NH Marina Portimao Resort

Thank you to Humberto for wonderful service and a warm welcome to NH bar and restaurant on our first day here😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

Stayed for 5 nights over New Year and was amazing! The staff are great, friendly approachable and attentive. Shout out to Raphael who checked us in and was very attentive. Recommended activities and where to go.
Room was a walk down the marina from the main hotel and restaurants - but was perfect for us.
Breakfast offering was great, some mornings we had to wait a short while for a table but understandable as we came at peak time - and staff friendliness made up for it .

Room was clean and had a kitchenette. On my husbands birthday champagne and a cake was sent to the room, however we never said it was his birthday - well done I think someone noticed on his passport - now that’s an extra special touch !!

The location is good and the hotel presents acceptable standards however, it is evident that the facilities require renewal.
The rooms appear dated and more importantly, the mattresses are of very poor quality. As a result, I slept extremely badly during my stay.

Given that proper rest is a fundamental and essential aspect of any hotel accommodation, this deficiency significantly affected my experience and cannot be considered a minor issue.

On the positive side, the breakfast was good and met reasonable expectations and the staff were consistently friendly and professional.

Due to the unsatisfactory sleep quality, i will not return to this hotel.

The food was amazing and the staff so helpful. Every meal was a pleasure. Very short walk to the beach also (Praia da Rocha) and you can take walks on the broadwalk too.

I had a wonderful stay. The service was great, the staff were incredibly kind and charming, and the room was cozy and welcoming.

Very nice and friendly stuff, good food, nice, big and clean rooms. Location is very good too. Worth of money, definetely.

Filipa and her team have been outstanding throughout our stay. We ordered the birthday package with champagne and cake for arrival and could not fault it so fresh and beautifully displayed. Facilities, views and rooms were all to an excellent standard and stuff were extremely helpful. Will definitely be back, thank you to the team.

10/10 breakfast was the best I have seen in a long time and I am a professional chef. Excellent service clean rooms at a great rate. I will be back.

Visited here in 2024 and enjoyed a lovely glass of wine and a cheese platter most evenings while enjoying the early evening sun set. Happy hour was an absolute winner and attracted guests from other hotels and bars.

Move on to 2025 and what a difference! The pool area has been fully renovated and is excellent! Lovely, well kept garden area wuth plenty of seating available.

We ventured into the bar are only to be ‘grunted at’, told we couldn’t just have a drink! What?! The hotel is open to the public, or so we thought!!

Not sure if it’s under new management but the staff in the bar/restaurant are definitely different to those last year. Not a smile in sight!! €15 for 3 machine made coffees! Absolutely disgraceful - not even fresh coffee!

Not sure what strategy management are adopting for 2025/2026 but so far, it’s put us off ever eating or drinking there again. We took lots of friends here last year - were embarrassed to take any this year! Such a shame.

What happened to service with a smile? Creating a friendly, welcoming yet professional environment? Arrogance, greed and extremely dismissive staff are not signs of a good quality, excellent customer experience!

Very disappointing experience - not once, not twice but multiple times!

Breakfast buffet is 5 star.
Rooms were cleaned every day and we were only 100 steps to the sand!!
We will be back!

Here we are again for the ninth time in this hotel at the marina of Portimão nh Marina Portimão, the second time this year thanks to a beautiful birthday present that I got. It was my first time in November, a quiet time of the year. Like always I enjoyed my stay very much. I have seen on my airport transfers and sightseeing tours so many different hotels that aren't appealing from the outside and their locations, I can't think of another hotel to stay.

I stayed at the Marina Deck. This time in a room on the 2nd floor with sight on the pool. The studio is equipped with a kitchenette with microwave, refrigerator, induction cooktop, a water boiler and a nespresso coffee maker. This time I was missing an empty drawer or a space to put away my things (books, stuff...) that don't have to be lying around in the open but don't have to be necessarily in the room safe either. The room was clean as usual, the maids do their work every day and are always in a good temper and very friendly.

The breakfast buffet is well equipped with everything you can think of. Different kinds of food like bread, sausage, cheese, cereals, fruits, desserts, English breakfast, waffles... Different kind of beverages like coffee, tea, milk, water, aromatised water, juices, prosecco...

I really enjoyed it to be here again. I need this to find myself again and reload my batteries. Walks at the beach, that is about 5 minutes by foot away from the hotel, trips to Portimão by bus (the busstop is up at the fortaleza more or less 10 minutes away from the hotel) and meeting nice portuguese acquaintances and friends that recognize one and are genuinely happy to see one again, do their part, too.

The staff in general and at the front desk is always friendly, helpful, accommodating, has always a smile on the lips and time for a little chat and a little laugh. They were able to offer me again some bus tours (The Best of the East, Historical Algarve) which I was happy to take. Thank you for offering.

