Alfagar Alto da Colina

"This being our first time in Albufeira we weren’t sure what to expect. The hotel is part of a village and unless you have small young kids I would look somewhere else. POSITIVES: the pools are great and there’s loads to choose from, the rooms are spacious and clean with good cooking facilities. The NEGATIVES: you need a taxi/uber to go anywhere as the shop/“supermarket” onsite is basic and very expensive. The bar staff are functional/rude (not all of course) but i was insulted by one when I asked her to fill my 3/4 beer she had poured. The entertainment is very poor to be honest and that was another reason to need a taxi to get away in the evenings. I didn’t eat there much but the food seemed okay from what I experienced and saw. The beach also requires a taxi ride so again more expense."

"Just back from a weeks holiday in this complex. Beautiful clean complex kept very well. We stayed in the main building and had a view of the sea we were on the second floor. I would agree with the previous review the lift are tiny for the size of the complex and were frequently out of order which is very difficult for customers with young children. The door on the second floor to the lifts was very difficult to open and when you did succeed in opening it and started walking down the stairs the lights did not come on so was a bit of a health and safety issue as the stairwell is quite dark. The apartment was spotless and the balcony was huge. the towels, utensils, and the bedding was great. The hot water was freely available. The pool area is quite big and well kept i was surprised there is no lifeguards on any of the pools. The pool area was quite and very family focused. There is a lot of weeds between the tiles and some loose tiles which need repair. Breakfast was good and plentiful staff were very pleasant. The entertainment around the main pool area was good fun but not much for young kids. The kids mini disco was at 17.45 in the aparthotel which is near by and which we had access to. It was in an area called the fun zone which was basically outdoors beside the pool lots of trip hazards and very close to the pool area which is also a health and safety issue. Alfagar need to do a lot better in this regard the mini disco is poor no investment and the music was pathetic. There was to be a Super Mario disco on Friday 5th there was zero connection with Super Mario and loads of very disappointed kids. The best restaurant in the various complex's is the Cafeteria in the Prestige nice staff welcoming to kids and good food. Overall Alfagar Alto de Colina is worth a visit and is ideal for families but there is a lot to be improved upon also and they should not loose sight of the needs of the young children who are their main customers"

