Hotel Baía Cristal Beach & Spa Resort

Love this hotel especially manager he just so helpful and truly wants his customers have great holiday .The location is great loads sun beds so your not fighting for space lovely walks along cliffs into carvoeiro or the local beach excellent hotel hope the refurbishment goes well.

Second time staying here and we love it. Staff are lovely. Views are incredible.
Only slight issue is there were ants in the kitchen

We booked to stay here as a last minute booking so were limited in the room availability which we understood. When we arrived to check in at 1pm we were greeted by a surly girl on reception who informed us check in was 3pm but try in an hour to see if the room was available. We tried at 2pm to be met with one word "no". At 3pm we eventually were able to check in after she had a bit of trouble trying to contact housekeeping. I realise the hotel has a time to check in but when you have arrived on a flight you don't have much choice in the time you get to the hotel and after travelling for 12 hours all you need is to change and unpack!

Our room was very clean, plenty of space with an adequate sized balcony. There was a fridge which was useful for keeping drinks, water etc cool. There was no kettle which is the first time we've never had one in a hotel room, we could probably have requested one but managed without.

The hotel is in a lovely location on a cliff top overlooking the sea. To get to the nearest beach is a 10 minute walk turning right from the hotel front and down a steep road. To visit the town of Carvoeiro there is a 20 minute walk turning left from the hotel front, there is a shuttle bus which you pre-book if you want to avoid walking. It seems a shame that this only runs in the day to approx 5pm as it would be very useful in the evenings also. We walked back a few evenings, the road is a steep road, you could take a taxi if required.

The breakfast buffet was good, plenty of choice. We ate in the restaurant on two occasions in the evening, again it was a buffet, great value with plenty of choice.

There is a spa and indoor pool. Also 2 outdoor pools and a small one for children. The water was freezing so they would benefit from being heated. Lovely views of the sea from the garden and pool area. It was nice and quiet when we stayed so plenty of choice of sunbeds. The garden was a nice spot to sit in if you wanted shade from the sun.

I've read previous reviews regarding the staff and I have to say certain staff members looked very unhappy being there which made an awkward experience when they served you and other staff were so pleasant so there was quite a mix depending on who served you!

I believe that the hotel is closing for a few months and it will be reopening as a 5* hotel. There are a few areas that need improving. The sun beds are quite old and uncomfortable, the building is quite dated and could do with an improvement or two but overall it is fine and we enjoyed our stay!

The main thing we did not like was the wall outside our room was covered in black bugs, that came into the room when you opened door. We mentioned that to management. When we came back to room we found a can of bug spray? Otherwise, pool area was great. Lovely view.

A wonderfully quiet, safe, and overall good stay. Big buffet breakfast included was delicious, staff was friendly. Only thing keeping it from getting a perfect score is the mold in the bathroom tiles, very uncomfortable beds, and the sofa stain (or at least I hope it was soda) on the ceiling of the room.

We were a bit disappointed by the standard of the hotel. Our room was very sparse, with a cupboard, storing a sink, a hob and a fridge. Very strange. There wasn’t a kettle, no cups or plates, but the fridge was useful for the two complimentary bottles of water.

The bathroom was clean, the shower, lovely, but no complimentary toiletries, other than a shower cap and two very small bars of soap. There was a bar of soap stuck in the plug hole, not been cleaned properly.

Outside on the terrace, was a hole with bits of tiles smashed, just left , not swept up, very tatty.

The main hotel was very nice, the pool area and bar also. Plenty of sun loungers around the pool and further into the grounds.

The beach and town is only a short walk, which was ideal.

The staff weren’t very friendly, they looked so miserable and unhappy, which made us feel awkward.

The was a problem with checking they gave us a room in the old part with No view and no elevator had to climb the steps with our luggage and had a really bad start my wife started crying and couldn’t sleep next morning we begged for a good room they finally gave us a different room in the newer section and wasted time to check in again the room was much better but never forget the start
Thank you and regards

We were not expecting much, but were very pleasantly surprised by this hotel.
It's a 1km walk to the fabulous bustling town with endless restaurants or anything you would need so it's super convenient. We walked into town every night along the paths and boardwalk on the top of the hill from the gate of the hotel enjoying spectacular sunsets and many hidden stunning views and surprises along the way.

Its a quick walk to 2 main beaches with Kms of stunning walks from the hotel doorstep.

The pools are clean and warm, lots of suncahirs available with a great sea view.

Breakfast buffet was included which was ample and delicious. Lunch menu from the bar was great too. We didn't have dinner at the hotel as we're spoilt for choice with all the restaurants in town so went somewhere different every night.

Hotel and room was very clean. Our room was modern and spacious with a gorgeous sea / garden view. It had an Aircon and balcony.

All staff are super friendly and accommodating.

Fee fast wifi.

Free hotel taxi to town and back a few times daily.

