After touring inland Portugal and staying in great pousadas, we were looking for a relaxing stay at the Pestana Viking. It turned out to be a major disappointment and if I had not paid in advance, I would have left. When we arrived there was an overworked (but very efficient) receptionist and no porter to help us with our luggage…So much for the 4 stars. Here’s a list of list of everything that was bad about this hotel: the building is quite old and looks like a 1970s Eastern European hotel. A few carpets and paintings were added here and there but that does not make it a 4-star hotel. The lobby is air conditioned but the two elevators (that you have to wait for forever) and the corridors are not. Air conditioning in my parents’ room was not working and their TV remote control was missing (my room’s remote control was not working very well). A technician fixed the problems very quickly and was very kind (the only positive point of this hotel is the staff). Rooms were basic with Ikea-style furniture and decor. One the paintings in our room was missing and a big bolt was sticking out from the wall. The bathrooms were quite modern but there was little space to put your toiletries. The bathroom door was full of handprints, which leads me to believe that none of the handles, etc. are cleaned/disinfected (H1N1 scare in the Algarve during our stay). The towel rack was damaged by someone who had obviously used it to grab onto. The maids forgot (?) to replace the shower gel we had used. The bedside carpet was also stained. The receptionist had given us extra key cards to leave in the room so that the a/c could run while we were out. The room became extremely hot within minutes (obviously the construction materials are of very poor quality). The cleaning women removed the keys after they cleaned the rooms and I had to go back to the reception to get new ones (the next day I left them a note in approximate Portuguese and they did not remove the keys). The hotel advertises 4 pools but there are actually three. There is a tiny one for kids, one nice one for “adults” and an indoor pool that’s very dark. The nice pool had about 15 people in it around 10 am (which was the only pleasant moment of the stay) but more than 60 around 7pm. 60% of the “adults” were children who were playing ball, splashing everybody, screaming, etc. (most without any kind of adult supervision). To get your beach towels, you have to go the reception desk in the lobby…you can’t get any at the pool. The “direct access” to the beach is a lie. You have to exit the hotel, then walk down a pathway and down lots of stairs. The beach is public and very crowded… If you want to use chairs, etc. you have to pay. The area around the hotel is extremely built up with lots of low-cost holiday apartments, there is even an abandoned hotel that was never finished. Parking is very difficult. The Italian restaurant near the hotel was very popular but it took 1.5 hours for us to order and get our food… The room does not have a mini bar, you have to ask for a “mini bar package”. There is a kitchenette in the room, which we did not really want, nor needed (not advertised in the brochure). We used two glasses to drink some juice but the maids did not wash them… The room towels reminded me of my gym class towels (not a nice smell). The garden looks great in pictures but it is actually very small and crowded with lots of “reserved with a towel” lounge chairs. A section is fenced off and can only be reached by walking around the hotel. Since it was August, the hotel was full of children (mostly Portuguese guests) and the breakfast area was as busy as a train station. The cold cuts and many other items were of low quality, but there was plenty to eat. You get your coffee from a dispenser…I could go on and on. This place barely deserves 3 stars. It was my first Pestana experience and I’m not sure I would stay in any of their Algarve hotels. I’m sure it must be a lot nicer outside the peak season. We paid 200 euros per night per room, which was a complete rip off (same price as the deluxe Pousada de Loios in Evora!!). Luckily we only stayed for 3 nights.

We spent a week in Hotel Pestana Viking. We enjoyed the beach, and particularly the pool area, and the tennis (E10/hour), and we had a pleasant room with balcony looking out onto the garden. The hotel is rather cut-off; the local bus station is 45mins walk away in Armacao de Pera (don't bother spending a day in Armacao, its horrible). The quality of hotel food is OK but not worth the price, even with the 20% discount if you only booked B&B. Much better to go to the restaurant 'Mares do Sul' (just up the road from the hotel), which at first sight looks to be quite a business-style modern restaurant but has the best view, excellent food and very good service (there's a popular Italian restaurant close by, but this gives the same old pizza/pasta menu you can easily find at home).

Very disappointed we have stayed with Prestana resorts all over in Maderia and Portugal
but this was really below standard.
Plaster on the bed room walls was peeling off there was no hair dryer in room when we arrived and most of the electrical sockets were not working.
the food was so so plenty but a bit tastless.
The adult swimming pool was nearly all ways full of children and babies and you have to walk though the main bar to get to the pool , gym, and suna areas and back.
The hotel itself felt very dated and soulless.
There is a problem with sea gulls as there is a fishing village below the cliffs and the guls are around all the time making mess on the sun beds and trying to land in the pool also very noisey and when you go on your terrace they come down to bother you
We felt the rooms were not cleaned well and the tolietires were very basic cnsidering the price we paid.
The location is a bit out of town unless you have a car there is a supermarket a short walk away but very few places to eat so really if you do not have a car you have to eat at the hotel
Having said all that the view is great

Very peaceful, nice, middle-sized hotel with it´s own small beach, located a couple of kilometers from Armacao da Pera. You don´t necessarily need a car, as the hotel provides a shuttle bus to Armacao da Pera three times a day. The next airport Faro is not far away. We took a train from Lisbon to Albufeira and the taxi from the train station didn´t cost 20 euros. The hotel has a small, clean gym with a couple of good cardio machines and hand weights. The beach is great with golden sand and is safe as well, as it is in a small bay. You get beach towels every other day from the hotel. The pool area is nice as well.