A resort hotel located in a little corner of the Algarve between Albufeira to the west and Vilamoura to the east, with Olhos de Agua nearby, and the glorious, long strip of Atlantic beach - complete with Martian cliffs - a mere walk away via a fun, gradually cascading stairway down to the Praia da Falesia, accessed directly from the hotel grounds. Our fourth visit was emotional due to it being our first since lockdown. We were excited catch up with staff who felt like old friends given the warmth, personable quality, and level of service during our previous stays, that is the culture of this special place. Thus, it was wonderful to meet the fantastic Gil as we entered, and a delight to meet again with: Joel, Carine, Sergio, Paula, Ruben, and Patricia. All fabulous people and essential to Epic Sana's unique, intrinsic quality as a hotel. We were grateful to the helpful Senhor Miguel for returning 10 euros that we had mislaid one evening. And were delighted to meet Stephanie at the Abyaad buffet who was very cool. Senhora Ines's sublime sobremesas are worth the pilgrimage alone just to taste. They are indulgent delights. We would wish to thanks the brilliant Malvina, Thiago, and João at the Lima restaurant. The trio were great company, huge fun and created memorable mealtime evening experiences. Worth mentioning, also, O Senhor Padeiro at the Lima whose pizzas, focaccia, and walnut, tomato loaves were artisanal masterpieces of flavour, texture and taste. The garden grounds have evolved since our first time into pretty spaces, with many memorable vista viewpoints. Perfect for romantic night time stroll. Also, we liked to watch the wildlife out to the Ocean on chairs by the Love Swing tree. Shame they took them away after we sat there two days in a row. Was also a shame that a conference booking led to the hotel cancelling a portion of my planned 50th birthday booking, which was eventually scuppered by the Pandemic anyway. One observation: as a hotel with regular group conference bookings, and such a large venue it strikes me as inconsistent that there are no designated third spaces, nor cafe areas available for professionals to perform remote working activities in comfort. Especially as Portugal leads the way towards assisting the flourishing digital nomad culture. The vast open foyer is fine for meetings, but for a coffee and water, or a sandwich, next to one's laptop whilst doing a quick bit of work necessitates a long walk to the Bluum Bar, or Open Deck, and an equally long careful return journey. Both are very nice but are perhaps geared to serving alcohol during daytime. …
Beginning of December 2022 I booked spontaneously a new year's stay at the epic sana Albufeira because of the price still being in my personal range (approx. 1.500€ for 5 days/nights bed & breakfast via a travel agency and thus including return flight and hotel transport as well as the new year's eve gala dinner). The clientele consisting of well-situated middle and upper class guests was rather snobby than friendly. First of all, my compliments to the staff: very good service, throughout very friendly and gentle. The lovely "breakfast team" and the reception personnel equally. Great location, lovely area and surroundings. So far, it would comply with a 5 star standard. The breakfast buffet itself however was lower than the European 4 star standard. I had even experienced some rare very good 3 star hotels with more local/regional, high quality products. Again, compliments to the staff who arranged reliably gluten free options for me at 07.00 every day (coeliac disease). What made me rating the overall only 3 out of 5 had been two reasons: cleanness and the obligation to have a 283€ gala dinner not offering a suitable choice of drinks with a price being totally inacceptable. After the first night I had spotted two painful bites and slept horribly. At the end there had been 7-8 bites. I decided even to take an evidence picture. On top, the floor was not properly clean either. Concerning the 283€ gala dinner which was mandatory that time: enterntainment was very good, location likewise. Food from 4 regions/countries but the declaration of allergens was questionnable. Very disappointing for such an enormous amount of money was the choice of drinks and that evening even the service. Whereas half of the tables ( in the back) were served espresso after the courses my table wasn't. Finally, for 283€(!!!) a tremendous choice of drinks must be included, indispensably. The only one I asked for, an egg liqeur, an off-the-shelf product, was not available... Another time this rating might have been 4 of 5 but this time due to the very detailed examination above: 3 out of 5 only!…
The staff were amazing and the whole hotel complex is beautiful, especially the access to the sand cliffs and the beach. The rooms were wonderful. We booked 3 rooms and got upgraded to garden suites. Problems we encountered 1) Shower pressure low and hot water only warm. 2) Coffee machines in the rooms mostly did not work and did not get replaced. 3) The cooker hob in my room did not work, they spent an afternoon trying to fix it, meaning we could not use the room. I had to waste all the food we'd bought for dinner. 4) The indoor pool was too cold for me. The children loved it, but I could not go in. 5) Plant based food at breakfast was not very good, one morning we got raw tofu, which meant they tried. However they did have oat milk for coffee. Still gave it an excellent rating overal.…
Stayed there for three nights in Epic Saga Algarve hotel. Great location, Easy Access to Beach & great staff and service. Looking forward to coming back again in future. Property and rooms were kept very clean. We spent our whole stay in the property and beach. Great property for families.
