This is the 2nd time we have stayed at this hotel.

The rooms are very spacious and clean. The breakfast is of good choice and plenty for everyone.

The hotel is up a hill off the main roads but we think this adds to its charm .It is very peaceful at nights and in the morning.

The staff here are very nice and helpful. I'm not sure if there is hotel entertainment as we never stay in at nights so can't comment.

I would go back to this hotel again as its perfect for a relaxing holiday.

We stayed at the real bella vista on a b&b basis and found the breakfast to be really, really good with a superb selection for every taste.

Top marks for the cleanliness of the hotel, the maids were in the rooms everyday with fresh towels.

The hotel is up a slight hill so just bare this in mind before booking but it does say this in the brochures, hotel staff were very friendly, i think they could of had a better variety of entertainement on an evening as a quiz on the real bella vista isn't hard to organise!

Also be warned that the outside pool is freezing, and you have to pay 5 euro to use the gym, i think this is wrong for paying customers.

The hotel was situated on top of hill,the food was excellant with plenty of choice,the rooms were kept immaculated daily cleaned with fresh towels.The staff were friendly and the entertainment was okay.I would certainly visit hotel again.I would recommend to pay for services immediately you purchase rather than put onto room bill as there is a vat to pay.

Brilliant, excellent, wonderful, magnificent! There just aren't enough words to describe this amazing hotel!

Friendly staff, clean and comfortable rooms, beautiful food, nice relaxed atmosphere.

This was the third time we'd stayed here - originally booked in at the Riu Falesia (after a recommendation from family members) - what a mistake to make!

I've put a review on for that hotel if you'd like to read it, maybe just to reassure yourselves that you've made the right choice in staying at the Real Bella Vista!

Location - I've given it a 4 only because it's situated at the top of a hill, but as we don't mind walking it wasn't really an issue for us. Possibly not ideal for those with mobility problems, but they do run a courtesy bus to and from a few beaches and the centre of the resort.

Cleanliness - a big 5 all the way, sparkling floors, immaculate rooms and bathrooms and public areas.

Food - again, nothing less than a 5 - fresh fruit (pineapple, melon, papaya all sliced ready to eat), cereals, toast, rolls, cheese, ham, yoghurt, cooked breakfast, waffles, pancakes, tea, coffee and hot chocolate, wide selection of fruit juices, all constantly replenished. Even if it's only scrambled or boiled eggs on the menu that day they'll fry you some if you ask them.

Staff - couldn't be more helpful.

Entertainment - we tended to go out every evening, but did get back early on a couple of occasions and caught the end of the parrot show (very entertaining and not just for the kids!) and the singer they have there - ok, he's not the best in the world, but he tries very hard and can hold a tune!

We've never actually eaten there in the evening, but we've sneaked a peek at what's on offer and it does look nice, they have theme nights every week too, but with the abundance of restaurants in the old town and on 'the strip' I think it's nice to vary where you eat every night anyway.

Also, unless you can manage to get a good package deal, I'd advise booking your flights and accommodation separately - we were a bit nervous about doing this at first (having been used to holidays that were already all sorted out for you), but it also means that you're not stuck on a coach stopping every 5 mins to drop other holidaymakers off and you also don't have to listen to your rep trying to sell you excursions either! It tends to work out much cheaper, with a taxi from the airport (try and arrange this before you go - most firms charge about 25 euros each way, not sure how much a taxi would cost if you just picked one up from the airport)

Can't wait for next year's stay at the Real Bella Vista!

Just returned from this hotel and on a whole really good.

Rooms;
We were in a twin which was a good size,fitted wardrobes with plenty of space
and 4 decent sized draws, also there was a dressing table with another 6 smaller draws.
Maids came in every day and made the beds and took away any rubbish,
towels were changed if you left them on the floor,and the bathroom had bath with shower,
toilet,bidet,and basin,also an hairdryer and the water was always hot.
Only bad points was you had to pay 15euros for the safe in the room,
and there was no fridge but you could hire one for 3euros a day.

