The Beachfront Praia D'el Rey Golf & Beach Resort

This was quite a challenging experience. First, the check in area is different than lodging area. We arrived after dark and the road is extremely isolated, long, dark and very bumpy. The main check in office seems more like a temporary office and very unexpected. It took awhile to be greeted due to only 1 receptionist. She was very pleasant once we were greeted. It took awhile to review information and we were given a map with location. This is where it went sadly difficult. We had to drive a bit to the "apartment". ( I didn't realize we were staying in an apartment and had expected a hotel/resort accommodation) The number we were assigned "BFA14" for the "apartment" was not marked on the exterior of the building anywhere. We drove and then walked extensively around trying to locate it. I finally located another resident/vacationer to ask them, and they had idea how to locate it either. Apparently we later learned the "BF" meant beach front, which was not explained. We were told the apartment was in back of building, however the units are only accessed from the front. Possibly we assumed the language barrier may have been to blame for misunderstanding. So over 30 minutes in the dark searching wasn't fun! The second disappointment....the heat did not work, the unit was freezing. The floors are all tile so it is really cold! The beds had only sheets and no pillows or blankets on the beds and also no window coverings in bedrooms or any decor other than furniture. We did find bedding in the closets, yet the blankets had hair on them and smelled dirty. We called the main number and learned the hotel is not affiliated with the resort and no one is available to help us regarding the heat as they leave at 8 p.m. When booking our place it was presented as a hotel room, however it was the resort apartment. This normally sounds like a great upgrade yet the difficulties left us struggling with getting assistance. The receptionist unexpectedly arrived 40 minutes after us calling the hotel and tried setting the thermostats but was unable to get the heat on. She later offered to move to another location yet by then we were exhausted from a long day of travel so we stayed. We slept on the couch with blankets she went out to find which took 20 minutes and we did appreciate her taking the time to help us . Now the very best part was waking up to a million dollar view of the ocean which overcame the difficulties of the previous night. This place is good if you are well informed of what to expect and great for a family or group of friends. Upon checking out, the manager was gracious and gifted us a bottle of wine and apologized for our absence of heat.

Our apartment was beautiful with a brilliant view of the sea. Sad to leave.

It is quite a disappointment and, unfortunately, quite a deception. A place that is published, sold and priced as a 5-star complex, part of the 5-star Marriott resort. But it is not, far from it. Don't get me wrong, the location is pretty good if you like remote, isolated beaches and spaces. The sunsets are fantastic and all the are is quite, calm and very well integrated with the environment. Even the buildings and the complex are well design and built. The apartments are spacious and the terraces are huge. The problem is that the decoration and the furniture inside reminds you of a 3-star apartment for students that want to party. And the maintenance is very poor too, many things broken, old, clearly nobody cares about them. Although I can live with old Ikea furniture (even if I'm paying for a 5-star place...), the worst part is the service you get, in terms of lack of it and lack of attention and responsiveness to asks (forget about proactiveness...). One of the things that a 5-star experience usually masters is the feeling that they are taking care of you and your needs. Here, the experience is like a bad airbnb managed by a low-paid 3-party company. If you like the location, go for any other villa or apartment in the complex, you'll probably pay less, get much better equipment and hopefully much better service. If you like to give away money, rent an apartment like in airbnb and enjoy the 2010 Ikea furniture line, this is your place. PS: I don't have anything against Airbnb or Ikea, they actually have quite good things, but usually when you rent a house/apartment in a 5-star complex you don't expect to compare against them.

The houses are located on the beach as advertised, however buckle up for a huge disappointment when you get there! The pictures are quite deceptive on the website! The apartments are located on the beach (beachfront), but you won’t have a view as it is advertised. You’re pretty much looking at the other apartments or some trash cans!!! We drove right back to the reception and told them that’s not what we booked and payed for! The staff is apparently pretty much used to this reaction from the guests and where completely indifferent 😐 the answer was there’s nothing about a see view in your reservation, it just says beachfront and that’s just the name of the complex!!! The Facilities in the apartments are very basic and there’s no service whatsoever. TV is not working. Breakfast is not included and you have to drive to the next restaurant. The only positive thing about the whole complex is the location, if you like to be isolated and have a bit of peace and quiet.

Gorgeous beach - our condo could have used some personality- zero art or character. 3 bedroom - 3.5 bath condo Master is on the lowest floor, middle kitchen, living room and top floor 2 bedroom with attached bathrooms. Best view was top floor small balcony.