Pestana Blue Alvor Beach
Pestana Blue Alvor Beach is a completely renovated five-star all-inclusive resort on the western Algarve in Portugal, set on a hillside above the Blue Flag sand of Praia dos Três Irmãos at Alvor. Families come for a beach below the resort, family pools, a kids' club for ages four to twelve, with all the meals and drinks folded into one price.
On this page
Is it worth it?
The quick read: who this resort suits, what the all-inclusive covers and the facts to skim first.
Pestana Blue Alvor Beach is a completely renovated five-star all-inclusive resort on the western Algarve, above the Blue Flag sand of Praia dos Três Irmãos at Alvor. Everything sits in one price on an all-inclusive wristband: your meals, snacks and drinks, the kids' club for ages four to twelve, the pools, sports and entertainment. Guests rate the location and the staff most highly, and the modern rooms too. The cautions are that there's no childcare for children under four and the outdoor pools are often cold. Some guests also feel the dining and service read as a strong four-star rather than a five. You'll get the most from it if you want a beachfront all-inclusive with a young family and you're happy without a crèche.
Best for
You want a five-star all-inclusive with a Blue Flag beach below, a kids' club from four, family pools and everything in one price.
Maybe not for
You need childcare for a baby or toddler under four, you want a warm pool in high summer or flat ground with a pushchair throughout.
Best ages
Four to twelve, the kids' club range. Babies and toddlers are welcome too.
What stands out
The beachfront setting above Praia dos Três Irmãos, the renovated rooms and the staff, the things guests rate highest.
What to check
The themed-restaurant booking for your stay length, and that your booking is this Pestana and not one of its similarly named neighbours.
Where is it?
Above Praia dos Três Irmãos at Alvor on the western Algarve in Portugal, about 70 to 75 minutes from Faro airport.
Quick facts for families
What the resort is like
Where it sits above the beach, how it's laid out and what getting around means with a pushchair.
The resort sits on the western Algarve coast at Alvor, a former fishing village, on high ground above Praia dos Três Irmãos. It was relaunched from the older Pestana Delfim Beach and Golf Hotel after a full renovation and now runs for families under the Pestana brand, year-round. Pestana describes it as the Algarve's first all-inclusive five-star hotel built from scratch for families. The grounds are large, put at around 120,000 square metres in operator listings, roughly twelve football pitches, with the rooms spread across what operator listings put at thirteen two-storey buildings, in landscaped gardens that step down the hillside toward the sea. For the wider region, its beaches and when to go, see our Algarve guide.
Getting around means walking, and the paths are paved but hilly, so a pushchair on the steeper stretches is a two-adult job. Only electric vehicles use the resort roads, which keeps the air clean and the noise down, and there are two lifts in the buildings. Staff have sign-language training. If your room sits a long way from the main pool or the buffet you'll have a proper walk to them, worth bearing in mind with a tired toddler. Check-in is from 3pm and check-out by noon. Parking on site is free subject to space, and there's a small shop and a laundry and dry-cleaning service, both chargeable.
Pestana runs two other similarly named hotels close by, the Pestana Alvor Praia and the Pestana Alvor South Beach, so check your booking names this one, Pestana Blue Alvor Beach, and not a neighbour.
Every restaurant and bar
The buffet, the two à la carte restaurants, the poolside snacks and how the booking works.
The resort is all-inclusive only, with no bed-and-breakfast or half-board option, and you're given a wristband when you arrive that covers everything: all your meals, snacks and drinks, the kids' club, the pools, the gym, sports, mini golf, the entertainment, Wi-Fi and parking. Dining is built around one buffet and two à la carte restaurants, with a poolside snack stop and two bars. If you'd rather eat quietly in your room, room service is there as a lower-key alternative to the restaurants.
Acqua is the buffet and the main dining room for families, serving international and regional food with a different themed dinner each evening. Breakfast runs 7.30am to 10.30am, brunch 10.30am to 12.30pm, lunch 12.30pm to 2.30pm and dinner 6.30pm to 10pm, with ice cream from midday. It's the easy option with young children, a wide spread to pick from and no fixed sitting, so you can eat when a toddler's appetite arrives. Breakfast draws praise for being varied and plentiful. Opinions on dinner are split: some guests find it repetitive or uneven, while the themed nights are a regular highlight.
