Albufeira Sol Hotel & Spa

“An honest, detailed review.”

I'll start by saying this review is long, but it is realistic. There are some "issues" but nothing worthy of less than 5 stars. Skip to the end for a pros and cons summary. The hotel is spotless. Rooms clean and furnished nicely. Pool area hosed down daily and skimmed throughout the day when t... more

I'll start by saying this review is long, but it is realistic. There are some "issues" but nothing worthy of less than 5 stars. Skip to the end for a pros and cons summary. The hotel is spotless. Rooms clean and furnished nicely. Pool area hosed down daily and skimmed throughout the day when the wind blows leaves in. Plates and glasses cleared quickly in the restaurant and bar - the staff are so attentive but you never feel like they're rushing you. If you're in the restaurant at the end of meal times, someone will approach you to ask if you'd like to grab anything else before they remove the food - such a simple touch, yet most hotels are too eager to kick you out. All the staff are so friendly and it never seems insincere. The animation team work tirelessly day and night, encouraging you to join in but also giving you space when you need it. They even offer to help you move your sun lounger. We were there at a quieter time of year it seemed. I would be concerned about the amount of sun loungers during school holidays; the pool area is quite small. We managed to find beds whatever time we arrived, but there is definitely a problem with people reserving them - we lay down at 1:30pm and the beds next to us weren't occupied until 4:30pm, despite having towels on them. I did witness guests removing towels and there wasn't any confrontation, but staff should really be monitoring this. The main problem with the pool area is the giant parasols: they cover 80% of the sun loungers, and one side of the pool doesn't see sun til early afternoon, so if you want to catch some rays, you'll need fight for them. We always found something to eat, but I will admit they had some odd salads - kiwi and pineapple often found their way in - but this is obviously to reduce waste a repurpose foods, and they do have a salad bar where you can choose your own ingredients. If you are vegetarian, you will struggle. If you are vegan, maybe avoid. We are lucky to have no dietary restrictions, and always had full plates of delicious food. Despite the hotel having a kids club and an excellent animation team, if you have a fussy eater, it might be a struggle at meal times: no usual "kids station" with nuggets, but there was pizza and chips every lunch and dinner, so you could definitely get by. There was another station that wasn't in operation when we were there mid June, so that could present other options. All inclusive snacks were fine - burgers, chips, ham, cheese, fruit salad, yoghurt, pastries. They were self serve and I feel they were not refilled as often as they could have been, especially the pastries. On the topic of self serve: all drinks outside of meal times are bar service only (except water). Most all inclusive hotels have beer and soft drinks for guests to help themselves, so that's a shame. Standard selection of all inclusive drinks: local spirits, beer, soft drinks, knock off baileys. Cocktails from a machine were just okay. The hotel could benefit from introducing reusable cups. All drinks outside of the restaurant are served in disposable cups. Even when you take them back to the bar for a refill, fresh cups are given. Personally I don't mind not being given glass in the evenings; I would just rather they were reusable. All inclusive finishes at 11pm but that didn't bother us, as we headed out afterwards. The new town is a 5-10 minute stroll from the hotel. We took the side street directly across the main road - it brings you out halfway down the strip. Be warned: it is a bit mad. We weren't there to party hard, so Ancora and Wild & Co were our preferred bars. If you have children and want to venture out at night, head to old town instead. Oura beach is a 15 minute walk, but I'd recommend Oura beach east for a more relaxing day out. You can walk between the two when the tide isn't up to the rocks, or follow google maps for a direct route from the hotel. Old town was a 40 minute power walk, but the hotel do offer a free shuttle. The beach there is busy so if you're solely visiting for that, stick to Oura east. Transfer with Jet2 was 90 minutes arriving, due to multiple drop offs. Return was 45 minutes direct, so I would recommend a private transfer, although the 90 minutes flew by. If I visited Albufeira again, I would definitely stay here, for great access to new town and the beach. PROS Squeaky clean throughout Amazing, friendly staff Fresh, tasty food Great animation team Good selection of all inclusive drinks Close to new town with free shuttle to old town during the day Very walkable location close to beach, shops, restaurants, bars CONS Small pool area with too many parasols and sunbed hogging Not for vegans. Picker eaters get pizza and chips No self serve drinks outside meal times Disposable cups even at the main bar All inclusive finishes at 11pm Far to walk to old town 90 minute transfer but 40-45 direct

less