We have stayed here a number of times over the last few years, and always had positive experiences. The food, quality of rooms, staff, facilities etc are all excellent. My only observation, and has been an ongoing frustration to me, is the lack of English tv channels. Mainly just the news channels available. In fact, and adds to my annoyance, you find more Russian channels than English. I accept you do not tend to watch much tv whilst on holiday, but it would be nice to have as a minimum itv and bbc channels, do not expect sky etc.
4 nights in a garden suite. The suite is located in a small building. It's like a small appartement, a little entrance with access to the bedroom with a balcony. Chairs and table, beautiful view on the pines and the ocean. Big bathroom with an Italian shower and a big bathtub. On the lower floor there are a small bathroom, a big living room with a sofa, chairs and a table. The kitchen has a microwave, cooktoop and a dishwasher and a nespresso machine. The terrace has 2 sunbeds and a table with chairs, view on the nature. In such a beautiful place it's a shame the washbasin in the bathroom on the ground floor was clumsily repaired with plaster, and the tap in the kitchen a little dismantled. There are 3 swimming pools, one indoors. There was plenty of sunbeds The access to the beach is through stairs. Not difficult. Breakfast and dinner buffets were well diversified. The staff was very friendly and helpful. …
Just arrived back from a week long break with family from this hotel. I personally was a little disappointed with this hotel considering it is a 5 star hotel. Don’t get me wrong the beach is stunning and the interior of the hotel is beautiful. But we felt that it lacks the attention to detail. I felt that the separate children’s menu could have been advertised better. We only discovered after a few days that they could cater a small selection for them. The buffet felt quite repetitive as well. So some days we just stuck to soup and salads. Themed food nights would be a way forward and more international selection would be a plus for this hotel. The cloudy, rainy off season didn’t help….however the children were saddened by the non existing ‘games room’ that was signposted outside but was told the games room no longer exists. It’s a shame this would have been ideal on those rainy stormy days! Finally, our room didn’t feel that it was serviced fully on a daily basis, again it lacked the attention.…
What I loved most about this hotel was that it was a 10 minute walk from the beach and what a beach! : ) I had a room with a ocean view and it did not disappoint. It had a good size balcony, a bathtub, and the room was quite spacious. There are a few restaurants at the resort. However, during my stay two of them were closed. The breakfast buffet..great! The dinner buffet which is not included with the room was just average. I had better dinners for less money at near by restaurants. I did appreciate that housekeeping came by every evening with bottled water and chocolates. :) The pool and food at the pool restaurant were both great. There are also some hiking trails around the resort that were fun to explore. I did not try out any of the spa services but I did use the fitness center, which was decent. One really could just stay at the resort for their entire stay. Would I stay here again? Yes!…
last-minute decision to leave for a week of sun and relaxation Reception was very friendly. The room was spacious, clean. there are 2 swimming pools, one with children, one without children which is a super idea. poo boys were also very friendly and helpful The bar is also very pleasant with a large choice. The main restaurant is also very good. Extensive choice, for breakfast and for dinner . Everything very fresh. Staff also very friendly. Negative point : daily replenishment of coffee, sugar in the room. This was not always done and the evening service sometimes wanted to get rid of it quickly.
Just back from our 3rd visit to the Epic Sana and love everything about the hotel. The setting, access to a stunning beach, the staff, the food the nearby shops and cafe’s all wonderful. We were lucky enough to get an upgrade this time which was a big surprise and the garden suite was amazing. We also tried the on site Lima restaurant where the food and staff were excellent, really made you feel special. It’s a pity we hadn’t tried it before! We’ll be back for our 4th visit sometime soon.
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