Luigi is the Italian à la carte restaurant, pizzas and pastas with a buffet of starters and desserts alongside, open for dinner only from 6.30pm to 10pm. It needs a reservation. Italian food generally goes down well with children.
Fuego is the surf and turf restaurant, grilled meats and seafood made with local ingredients, again dinner only from 6.30pm to 10pm and by reservation. The resort describes it as its elegant option, so it leans more to a grown-up dinner than a family one.
Coral Pool Bar is the poolside stop, open 10.30am to 11pm, serving hot snacks from 12.30pm to 7pm, burgers and fries among them, as well as drinks through the day. The burger-and-fries side works well for children who don't want to leave the pool. There's also the McBlue Food Truck by the pool as a further poolside option.
Bubbles Bar is the lobby bar for the end of the day, cocktails and international drinks from 6.30pm to midnight.
How the restaurant booking works
The buffet, Acqua, is open to everyone at every meal with no booking. The two à la carte restaurants, Luigi and Fuego, need a reservation, and how many you get depends on how long you stay: a stay of up to three nights is buffet only, four to six nights gives you one à la carte booking and seven nights or more gives you two. They fill up quickly, so make your bookings as soon as you arrive rather than leaving it.
Rooms
Every bookable room with its size, the four pools across the resort and the Blue Flag beach below.
Four room types are bookable, spread across the resort's two-storey buildings. The table shows each with its size and how many it sleeps; sizes are approximate, around 25 square metres for the two Classic rooms and around 27 for the two Family rooms.
| Room | Size | Sleeps | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Garden View | ~25 m² | 2 adults | Garden, double or twin |
| Classic Sea View | ~25 m² | 2 adults + 1 child | Sea-view balcony |
| Family Sea or Garden View | ~27 m² | 2 adults + 2 children | Ground floor with terrace, king or twin plus sofabed |
| Family Superior Sea View | ~27 m² | 3 adults + 1 child | Sea view, three beds |
For a family with a baby or toddler, the Family Sea or Garden View is the natural choice. It's on the ground floor with a terrace, so you step straight outside without a lift, which is the easiest set-up with a pushchair, and it sleeps two adults and two children on a king or twin beds plus a sofabed. The Classic rooms are smaller at around 25 square metres, and while a travel cot fits, there isn't much room to move around it once the luggage is in. The Classic Garden View shows a maximum of two adults; a travel cot for a baby usually goes in as a free extra that doesn't count as an occupant, but for that room it's worth confirming the cot with the hotel. The sea-view rooms are on upper floors, so you'll use the lift to reach them.
Every room has a private bathroom, air conditioning, a phone, Wi-Fi, a hairdryer, robes and slippers, a flat-screen TV, a safe and a balcony. The minibar is stocked with water and soft drinks when you arrive, which is handy for making up bottles. Travel cots are free, subject to availability. Some tour operators also list tea and coffee facilities in the rooms and interconnecting rooms for families who want two, so ask at booking if either matters to you. The four above are the room types in Pestana's own booking.
Four poolsPools
There are four pools, three outdoor and one indoors. The main outdoor pool is the family one, in the centre of the resort with sun loungers around it and a ramp into the water for anyone with reduced mobility. Alongside it is a separate children's outdoor pool with a pirate ship to clamber on, which doubles as the kids' club pool during club hours. Adults who want a quiet swim have the Relax Pool, a sea-view pool kept for guests aged sixteen and over.
Indoors there's a heated pool at 28°C with a maximum depth of 1.35 metres, the warmest guaranteed swim on site. It runs from October to May, 8am to 8pm, and closes completely from June to September, so it's a bonus for a spring, autumn or winter trip and not available in high summer. Access to the indoor pool can be restricted at busy times, so it's worth checking when you arrive if it matters to your plans. The one thing families raise most is the temperature of the outdoor pools. They aren't heated, and because this is the Atlantic coast rather than the Mediterranean, guests regularly find them cold, most of all in spring and autumn and most of all for young children. There are plenty of sun loungers around the pools, which isn't the case on the beach.