Queria agradecer muito ao pessoal novamente! Muito obrigada! Vou ficar no seu hotel novamente no próximo ano. Mais uma vez muito obrigada!

Great value for money. Room has everything you need. Staff are very helpful. The pool is amazing. The view is amazing. Everything is clean. The bed is comfortable. Would stay again.

We recently stayed in a ground floor marina apartment at the resort which location wise is excellent and there are plenty of places to eat/drink within walking distance. Nice beach boardwalk on doorstep for early morning/evening walk/run.
As for the resort not the most welcoming arrival as we were immediately asked for names, passports then please pay for the whole stay now, most places take credit card for authorisation and then you settle upon check out. Paid for hotel then we enquired about the parking, and was then told you need to pay 10 euros a day on top but surely it would have been sensible if they'd asked us in the first place whether we had a vehicle and wanted to park on premises, so settled up for that and was then told now you need to pay 10 euro deposit which has to be cash for a plastic card in order to enter/leave the resort with the car. Also the stay was booked directly through the GHA Discovery App but not actually validated by the hotel which unfortunately created another problem after check out as missing points and stay were not credited to my account so added inconvenience and hassle of trying to sort it out later which was not ideal as they did not even email me the final invoice as promised upon check out and I had to chase that up. Not really the best customer experience of check in or check out, there is definetely some room for improvement.
We were shown to the apartment which was a fair size albeit a bit dated but was fine for what we wanted. The wifi signal was very poor though and did not work at all in bedroom. The biggest downfall in my opinion is the very late cleaning of the rooms which happened everyday between 3pm and 5pm, not convenient at all if you have been out most of the day and you want to rest or get ready to go out in the evening
One of the biggest plus points is the buffet breakfast which was the excellent with an abundant of choices, just would have been nice if the staff smiled occasionally rather than giving the impression they would rather not be there.
The gym is also actually very good for a hotel gym, very spacious with a fair amount of machines and weights, the only downside is that it is apparent that it is not checked or cleaned once a day. Water machine was empty for 3 consecutive days with used cups left on windowsills, bins not emptied, floor not hoovered, weights not tidied etc also no towels supplied

To summarise
GOOD POINTS = LOCATION - EXCELLENT BREAKFAST -GOOD SIZED GYM

BAD POINTS = CUSTOMER SERVICE - ROOMS NOT CLEANED UNTIL BETWEEN 3 AND 5 PM EVERYDAY - WIFI POOR - GYM NOT CLEANED

Verdict - Could be so much better with just a little attention to detail and more customer friendly staff

The facilities were great and beautiful views! The staff very helpful and great location. I was with EF tours and was happy to see they used No hotel, as I have used them before.

only stayed one night after spending 5 nights on a yacht for a sailing course.
the hotel was very comfortable with nice views of the marina from my room
which was beautifully equipped.
The buffet breakfast was superb!
No complaints whatsoever.

Amazing. Staff wonderful, quiet vibe, the view was incredible from our balcony. We will be coming back and ensuring a longer stay!

From check in to check out all was great ,room clean,a/c good ,Wi-Fi everywhere free, breakfast 100% beds comfortable. Other food in restaurants very good service/quality.
Staff were all brilliant.

Summary
I really recommend the NH Marina Portimão Resort! Absolutely loved my holiday here and was very sad to leave.

About Me
Solo female, stayed for a week in late September 2025. Half board in a Marina Beach room.

The Hotel
The hotel rooms are in several two-storey buildings spread across a large site around the marina. There are three main building sections:

1. Marina Sun: the furthest room in this section is at least a 10-minute walk to reception, the pool and the restaurant

2. Marina Beach: the furthest room in this section is about a 5-minute walk from reception, the pool and the restaurant

3. Marina Deck: these rooms are next to reception, the pool and the restaurant

- All buildings have rooms on the ground floor and first-floor. There are about 15 steps to the first-floor rooms (no lift). All rooms have a view of the marina.

- The hotel offers porters in golf carts, which you can book for transport around the hotel site.

- It is evident people live in some of the rooms as they have BBQs, custom patio furniture/umbrellas/lighting, hose pipes, plants, gazebos etc. on their private outdoor space.

- Entrance to the hotel site is via locked gates you swipe your guest card to open, so only hotel guests have access to the facilities, keeping it secure.

- The whole hotel/marina site was very quiet, even at night.

- All staff were very helpful, friendly and multi-lingual.

