Grand Muthu Forte do Vale

Upgraded *from Monica Isabelle Beach Club.
*This review was in March ( out of season)*

We requested an upgrade from the above hotel to the 4*Forte do Vale in Albufeira.
Whilst this hotel was an improvement on the last one, it was not, in our opinion, 4*

- Location:✅
Good, 10 minute walk to the beach
Local shops next door and a train service available for a trip around the area, should you require it.
Quiet area if that’s your preference

- Atmosphere: 🥴
Out of season ( March) so very quiet with hardly anything to do or any facilities available. This hotel also does not supply snacks with the AI package which is very unusual and inconvenient.

We missed breakfast one morning and weren’t going out as the weather was poor so there was nothing on offer to eat( we were AI) and the only hot drinks available were from a machine in a cake shop facility which wasn’t open due to early season.
This is not a 4* experience.
Very quiet hotel.

Rooms 😐
- The studio room was a good size
- Fully equipped kitchen area
- Bathroom standard
- Bedroom standard, good storage space
- Lounge a good size.
- Dining table, 2 sitting chairs, balcony door
- bed settee which has seen better days and needs replacing. Not very comfortable.
- Rooms are very dated and need upgrading and modernising.
- Again, not 4* facilities
Furnishings are drab and require an upgrade
- It was cold in March and no form of heating in the room. Air con unit not functioning properly for any warm air option.

Value for money🤷‍♀️
- We paid to upgrade from our original hotel so can’t really comment on the cost and value for money.
- I don’t think we’d pay full price to stay here again, reason being it doesn’t feel like a 4*

Cleanliness ✅
- The hotel itself is very clean
- All public areas are kept clean
- Poolside was clean and well kept

- The issue we had was when the cleaners came in to clean the room, the bath and sink were never cleaned and glasses and bowls were left uncleaned in the kitchen.
- Again, not 4* service
- The towels were changed as standard
- Loo rolls replenished as standard

Noise levels 😐
- Constant noise from dogs barking at a property facing the hotel.
- Complained to management who said they were unable to do anything. We were given the option. Of moving rooms but we’d already unpacked and packed 3 times so opted to put up with it.
-Hotel faces a road but the noise level is minimum.

Service ✅
- Good
-Staff helpful & informative

Amenities 😕
- WiFi very poor, especially in the restaurant area. Needs upgrading
- Poor ( during low season)
- Games room ( pool table in poor condition, basketball machine not working, neither was the punch bag machine)
- Only bar open during our stay was outside at the pool side. Too cold most days to sit outside and enjoy a drink.
- Main bar inside only open from 6pm-11pm

Food 😐
- The restaurant at this hotel is very small
- Sister hotel has a much larger restaurant
- You can use the sister hotel facilities should you wish but have to wait for a shuttle car service to take you there. Most guests would prefer a better service for food and drink in the actual hotel they’re staying in.

- Standard of AI food offered was ok.
-Food was fairly varied and hot , although toward the end of our stay we noticed the standards slipping down a bit.
- There are no snacks included in the AI package for this hotel. 😕

Overall, a better upgrade from our original hotel. Would we stay here again? Probably no, given the review I’ve written and the issues that arose.

This is not 4* more like a top end 3*
This review was submitted during low season so maybe the hotel has a different feel and more to offer during peak season. Currently, not up to 4* standard.

Beautiful location, not in a rough urban area at all, two beaches not far at all nice to go for a walk and look at the views, loads of trips to do (wine tasting, safari rides, zoo marine dolphin show) which the receptionist will book for you on the phone they’re so helpful. Food is the best holiday all inclusive buffet I ever had, the snack cafe had beautiful sandwiches and coffees and cakes, friendly helpful staff. Bar all inclusive drinks aren’t strong, but a nice low alcohol quencher. Buffet had a different country theme every night so you could have food from all over the world. Cosy room, sofa and washing machine to do your laundry, television, lovely big bath. I would come here again if going to Portugal. My experience was wonderful. Lovely team. If you walk around the corner there’s a couple Portuguese corner shops to get snacks if you want to try them and souvenirs, loads of lovely friendly resteraunts on the street also if you want. Cheap taxi to get to the old town to go to the market which actually has beautiful stuff. Beautiful area beautiful country. I would note we did have a little bit of mould in our bathroom in the corner but it didn’t affect our stay as the service was so good, cleaners would come in and get the room spotless. Wonderful. Also included to travel to their other hotel resteraunts mini bus included to try other delicious food. Inserted a few pics of some of the places we booked through the hotel to go, or were advertised there. Amazing. Indoor turkish bath and sauna and pool and outdoor pool included, the outside pool is great too with sun loungers given to you by staff they will bring them out for you if there mostly taken up.

The hotel and its facilities were great but we were most impressed with the staff, they were a credit to the hotel chain.

