NAU Sao Rafael Suites - All Inclusive

Lovely hotel really friendly and helpful staff from cleaning to bar staff waiting staff and reception. My daughter was ill and all the staff put a lot of energy and care into helping us care for her. The cheif made seperate meals for her

The San Rafael Suites is a very good 4 star hotel. The reception is light, airy and the staff were very friendly. Unfortunately we were initially dropped off by the transfer bus at the nearby San Rafael Atlantico but they us took in the courtesy mini bus with the minimum of fuss. The food is good and plentiful with a regular barbeque. We had 2 meals in the Eatalian restaurant but it was no great shakes and the buffet always had something to offer,although desserts were a bit samey and soup uninspiringly vegetable every day. the house wines were very good. The evening entertainment in the bar was variable. Our 2bedroom suite was massive with 3 large flat screen tvs and very well appointed bathrooms and the bonus of an additional shower room and toilet. The fantastic beach at SanRafael was a10-15 minute walk away and the marina about 20 minutes. The courtesy bus to Albufeira old town was very handy but could have done with a slightly more frequent service.

Spent 10 nights here in September. Food a disappointment limited choice, nightly entertainment is in the bar area, there are about 50 seats for the entire hotel to watch any entertainment. Old Town can be walked to in about 45 minutes. But the hotel is at the top of a steep hill. Would not go back Hotel probably about 3 star.

lack of seats in the evening to sit and enjoy the entertainment. pooside dirty, plates and glasses left aroung the kiddies pool. kitchen beside the pool not open so had to go to the main resturant inside the hotel for any snack. Kids club open all day until very late which was a good idea but just a bit disorganized. Al carte experiance avoid 3 hours and still waiting, waiters tried their best, but cannot give you food they do not have !!!! I always fly with jet2 over the last 4 years and everyone has been excellent, but not this one, just lacking management control and a little thought. Many other families that spoke to me thought the same.

It was a 5 star all inclusive hotel and the food was less than average. There was no tea or coffee making facilities in the room. They would not let anyone take their food into the outside seating area next to the dining area when it was just snack time, in between meal times. You had to give your room number every time you ate which I have never done before. On arrival we were told that if we had lunch there and then we couldn't have lunch on the day we left ! It was so far away from anything and the courtesy bus was so irregular and only ran 2 times a day so it cost a lot in taxis to the beach or main resort.

Fantastic hotel, exceeded expectations. Beautiful clean and comfortable rooms, great food and lovely pool. Kids club available 10am-11pm was an added bonus. The hotel is a good walk from the main town but there is a free shuttle bus from the hotel 3x a day. It's such a nice resort that we didn't feel we needed to leave the area much anyway. Beautiful beach 5 minutes from hotel, lovely surroundings. Would definitely return here. Rooms are extremely spacious, fresh and modern. Pool area is fantastic and there's also an indoor pool and relaxation centre, tennis courts, outdoor gym, football area for kids and 3 outdoor pools of varying depths.

We booked a 2 bedroom apartment for myself, my wife and 2 kids and also my father. The room had more than enough storage space, each bedroom had built-in wardrobes and an en-suite bathroom. There was also a large built-in wardrobe in the hall for the kids stuff. The kids slept in the living room on proper beds that the staff had put in our room especially to accommodate all of us. Even with 5 of us in the apartment there was still plenty of space and you were not getting in each others way. The bedrooms had there own private balconies as well as a family balcony off the living room. The decor was tasteful, modern and very clean. The rooms were kept spotless by the cleaning staff. The rest of the hotel was exactly the same, everything was modern, tasteful and clean. There was plenty to choose from at meal times, something for everyone, and the restaurant staff could not be more helpful in arranging gluten free food for my father. The chefs and waiters would take him round the buffet and tell him what food was safe for him to eat. We only had one issue with the hotel and that was my daughters Ipod went missing from the room. This turned out to be accidental as it picked up with towels that were left on the seat. The Ipod was returned to us by post once it had been located in the laundry service companies building. There is nothing round the hotel to do, so you need to travel to get to a town centre or shops. The hotel run a free bus service in to Albufeira but these are not frequent enough and are running at the wrong time of day if you want to go in to the town for a meal or for evening drinks. Taxi's only cost about 8 euros each way.

We are just back from The Algarve and had a lovely stay at Sao Rafael Suites, the accomodation was very clean and comfortable, the staff were delightful and very helpful. The food was a disappointment, very typically all inclusive very repetative and not very hot at times, the location was further out of town than we imagined, we walked in twice which took about 45mins and always got a taxi back as it's all uphill. The weather was outstanding so overall we enjoyed our stay but won't go back to that hotel because of location...

The hotel is beautiful with well maintained gardens and public areas. We stayed in a deluxe family suite which was enormous. The restaurant was always very quiet and never seemed full. There was a good choice of food, at least 3 meat selections and 2 fish choices. The only issue is had was the hot food wasn't hot enough. For lunchtime meals these had to be taken in the restaurant, it could really do with a snack area near the pool as it's too much a chore having to go upstairs from the pool to eat. I would rate the hotel a 4* not 5*. It's quite an isolated hotel. They use a shuttle bus to take you down to the beach, we walked and it took about 15 minutes. The bus also takes you to Albufiera old town. We walked to the marina (20 mins) where there are restaurants and a couple of shops. A taxi back cost €5 (all uphill).

a fairly quiet location with easy access to old town, family room we had was amazing (two bathrooms & a shower room), food, drinks & staff excellent, only negative was lack of seating for bar area where entertainment took place.

We stayed here for 10 nights, from ,16th-26th July. The hotel,staff, facilities and food were excellent. Our deluxe suite was superb and having my 15 year old son with me, the separate bedrooms and extra bathroom was brilliant.

Fantastic hotel couldn't fault it, great staff so helpfully and friendly, beach 10 minutes walk and marina 15 minutes walk, free shuttle bus to albufuria , old town a must visit with loads of bars and shopping, will definitely return to this hotel.