The Room
- I stayed in a first floor Marina Beach room
- Big light, airy room with tiled floor
- Big patio doors with fantastic blackout curtains
- Kitchen with hob, microwave, fridge, sink and basic cutlery/crockery/utensils included (but no scrubbing brush, dish towel etc.)
- Big comfortable bed
- Clothes storage was limited - wardrobe had a shelf but no drawers
- There was a stool in the room but no chair (I brought a chair in from the balcony)
- The ground floor rooms have a much bigger private outdoor space compared to the first-floor room balconies
- I had no access to the roof terrace as seen on the website - the door to this was locked
- Room faced east, so watched the sunrise from the balcony every morning
- The safe is fixed inside the wardrobe, but you cannot open it properly due to the position of the wardrobe door (see photo)
- Fridge was quiet enough I could sleep
- Even in the 28-degree heat, the room stayed cool. If needed, there was very good/quiet air conditioning system available
- All the usual toiletries are included – shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, soap, etc. and hairdryer

The Pool
- Big saltwater pool
- Small shallow circular paddle pool
- Surrounded by many sunbeds and umbrellas. There were always several sunbeds available despite some guests reserving sunbeds all day with their towels and not using them
- When you check-in, you are given a towel card, which you exchange each day at the pool bar for a fresh pool towel (and then return it at the end of the day)

The Food
- The hotel restaurant is located on the waterfront, so you can watch the sunrise while eating breakfast
- There is indoor and outdoor seating
- I was half board and both meals were a buffet
- Breakfast included everything you can think of – cold meats/cheeses, cereals, yoghurts, different breads, pastries, cakes, fruit, cooked breakfast options, a variety of milk options, coffee/tea, numerous juice options etc. Occasionally there were extras (e.g. pancakes)
- The evening meal changed every day and included a variety of delicious hot meat options, vegetarian, vegetables, pasta, potatoes/chips, sauces etc. Chilled food included a wide range of salad options, breads, cakes, desserts, fruit and ice-cream (the ice-cream is delicious!)
- The restaurant staff are very efficient, keep everything clean and quickly replenish everything. It didn’t matter if I ate breakfast at 7:30am when the restaurant opened or at 9am, nothing ran out
- If you are not half/full board, the evening meal is approximately €35/person/day
- There is a T-Bone restaurant above the main restaurant - this is at additional cost even if you are half/full board

The Weather
- Every day was clear blue skies, sunshine and 25-28 degree temperatures

The Local Area – Portimão
- Late September is outside tourist season, so there were no crowds or screaming children
- The whole holiday was very peaceful and chilled
- The beautiful Praia da Rocha beach, which is right next to the hotel, is long, wide and sandy. There are 100s of sunbeds available to hire along it
- On the corner, next to some steps, between the hotel and the beach there is a mini-supermarket. There are bigger supermarkets a 10-minute walk into town. The Continente shopping centre includes an enormous supermarket with everything you need, which is about a 30-minute walk from the hotel (address: R. Prof. Dr. Montalvão Marques Lote 1, 8500-510 Portimão)
- You will also see recognised brands such as LIDL, ALDI, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, etc. if that’s your preference
- I felt safe in my room and wherever I went, even after dark
- Everywhere is very clean, lots of bins, very little rubbish
- There a several little parks around town for a rest in the shade
- While you can flush toilet paper at the hotel, you normally cannot at most places outside the hotel

Animals
- I was surprised about the lack of insects
- Considering the proximity of the marina water, expected mosquitos but there were none – even when walking around after dark

Entertainment
- There is no evening entertainment at the hotel
- There are several bars/restaurants/etc. between the hotel marina and beach
- There are endless bars/restaurants along the beach promenade and cliff top
- It’s about a 10-minue walk into town
- There is a gym above the hotel reception
- The beach was a couple of minutes’ walk from my room
- Recommend watching the sunset on the beach at least one evening
- There is a water taxi (see photos) that does several routes across the river. I did the trip to Ferrugado from the hotel marina, which takes less than 10 minutes each way. See photos for all routes/prices. The water taxi boats are white or blue (see photo)
- There are various stands/shops along the beach and in town to book excursions (boat trips to the caves etc.). Some of the boat trips go from the hotel marina, which is very convenient

First of all this is definitely not a 4 star hotel- I would grade it more as 3 stars. The rooms are fairly dated and utilitarian- I thought it was deceptive to leave out a bottle of still water, a packet of Pringles and tea and coffee (which in most 4 star hotels would be complimentary) and then if you looked very very closely discovered had to paid for. My main objection however since I had a room on the pool side of the Marina Sun deck was how public the room was with a busy path going right past the bedroom window. It felt like living I’m a goldfish bowl and I had to keep my curtains closed the whole time I was there. There was no privacy whatsoever and although I had a table and a couple of chairs outside my room I was effectively just sitting at the path side. Also the lack of any shade was an issue and the fact that loud music blared in the pool area are till 10pm every night even although when I was there it was dark just after 7pm and the pool and pool bar closed then. My friend had a marina side room which had a nicer terrace and was more private so if going again I would insist on a marina side room although not one of the rooms in the separate annex at the other side of the marina. . On the plus side breakfast was nice and I enjoyed the salt water pool.

Great customer service and amazing food, great variety of food on offer special thanks is to Humberto, made the being very special.