"Just got back from here after a week holiday. 2 adults 3 children aged 1-7. - On arrival we were dropped off at the bottom of a hill, it’s not a big hill but it’s quite steep… with 4 large suitcases, 3 children (one in pram) plus 5 smaller bags… we didn’t get any help from the hotel, which I thought was a bit piss poor. We’d been awake since 3am we were exhausted from all the travelling. However, there is a suitcase trolley in reception for you to use, so don’t struggle like we did :) - the hotel itself, is beautiful, everywhere was clean and tidy, and it was kept like that for all of the holiday. The pool areas kept clean and tidy, the outside front of the hotel kept very clean and tidy also, with beautiful trees and flowers. The only thing we struggled with and many others, is the amount of lifts available for the size of the hotel, there just isn’t enough and the lifts are small too.. during busy times it was just impossible to get downstairs with a pram…. A lot of this was due to ignorant lazy people who could have just used the stairs! I know you shouldn’t judge others as you never know.. but most of them were clearly able to 😅 lifts should be left to people who need them. I can’t imagine what it would be like during the busier times. There was a broke lift on a few occasions which didn’t help. But minor problem! We had to carry the pram down stairs a few times but that’s because we didn’t want to wait even longer. - Check in was quick and simple, we were surprised they allowed us to check in earlier too, absolute bonus when you’ve been travelling through the night with children. We arrived around 2pm and checked in, (check in is usually 4pm). I think the hotel was quite quiet so had plenty of rooms available to do this. Made up for the lack of suitcase help 😅 - the room - we just got a basic one bedroom apartment, but it was spacious, clean. Had plenty of kitchen appliances to help with self catering option. Only downside was the stuff to cook was quite cheap, esp frying pan being sticky! But we made it work, and usually this is because people steal valuable stuff. The balcony we got was pretty huge! And it was amazing the view was perfect.. the only downside was being on the wrong side! Because we got the sun for 2 hours a day in the morning, but that isn’t the fault of the hotel 😬 we were in apartment 107 in the main building, floor one.. so on the left side. The bathroom was clean, spacious but bath is quite small and water pressure wasn’t the best at times, probably due to many using it at same time. But didn’t really bother us too much. Think this is quite common in hotels. Cleaners came in daily cleaned floors, changed beds however my little boy had an accident couple of times due to being unwell and they didn’t replace the quilt, cleaner didn’t seem to impressed either but we did explain we brought a bed mat from home but it was that big of a wee it went through it! Can imagine it’s frustrating for them to clean but I stripped it for them. However other than that they were polite and did a great job of keeping it clean for us. - The hotel itself has about 3 different buildings, providing several different pools all different sizes, different depths ranging from 0.4-1.55m .. perfect for all ages from non swimmers to swimmers even better the water slide area has a short depth which is perfect for toddlers, it’s only deeper at the bottom of the slides. The water is cold during the morning but in the afternoon they are a bit warmer making them more enjoyable, but once you are in you adapt .. and it’s nice during the hottest hours.. temperature was around 30-34 degrees a day. (1-7th June) I liked it had different pool areas because it meant there was plenty of sun loungers, and you had quieter pool areas, perfect for peace n quiet. There is an outdoor sheltered pool which was quite warm for those that don’t like the cold water. The water slides for children are great fun for all ages.. adults were allowed on one of the big ones but not the tunnel one. - Shop on site.. plenty in the shop but it was a bit pricy like all hotel shops are.. there is another shop down the road but found that to be expensive aswell… not great when you’re self catering.. you have got the option of UBER delivery .. which we took advantage of. - I found the toilets around the pool areas not the best.. twice my son got locked in one at the slide area and couldn’t open it. A few of the females didn’t have working locks, or lights. - can’t comment on the food from restaurants as didn’t use them. - it was a little bit of a ball ache going to the kids disco as it was over in the sister site, and I found it was quite late 19:45, but I think that was a me problem, tired by having kids up early. The problem we faced and others faced, was in the entertainment area they have like a gazebo covering the bar, and they have metal poles which several people including a child fell over.. the child hit his head off a bench after tripping. I think personally they need to provide ramps going over these as it is a major trip hazard, some of them do have black yellow tape on but useless. Another problem, was that we couldn’t really sit and relax with our children because with them being so young, the entertainment area is quite close to the pools, and at the other site too the tavern bar, think maybe a gate to stop young kids getting out would be useful, I know it’s the responsibility of the parents to watch own children, and I completely get that, I watch my kids like a hawk.. but just meant we couldn’t stay long. And I noticed other parents just chasing their toddlers too or following them around. We didn’t see any of the late entertainment as we went home to bed so can’t comment. The kids disco was ok, lots of songs kids didn’t know or recognise but that’s how you get them to learn different songs dances. Quick tip - if you can’t afford to buy floaters for the swimming pool, wait for the evening time and you might find some lying around! We took a couple for our children, and left them behind when we left for others to use. Also found some water guns. My kids enjoyed these all week. Great the hotel cleaners don’t get rid of them. We did bring a floater ourselves but it was popped when we blew it up. Another tip - if your on the main site, and you’re going over to the shop, there is lots of steps to go down, and a ramp to use for a pram but it’s quite steep, we realised after a couple of days.. there is a wooden bridge next to this.. if you follow it in to the building, go down the lift two floors, you avoid this! :) Overall, I’d rate the hotel 4-5* not many issues, and those issues are minor. It’s a lovely hotel, plenty to do, parks, pools, football courts etc. il likely stay here again if I came back to same area! :) but would get a better view room 😁"