The beach belowThe beach
Praia dos Três Irmãos, the beach below the resort, is one of the best-known in the Algarve. It's a Blue Flag beach, a European award for water quality, safety and facilities, and it's really a string of connected coves under tall ochre limestone cliffs. At low tide you can walk between four of them, as far as a much-photographed double-arch rock formation carved out by the sea. The sand is golden and the beach is wide.
For young children the water shelves in gently and the coves are calm and shallow at low tide, which is what you want for paddling. Water shoes are a good idea, as there are rock ledges under the surface in places. The sea is the Atlantic, so it's cooler than the Med: comfortably swimmable from July to October, brisk in May, June and September, then cold through the winter. There's a seasonal lifeguard service, toilets and disabled access, and the beach restaurants and bars are run independently rather than by the hotel.
Getting down to the sand takes a little planning. The resort sits above the beach, and it's a walk of three to ten minutes down a steep slope depending on which building you're in. A seasonal mini train runs down to the beach, which is the practical option with a pushchair and beach kit, though its times aren't fixed. The beach is public, so the loungers and parasols on the sand are rented from independent operators and paid for, not laid on by the hotel, which surprises some guests who expect beach beds included. Alvor is known as a spot for kitesurfing and other watersports, run by outside operators from the beach and around the estuary.
Babies and toddlers
The kids' club and what's there for under-fours, everything that fills a family day and the days out beyond the gate.
The resort is well set up for children aged four to twelve and more limited for those younger. The Kids Club, included in the all-inclusive price, runs for ages four to twelve with its own animation team, a separate children's buffet, digital games, an outdoor space and themed shows in the evenings, and it uses the pirate-ship pool during club hours. It's open through the day.
For children under four there's no crèche and no supervised childcare. Families with a baby or toddler have the beach, the children's pool and the family pool, but you'll be with your little one throughout rather than handing them to a club, so don't plan around childcare for an under-four here. If you'd want babysitting, ask the hotel directly.
Travel cots are free, subject to availability, and the minibar comes stocked with water and soft drinks on arrival, which helps with bottles. Ask the hotel about a high chair before you travel if your baby will need one.
On resortThings to do
Plenty is included beyond the pools and beach. On the sports side there's a padel court, a multipurpose field for tennis, basketball and five-a-side football, pétanque (a French bowls game), football, mini golf, water aerobics and pool games. The gym is open 24 hours with cardio and strength equipment and plenty of natural light. Some of the courts may need booking on the day.
For children, the kids' club animation team runs sessions through the day: theatre plays, treasure and scavenger hunts, rally papers (paper-based adventure games), face painting and time in the pirate-ship pool. In the evenings there's live music, a kids' disco and cabaret-style shows for adults, and the animation team comes up by name repeatedly in guest reviews, which points to a settled team.
The spa sits within the indoor pool building and has a sauna, a Turkish bath and a jacuzzi, all for adults only, plus massages and beauty treatments that are paid for on top of the all-inclusive rate. Like the indoor pool, the whole spa area is closed from June to September, so a spa break needs a shoulder-season or winter trip. The resort also has access to five Pestana golf courses, the nearest being Pestana Alto about 2 miles (3 km) away; green fees aren't part of the all-inclusive rate.
Off resortThe area and days out
Alvor village is a ten-minute walk away, a traditional Algarve fishing village with a compact old quarter, a harbour of colourful boats and a sheltered estuary. It has cafés, bakeries, restaurants and a small market, and the seafront is flat and easy with a pushchair. Alongside the old streets, the seafront itself is a strip of tourist bars along a hill and a little run down in parts, so it suits a family here for the beach and the estuary more than one expecting a smart promenade.
That estuary, the Ria de Alvor, has a boardwalk running through salt marsh and mudflats where flamingos, herons and wading birds feed. The full loop is about 4 miles (6 km), and the boardwalk section is fine for a pushchair, though it's a long walk for small legs. It's free. Further afield, Portimão, the Algarve's second city, is about 3 miles (5 km) away with a waterfront, seafood restaurants, a marina and transport links. Lagos, a walled historic town about 8 miles (13 km) away, has fine beaches at Praia da Dona Ana and Praia do Camilo and the Ponta da Piedade rock formations. Dolphin-watching and cave boat trips run from Alvor, Portimão and Lagos, including tours to the Benagil sea cave with its natural skylight, about two hours from Portimão.
