Decided to stay at the Palacio based on the reviews on TripAdvisor having stayed previously at the somewhat 'sterile' Crowne Plaza.
Most impressed by the calm peaceful upmarket atmosphere, quality of the accomodation, public areas, restaurants, pools and gardens, and the spa facilities offering a variety of treatments which were reasonable value for money.
The staff were without exception efficient and courteous and prepared to go the extra mile for customer satisfaction.
Liked the Colonial Bar good cocktails and they even made Cuba Libre to my recipe for me. The music was good and well played by a father and daughter combo who granted my request for 'Europa' by Carlos Santana even if it was bit too modern for most of the guests!! ( I had to be one of the youngest guests in the hotel and I am approaching my mid-forties)
4 course meal in the Cristavao Columbus restaurant in the evenings was generally good value (32 Euros /c. £21.50/c.$40) and the wine was reasonably priced as long as you stick to the Portuguese ones. Of course you could find cheaper restaurants locally - eat out at lunchtime if you have not had enough of the very high standard buffet breakfast (you can even get good porridge!).
The final night was a tiny bit less satisfactory with a buffet dinner and cultural / folklore show which was given a miss - it was a pity that the ViceRei restaurant was not open that night otherwise would have definitely sampled it's upmarket offering. It was not the hotels fault - should have read the information in the room more thoroughly.
I was given a tariff sheet for any future visits which offered good value for money. In future I would book direct and choose a junior suite for us (200 Euros / night in June) or possibly even a Deluxe Suite on the 8th floor (280 euros / night in June) if I was feeling rich.