The Jacuzzi and spa were warm and clean and always empty so was nice to go relax there after a day at the beach.

Hotel facilities are great, including a tennis court.

It was basic. Beds not too great, sheets thin and pillows not great. The pool is nice, the breakfast decent. It has free parking. No swimming beaches nearby, and the Benagil caves are now closed.

This hotel needs a make over - wallpaper falling off the walls. The bath in my bedroom was filthy. The room had a terrace, one day I was subjected to my room after a very nasty fall in the hotel outside near the swimming pool. You need to keep the door closed and locked as maintenance guys are around. The food and drinks were nice though. The breakfast was mediocre.

The pools were great. There was lots of private areas dotted around the hotel within the grounds to sunbathe. The food was great especially at the pool bar and served all throughout the day. Clean rooms. Not the most modern hotel but you are abroad and it was perfectly substantial. The location is excellent.

We really enjoyed our stay at Baía Cristal! The location can’t be beat, as it is just a short walk from Centianes beach and the start of the seven hanging valleys trail. Walking the other direction will take you to algar seco and Carvoeiro. Breakfast is included, while not the most inspiring it will provide something for everyone. The real appeal at breakfast is watching the little gray cat play with olives on the pool deck. Rooms are nice, plenty of room to spread out, hangers, a small fridge, and even a sitting area to look out at the water. Some areas of white paint could use a scrub or another layer of paint, but for an ocean view at this price i can deal. We didn’t try the pool, hot tub, or spa, but they looked great.

Just a pleasant stay.

We had a lovely 9 night stay in August. Family of four in a twin room on a B&B basis, very bright and spacious with nice sized balcony, more than enough room for us.
Requested a kettle and cups and was delivered to our room, thank you. Cleaners were in every day doing a good job. Hats off to them in that heat, plus the bar and restaurant staff, always running around. Hard workers ! Had some nice food from restaurant during our pool days and cocktails.
The hotel is in a beautiful area, we stayed over the other side last time we visited Carvoeiro (Sesmarias) so was nice to see this side. Spent an evening at sunset on Vale de Centianes beach which is about a ten minute walk, beautiful and not as busy as town beach. A few restaurants up that end towards a Spar shop which were handy if you didn't feel like going into Carvoeiro itself. We walked into town most evenings /days, took us around 25 minutes, boardwalk or road way.
Ubers are available, paid €7 on our last day to get to my favourite beach towards Ferragudo Prai dos canerios. Couldn't leave without visiting it again. It's been 6 years since we were in the Carvoeiro area and we loved it just as much this time around.

We had a really enjoyable six-night stay Hotel Baia Cristal. The pool area was a good size and there were plenty of sun loungers to choose from. More moveable umbrellas may help for those who want to stay out of the sun in the afternoon!

Our Superior Double room was of a very high standard and was overlooking the pool area, with a shaded balcony after 4pm.

Breakfast was great and had plenty of choice to suit everyone in our party.

It is a 20 minute downhill walk from the hotel to the centre and plenty of restaurants and bars. Taxi cost around 5 euros to come back up the hill.

The only slight downside was the lack of staff in the bar/pool area and it did sometimes mean quite a wait to be served for lunch/drinks. The staff that were working were very helpful and friendly.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this hotel and would certainly stay again.

Reading reviews we were sceptical upon arrival but having stayed at the sister hotel many a time pre kids we put our faith in the Baia hotel group.

There is not denying the hotel is in need of an update, a lick of paint here and there (better sunbeds etc) but the facilities on the whole are really good. I will add there is no kids club and the park was borderline unsafe and we were disappointed by this we must admit.

That being said the rooms were spotless, staff were lovely and helpful, views stunning and a decent location. People expect too much sometimes and for the price we paid for bed and breakfast we have had a lovely family holiday. Pools were brilliantly set up for kids.

We would return but not if it goes to 5 star resort.

Our experience at this hotel was incredibly disappointing. Upon arrival, it became clear that the conditions were far from what had been promised. Uncomfortable beds led to backaches, and the complete lack of sound insulation disrupted our sleep entirely.
The facilities were outdated, with rust near the pools, and the promised kid's club was non-existent. Despite reaching out to both the hotel management and the travel agency, no resolution was found. We even had to seek medical attention for our persistent backaches.
We cannot recommend either the hotel or the agency; our trust has been shattered. We hope that other travelers will steer clear of our unfortunate experience.

A very nice one night stay. Rooms were lovely and a nice sea view. Very friendly staff who were very happy to help with anything. On the outside the hotel could do with some renovation/updating but didn’t spoil the stay. Thanks again for a great stay

We had a great stay here! Staff was friendly and helpful, bar and breakfast options were delicious, rooms were nice!

Very poor maintained rooms , washroom door doesn’t lock, bed broke while someone had been sleeping on it and the electric switches were coming out of the wall.