This hotel is situated in a nice quiet area but within easy reach of the old and new towns. The tourist train stops nearby and taxis are cheap (about 4euro) into new town, if you dont fancy the walk!
The building itself is big and very clean in all public areas. The staff on the desk were excellent .. Carlos (and iforget the other gentleman's name) were both lovely and even let us have our room early.
The room itself was huge. Separate kitchen area with fridge ,dishwasher , washing machine , kettle etc. Plenty of cups and plates etc. Balcony could be accessed from both the bedroom and living area. Yes , the rooms are dated and tired .. curtains almost threadbare. We didnt need to use the sofa bed but it didnt look too supportive. However , we can't fault the cleanliness. The bathroom had toothbrushes , cotton pads etc and plenty of towels. Just be extremely careful while showering as it is very slippery. There is no shower mat. The lady came every day to clean the room and change beds if we wanted.
While it wasnt warm enough for us to use the pool , we did have a look. The pool area is quite small. There is a pool bar but its only open certain times. Due to lack of space there os only 2 - 3 tables to sit at. Fine at this time of year but i wouldnt like to see it during peak time. Aside from the tables at the pool bar , there is absolutely no outdoor seating. Nowhere to take a coffee in the morning and sit in the Sun unless you make one in your room and sit on the balcony. I find this strange for this resort as all hotel seem to have outdoor areas. There was entertainment in the bar but being off season (and the lack of seating) we opted to head to town or to Praia oura hotel (from the same group as this one) as we could enjoy a drink outside and there was more atmosphere.
We didnt have all inclusive, which i was glad. The restaurant is very small for a hotel of this size and the choices on the dinner buffet were limited. You can eat at any of the other Muthu hotels (either with your all inclusive or just paying) but if you want to stay on site , this isn't the best choice. Drinks weren't great either.
I can't fault the breakfast though. Warm , fresh and good choices. Again it would be very crowded at peak times. We got lucky that it was low season.
The indoor pool booked nice but we didnt use it.
There is a pastry and coffee shop inside but we didnt see it open at any time.
There are a few little supermarkets just a minutes walk away with lovely pleasant staff where you can get some essentials.
I mentioned Praia Oura hotel.... we stayed there before but wanted to try something else. If it's was to return id go back there as it has direct beach access , better atmosphere and outdoor areas. Plus it has 2 pools .... the room layout wasnt as good though.

Overall I enjoyed the few days away(3 nights) but i think for a longer stay , we would opt for somewhere else. Not due to cleanliness or staff! Just because we had to move off site a good bit to enjoy the sun with our coffee/cocktails and to hear some music :)
If you are happy enough to spend a few days on your balcony or sitting in the lobby then it would be fine.

I wouldnt rule out this group of hotels, just maybe consider the others.

There is a nice restaurant around the corner .. "House of Stews" - highly recommend !

Mooie nette en grote kamer
Vriendelijk en behulpzaam personeel
Gevarieerd buffet

Os funcionários são todos excelentes, simpaáticos e prestáveis.
As zonas comuns muito bonitas.
O preço para uma noite foi muito acessível e a localização é muito boa.

The location, cleanliness, relaxing atmosphere.

Staff exceptional

Todo el hotel en general, el restaurante con buena y variada comida, las instalaciones, el personal, etc.

Arrived on Monday, still here until Friday, lovely hotel, got upgraded to an apartment, cannot fault it! Hotel is quiet at the moment, we are self catering, so eating out in the new town and old town, good prices.

Friendly staff, great location, good size of the room. heated pool.

Location was great, very quiet area of town, apartment was very spacious fine....

Very close to the strip with loads of different bars/ restaurants. About 15-20 mins walk to one of the sister hotels and beaches.

Totatlly honest review going from our past stays at other hotels, depending on what you pay for this hotel will depend on whether its good value for money or not, just dont expect 5 or 4 star facilities, rooms and food

Hotel in general is clean but very dated, dull rooms, not enough plug sockets has a very "Butlins" chalet feel, rooms are cleaned to a barley minimum daily, no fresh sheets, bed not made nicely.

we had the "Deluxe Double room with kitchen" and did not have tea coffee etc in there. Room was dull not much light aircon was good though, bathroom again dated and miss matched and definitely not up to 4 star standards

Food...

well very limited variety and quality and not big enough for the amount of guests. again very dark and no option to dine outside. if the restaurant is full the you have to dine in the lobby area so get down early as when we stayed it wasnt at full capacity and just out of season.

Small bar area, limited drinks again not big enough for the hotel size. snacks in the afternoon consisted of just a few cakes (no savoury option) not even crisps.
Please be aware that you have to put down a £100 damage deposit on arrival and also if you want to use the indoor pool there is also a £5 charge for swimming caps each, which you have to wear.

Room was set out as a twin but soon rectified once we said we wanted the double room.

Arrived midday and was offered the option to start the all inclusive straight away or to start at 3pm and have lunch on our last day (12pm checkout)

A good thing, you can use the facilities at there sister hotels which are about a 15-20 minute walk away or a £4 uber/bolt (uber and bolt are cheap to use over here and very quick pick up times) we did dine in the other hotel (clube praya de oura) and this was a lot better for food selection and atmosphere

there are some local shops, restaurants and pharmacy within walking distance, highly recommend fat cats bar :)

Wonderful hotel! food very very tasty! Silence, peace. The area is beautiful. The Barman Sumaila is a very nice person and makes the best drinks. We recommend this hotel 🤍

We all enjoy with the entertainmente Yoandry in the amazing karaoke tonight in the picadilly mi and my family are happy with him because transmite a good vibes and thanks for sumaila the bartender for his attetion,we all realy enjoyed