For a day out with children, Slide and Splash at Lagoa is the Algarve's largest water park, with more than twenty-five slides, a wave pool and children's areas, roughly 7 to 9 miles (12 to 15 km) away and open in the summer season. Two more parks sit further east: Aqualand at Alcantarilha, about 22 miles (35 km) away, and Zoomarine near Guia, about 31 miles (50 km) away, with dolphins, sea lions, penguins and rides. Other trips include Lagos Zoo about 9 miles (15 km) away, the Moorish castle at Silves about 19 miles (30 km) away, and Sagres with Cabo de São Vicente at the south-western tip of Europe, about 35 miles (57 km) away, for cliffs, a fortress and a lighthouse.
Loves and gripes
What families rate and what frustrated them, how it stacks up against the alternatives, the journey in and the weather by month.
Guests rate the resort well across the review sites. It scores 8.4 out of 10 from 373 English-language reviews on Booking.com, four out of five from around 789 reviews on TripAdvisor, where it ranks sixth of thirty hotels in Alvor, 4.4 out of 5 on On The Beach, and 4.7 out of 5 across Google and Booking.com combined on Pestana's own site. Location is the highest of Booking.com's category scores at 9.2, with staff close behind at 9.1. Here's what families consistently praise and what they consistently flag.
What families love
- The location and beachfront setting, its highest-rated feature.
- The staff and the animation team, often named in reviews.
- The modern, renovated rooms.
- The family atmosphere, with a well-reviewed kids' club and entertainment for children and adults.
Common gripes
- The cold outdoor pools, the most consistent complaint, especially for children.
- A feeling among some guests that the dining and service read as a strong four-star rather than a five.
- The themed-restaurant booking: short stays miss out and the tables fill fast.
- No hotel loungers on the public beach, which are rented separately.
A couple of these are worth a fuller word. On value, guests like the all-inclusive format and not having to keep paying through the day, though value for money is the lowest of Booking.com's category scores, behind location, staff and comfort, so it's the format people like more than the price. On the star rating, the resort is officially a five-star in Portugal, and the four-star feeling some guests describe is about the dining and service rather than the rooms or the setting. Opinions on the size are split too: some find it busy at peak times, others that it never feels overcrowded, which is the trade-off of a resort this large. One guest early in the season found the daytime entertainment thin, set against consistent praise for the evenings, so that may be an early-season quiet spell rather than the norm.
Against the alternativesHow it compares
In Alvor itself the direct comparison is the Tivoli Alvor, also an all-inclusive family resort a mile or two away. Tivoli is more spread out with a wider children's programme, a Junior Club for ages four to fourteen, an outdoor cinema and its own children's dining area; Pestana Blue is newer, closer to the beach and scores a little higher on location and staff, 8.4 against Tivoli's 8.1 to 8.3 on Booking.com. The choice is largely personal: Tivoli for a slightly bigger children's offering, Pestana Blue for the beach setting and the newer rooms.
For dedicated provision for the very youngest, Martinhal Sagres, about 35 miles (57 km) south-west, is the Portuguese benchmark, with a crèche from six months and age-banded clubs including teens. It isn't all-inclusive, it costs more and the transfer is longer, so Pestana Blue is the easier pick for all-inclusive convenience, a shorter transfer and value, while Martinhal is unmatched if childcare for an under-four is your priority. Vila Vita Parc, about 19 miles (30 km) east, is a different and more expensive tier again, with a private beach and Michelin dining, rather than a like-for-like family all-inclusive.
The journey and the seasonGetting there and when to go
Faro is the airport, about 46 miles (74 km) away and roughly 70 to 75 minutes by car. There's no hotel shuttle, so arrange a private transfer or taxi in advance through a transfer service or your tour operator. By public transport, buses link Alvor and Portimão, and Portimão has a train station about 3 miles (5 km) away with connections to Lagos and Faro. By road it's about ten minutes to Portimão, twenty to Lagos and an hour to Sagres.