Breakfast;
Open 7:30-10:30 we found that if you got in before 8:30 it was fine with plenty of room,
after that it started to become more busy and by 9:30 there was queues waiting to go in.
The food was really good, plenty of cereals,fresh fruit,bread and cakes,yoghurts,
the only let down to me was the hot breakfast,bacon,scrambled eggs,beans,but nothing much else,
rather fried tomato or garlic mushrooms.

Hotel;
Really what you expect from a 4 star,marbled floors that were polished every day,
pool area washed with disinfectant and hosed down.
The down side was the bar,
very small for an hotel of this size it could be quite a wait for a drink.
The other down side was the location,it was about a 5 minute walk to get too the nearest restaurant,
and a good twenty minutes too the old town or strip,they do a courtesy bus but with limited times.
Entertainment was also poor,an organist trying to sing,bingo or quiz and a small parrott show on fridays.

Overall a good hotel,but to me the location lets it down.

We stayed on Bed and Breakfast basis and enjoyed the breakfasts. The hot food was kept topped up freshly regularly and it was quite tasty. Plenty of varieties of teas, coffees, breads, pastries, fruits, yogurts, freshly cut fruit, and fruit juices. The hot food comprised of bacon, sausages, plain scrambled egg, scrambled egg with ham, fried egg, mushrooms, omelet, and fried tomato.

I would point out at the start that the weather when we were there was very hot, but, with the fantastic air conditioning in the rooms it was heaven to return to the ice cool room. Each room has a control for the air conditioning so you can be as cool or as warm as you like to be yourself. Also, they have fridges now for rent for 3euros per day, and it is brilliant to be able to have cool drinks or after sun cream available in your room.

The cleanliness of the hotel stood out it was very clean.

The bedrooms were cleaned daily with change of towels each day and fresh sheets every three days. The only reason I gave the cleanliness 4 out of 5 was the room was not dusted in the two weeks we were there. I think that no one mentioned it to the cleaner that we were there for 2 weeks. Pity, because everywhere was spotless. We were overlooking the pool area and each morning we saw the pool attendant spray the complete tiled area with a disinfectant. That was very reassuring.

The location as others said is a bit of a draw back, but not too much so. I suffer from arthritis, but the heat of the Algarve was just brilliant for it and I never had a worry walking up the incline. It is good to walk off some of the fine food available in the old town anyway.

The staff generally were friendly. The management would need a few courses on friendliness though. I agree with another reviewer that they would pass you by without a word. Everyone I spoke to were not too impressed that the management invited you to the Friday night 'Welcome Cocktail Evening' and didn't think it worth their while to turn up. Generally the ordinary dining room staff were the friendliest, especially Tiago. He is just superb, and has good English too which is definitely a great asset too.

On the entertainment side there is a one man band in the downstairs bar at night, which is OK if you just do not want to go out. But with so much happening in the Old town it is difficult not to go down there for a look at least each evening.

I would definitely visit this hotel again. It is well worth a visit and you will not be disappointed. I was sad to have to leave the hotel and the area. Probably the best holiday we have had, and the hotel made it.

No complaints.

Reasonable selection of food. Always plenty of tables available in the dining room. Pool area kept spotless.

Location OK if you're reasonably fit. 15 minutes walk to Old Town one way or The Strip the other. Free bus available but rigid timetable.

Late checkout rooms till 6pm if required.

Wouldn't go anywhere else in Albufuera now I've been here.

We stayed at the Real BellaVista hotel from 9th-23rd June 2005,this was our first visit to the Algarve.

Overall the hotel is very good and anyone staying here has nothing to fear at all. The hotel models itself on being a "city hotel" but being located in a holiday resort. The hotel itself is situated in a quiet residential part of Albufeira and is approximately 30-40 walk in either direction to the Old Town or "The Strip". Hotel courtesy buses run there and back 4 times a day to the Old Town, Strip and the beach.

