrassment: if you need a fresh one, you practically have to beg for it. The restaurant was also frustrating: although we were told it wasn’t necessary to book with half board, we were treated poorly when we didn’t reserve, even though we had already paid. They claimed there might not be enough food for us. Our advice: give proper professional training to your staff, or close the doors! The location is great, but that alone doesn’t make up for everything else.

The resort is very tired and needing refurbishment. Bedding was terrible, the worst I’ve slept on in many years. Resort is well located and adults pool is good but needs more shade umbrellas

Excellent hotel, 2 bedroom apartment was gorgeous very spacious and well equipped. Service was impeccable. Tv had all the streaming services, great for kids. 5 pools, getting a sun bed was never an issue, spa was great - could use the pool, steam room (when in operation) and jacuzzis. Provided with towels to change when needed. Great access to a lovely beach. Pool bar fab and lovely staff. Buffet in restaurant nice but very expensive . We stayed self catering Only negative to us as a family was location to anything else - 2 restaurants nearby- ok. Grocery shop about 15-20 min walk uphill. Great but then had to carry everything back. Lagos about 40 min walk through residential area. Uber were fantastic and used them regularly to get to Lagos and ponte de Piedade only €4 euro per trip Overall fantastic holiday in a gorgeous place

Wow, wow, wow!! Five stars for this beautiful hotel. That includes the staff, the location and the facilities. Our family of four (children aged 12 and 13) stayed during August for 10 nights in a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment, and had a very enjoyable, relaxing holiday. Before we came I emailed ahead to ask to stay in the main building, where the Reception, bar, spa and access to the main family pool are. Specifically, Block D which overlooks the main pool. When we arrived we were delighted that the hotel had listened to our request and our room overlooked the main family pool. Plus we could see the sea from our balcony (thank you Belmar)! The two bedroom apartment is excellent. Beautifully kept, very large with an open kitchen/lounge area with tv (with BBC News as an option). Loads of wardrobe space, a safe (free of charge), kettle, coffee machine with Dolce pods provided throughout our stay, dishwasher and washing machine - all with a small number of washing tablets included too. The room is cleaned every day to a very high standard with towels changed every other day (roughly). The balcony is huge with a table, six chairs and a large drying rack too. There is air con in each bedroom and also in the lounge area too. Each room has French windows onto the balcony, all with electronic blinds to ensure a good night’s sleep. The staff in Reception were always pleasant and helpful (especially so when my favourite sparkly evening sandals snapped, and they very kindly asked Maintenance to glue my shoe back together to last the rest of the holiday). Above and beyond the call of duty! The front bar is excellent. In the morning you can have breakfast there (much cheaper than the €35 per head in the restaurant), or alternatively get takeaway croissants/milk/cartons of juice or water to take back to your room. They also provide a very good lunchtime snack menu too (wraps/salads/omelettes etc). After an evening in Lagos, the hotel bar was lovely to return to for your last drink. The bartender (sorry didn’t catch his name) was always welcoming and smiling. Lagos is a vibrant old town filled with restaurants and tourist shops. The main street runs parallel to the marina road, and is easy to miss at first if you walk straight ahead into the old town, rather than take a left at the first main square. The marina area is also worth a visit with several nice restaurants too. A taxi (Uber) takes around 5 minutes into the town from the Belmar and costs approximately €5 one way. There is also a taxi rank in the centre of Lagos. Via the company ‘Seatrips’ we booked a 2 hour trip to spot dolphins and visit the Benagil caves. Well worth doing. The beach is only a 5 minute walk down a hill, which can be accessed via the main road or via the pathway which is behind the Adult pool. There are only two restaurants on the beach (Campimar and Antonio’s) both extremely busy. Campimar is a little less formal and has a snack menu (which Antonio’s doesn’t), plus Antonio’s is closed Monday evenings. Whether it’s the restaurants on the beach or the restaurants in Lagos centre, you unfortunately have to book in advance, as demand for a table severely outweighs supply! The sun beds and umbrellas on the beach are run by the two restaurants, and also tend to be booked up in advance (but get there early and you might be lucky). A set of two beds and umbrella is €18 a day at Campimar and €16 a day at Antonio’s. We ate once at the hotel restaurant, which was buffet style, very expensive but pleasant enough. The family pool is a good size and has a very shallow pool for babies too, with a pool bar where snack food and drinks can be ordered too (this closes at 7pm). Pool sun beds are plenty but there aren’t enough umbrellas which is a little surprising. There is also an indoor pool which children can go in, but the jacuzzi area next to it is for over 16 years only. There gym is air conditioned with a water outlet. A taxi to the airport is €90 organised for us by the hotel. Overall an excellent holiday made special by the superb Belmar Spa Resort. Recommend it!