The resort is open all year now and no longer closes for the winter. The best months for young children are June to September for reliable warmth and low rain, with the sea at its most comfortable from July. May and October are strong shoulder months, with warm days, fewer crowds and the indoor pool and spa open. November to March is mild but wetter, with a cold sea, though the heated indoor pool makes a winter trip more workable. The one seasonal point to plan around is that the indoor pool and spa are the only parts that close, from June to September.
Month by monthWeather
The Algarve has hot dry summers and mild wet winters. The figures below are typical monthly averages for Alvor, taken from the nearest weather station at Portimão, about 3 miles (5 km) away.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16.5° | 8.5° | 49 mm | 6 | 16° |
| February | 17° | 9° | 42 mm | 5 | 15° |
| March | 19.5° | 11° | 38 mm | 4 | 15° |
| April | 21° | 12.5° | 39 mm | 5 | 16° |
| May | 23.5° | 14.5° | 21 mm | 3 | 18° |
| June | 27° | 17.5° | 6 mm | 1 | 19° |
| July | 29° | 19° | 1 mm | 0 | 20° |
| August | 29° | 19.5° | 0 mm | 0 | 20° |
| September | 26.5° | 18° | 22 mm | 2 | 21° |
| October | 24° | 16° | 56 mm | 6 | 20° |
| November | 20° | 12° | 76 mm | 7 | 18° |
| December | 17.5° | 9.5° | 90 mm | 7 | 17° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer.
Entry, health and good to know
The passport, visa and health basics for a UK family heading to Portugal, then the questions parents ask.
Portugal has no FCDO advisory against travel; the usual advice is to watch for street crime around busy nightlife areas late at night. UK visitors can stay up to ninety days in any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period without a visa, and your passport needs to have been issued less than ten years before you arrive and to have at least three months left after the day you plan to leave. The EU's Entry/Exit System is rolling out, so you may be asked to give a fingerprint and photo when you arrive; there's no charge and the record lasts three years.
For healthcare, a GHIC (the Global Health Insurance Card that replaced the EHIC) gives reciprocal cover, and travel insurance on top is strongly recommended; the region's main hospital is in Faro. Gov.uk also notes a higher risk of wildfires from April to October in hot dry weather, which can start anywhere in Portugal, so keep an eye on local advice in summer.
The questions parents askQuestions
Is it a good choice for a baby or toddler under four?
It's set up for children from four upwards, so there's no crèche or supervised childcare for younger ones and you'll be with your little one at the pools and the beach throughout. It works well for a family holiday with a baby or toddler if you're happy without childcare. If you specifically want a crèche for an under-four, Martinhal Sagres further south is the resort built for that.
We're only going for a few nights. Will we get into the à la carte restaurants?
Not on a stay of three nights or fewer, which is the buffet only. Four to six nights gives you one booking in Luigi or Fuego, and seven nights or more gives you two. They go quickly, so reserve on your arrival day.
Will the pools be warm enough for the children?
The outdoor pools aren't heated and guests often find them cold, most of all in spring and autumn. The heated indoor pool at 28°C is the warm option, but it's open October to May only, so a spring or autumn trip gives you a warm pool indoors and a high-summer trip doesn't.
How do we get down to the beach with a pushchair?
It's a walk of three to ten minutes down a steep slope, so with a pushchair and beach kit the seasonal mini train down to the sand is the easier way. The loungers and parasols on the beach are rented from independent operators, so you either pay for those or take your own shade.
Do we need a hire car?
Not for the resort or Alvor village, which is a ten-minute walk away. For days out to Lagos, the water parks or Sagres a car helps, though taxis are fine for the odd trip. There's no hotel shuttle from the airport, so book a transfer or taxi before you fly.
Is the resort open all year?
Yes, it's open all year and no longer closes for winter. The indoor pool and spa are the only seasonal parts, open in the cooler months and closed over high summer.
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Useful links
- Pestana Blue Alvor Beach: the resort's own site for rooms, restaurants, the pools and the kids' club.
- GOV.UK Portugal travel advice: entry rules, passport validity and safety updates before you travel.
- The Algarve with little ones: our guide to the wider region, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 17 July 2026.