The rooms in the hotel are very comfortable with most of fittings still looking new....this hotel was only opened in 2003. Air-Conditioning is superb, lovely bathroom, Safe available for hire at 15 Euros per week with a 15 Euro deposit. Only disappointment about the room was the fact there was no mini-bar or fridge and you were unable to hire one.

Food in the hotel was generally good. Breakfast runs from 7.30am-10.30am and there is great choice of pastries,fresh fruits, cooked items,cold meats,cheeses etc. One tip however....if there is no fried eggs out in the buffet and you would like one then simply ask the waiter and he/she will bring them out to you from the kitchen. Dinner runs from 7.00pm-10.00pm and is buffet service.

The choice was okay however we felt that the variety of food could be better and also for every night of our stay the 4 choices of desert were the same every night. Also at times in the restaurant they seemed to be short staffed and often no-one was on the door to greet you. During the day there is a poolside bar where you can buy drinks,snacks etc..this opens from about 10.30am-6.00pm.

Sunbeds and Parasols around the pool......There is no need for the towel run at dawn in this hotel..There is always some available at most times of the day which surprised us because the outdoor pool area is quite small. No need to carry beach towels either...these can be obtained free of charge daily from the Health Club in the hotel.

There is also a good indoor pool and jacuzzi which can be used free of charge. There is also a gym,sauna,steam room,squash courts etc which can be used at an extra charge.

Entertainment.....There is an Animation team who did their best to try and whip support for games of french boules, water aerobics,Cocktail demonstrations, napkin folding demos!! Evening Entertainment consisted mainly of a Keyboard Player and Vocalists although in our 2nd week a karaoke night had been introduced.

All evening entertainment finished at midnight and the hotel was silent after this time...great for a good nights sleep.

Summary......This is very good hotel, but I can't help but feel it was just lacking that something to make it an excellent hotel. Most of the staff seem quite new both in the reception area and in the restaurant and they will get more efficient as they gain confidence.

We also attended the welcome cocktail party that was held by the Management in the hotel....but none of the managers actually came along to it and you were doing well if got so much as a "hello" out of them when you passed them in the public areas.

But all these small things aside please go and enjoy this hotel...We did not come across one better in Albufeira and we had a look in a few just for a nosey.

Feel free to message me if you have any further details that you would like to know.

Our second visit to the Real Bella Vista and probably not our last. Lovely quiet hotel situated approx 20 min walk or under 4 euros in a taxi from the old town.

Rooms are what you expect from a typical 4 star hotel with air con, balcony and hairdryer. Very clean with pleasant staff. The breakfast was a brilliant buffet with pretty much everything and available from 7.30am-10.00am. Drinks are expensive from the pool bar 2.50euros for a coke (80cents from the little supermarket down the road) but of course you pay for convenience.

The pool is kept at a decent temperature and although it's not a massive pool there always seems to be plenty of room and sunbeds. There is a 5 euro charge for the gym.

Maybe not suitable for those with walking difficulties as it is at the top of a hilly road. There is a small childrens pool but no real activitys for children. Probably best suited to able bodied people who don't want loads of kids running round and organised games all day.

You can walk to the strip also although we didn't bother as the old town is far nicer.

All in all, a wonderful quiet calming hotel in a lovely location if you don't mind a 10 min walk to the beach.

Look forward to my next visit.

This was our fourth visit to the hotel since June 2004.
Need I say any more.

As one or two other reports have mentioned, the only down side to the hotel is its location but, what it lacks in that area it more than makes up for it in every other.

Unfortunately, the "towel on sunbed" brigade were in evidence, which is annoying especially in one case where a couple left the towels on their beds at 8.80am and didn't return till late afternoon, removed the towels and then left the pool area.

All in all a very good and relaxing hotel.