My wife Sue & I stayed at the Ampalius from the 1st to the 8th of April this year. Our only minor hitch in what was a great week was that we arrived at the hotel at 8am only to be told our room wouldn't be ready until 2pm! The staff moved heaven and earth to get us in earlier at 1pm and other than this minor problem we found the hotel superb. The room was very good, the breakfasts were excellent and the staff were all helpful, courteous and friendly. I'm pleased to say that there was no noise at night, so we slept soundly. We found the Ampalius ideally positioned for walks around the marina with it's restaurants and shops ~ we ate out most nights but did stay in the hotel for a very good buffet evening meal once. Highly recommended are the Fisherman's Shack & Dom Miguel restaurants which can both be found on the main street that runs by the hotel parallel to the marina. We even tried the casino one night but sadly didn't win anything! Also worth a visit are the red clay/sandstone cliffs which run either side of the resort ~ we walked to Ohlos D'Agua one day and then down through Quartiera to the woods/cliffs beyondanother day and came across a very good beach bar that served superb sardines. We felt we'd only scratched the surface with a week's stay and would certainly go again...

We go on an annual golfing weekend on the 2nd weekend of every March, and I have to say the Vila Gale Ampalius was by far the best hotel we have stayed at in Vilamoura. We were sharing a triple room and our past experiences were a really cramped room with a tiny little camp bed. Not at the Vila Gale. We had a huge twin room with a seperate lounge area and a seperate eating area. The only gripe was that the kitchenette was locked for some reason. Our view was sensational of both the marina and beach.
The food whilst wasnt great was better than we had experienced before and there were some superb restaurants on the marina. One chinese restaurant was outstanding (cant remember the name but had big stone chinese figures outside).
We will definitely be going back next year and probably for many more years to come. Highly recommended.

We have just returned from spending a week at the Vila Gale Ampalius in Vilamoura. The hotel has an excellent location close to both the beach and the marina. Weather at this time of the year (Feb) was better than we expected most days were a little overcast with sunny spells, you were able to walk around in a T shirt most of the time. We had a few good days were we lay on the beach and had a dip in the water, even managed to get sun burnt on the last day! We booked a junior suite as it had a kitchenette, which we though would be useful to prepare food and bottles for our 8 month old daughter. However when we arrived we were told that the kitchenette would remain locked as it was only available to timeshare occupants. Rather than create a fuss, we just opened it ourselves as we realised that the lock was similar to a bathroom type lock and could be opened with a coin! Food on the room service menu is very poor and should be avoided, however breakfast in the hotel dining area was very good and offered a wide choice. We didn't try the hotel restaurant and instead dined out around the marina most nights. The marina restaurants were all very good, although a little pricey for Portugal, similar prices to restaurants at home. The new Thai restaurant set back from the Marina was excellent and was probably the best we had been to.
Back to the hotel - the junior suite was pleasant and very roomy, the hotel is a good 4 star definately not a 5 star as some sites would have you believe. Beware if you are travelling with young children off season, as the indoor heated pool is now part of the Spa and will cost each of you £7.50 every time you want to use it, also a bathing cap is compulsory. Even though it is heated it was still a bit chilly for an infant and it can become very expensive if you want to use it every day. Beware the taxi from the hotel to the airport ,as it is 10 Euros more expensive to book it from the hotel.
Overall we had a really good time, although being a purpose built resort, the area was a little comercialised for us.

I will be going back to the Ampalius in June for what will be our 5th visit there. Vilamoura is a twice annual destination for myself and family and this hotel is the best as far as we are concerned. We always book a suite which has its own bedroom, dining area, lounge area wth King Sized Bed and balcony with the best view in Vilamoura. In the early hours of the morning the moon shines on the Atlantic and it really is like your looking out to the end of the earth. Theres a sprinkling of boats out on the water with their little lights on. So what about the rest of the hotel. Well the games room is brilliant for the kids and the entertainment is better than most of the standard entertainment. The location is spot on because you are 50 yards from the beach and a very short 400 metres to the wonderful marina. The pool area is lovely and i didnt find the prices too dear in the hotel. There is also spa treatment available and an indoor pool. We never eat in the hotel because of the choice in the marina but breakfasts are ok. For a place to eat, you cannot beat Ciao which is on the diagonal opposite corner from the Tivoli hotel. Service is first class and food is fantastic.