"We visited Hotel Algarve Casino in October 2026 as a family of four (2 adults and 2 teenagers).
The sea view suite, with a separate double bedroom and separate lounge with two sofa beds, linked via a long balcony, was perfect for our family.
We had an incident at the beginning of our stay which the hotel dealt with quickly and effectively, and were moved to a different sea view suite. The hotel kindly sent to our room some sweets and treats for the family as an apology, which we thank them for.
The sea view suite looks straight onto the beach/sea with an amazing sweeping view. You can also look down to the pool area from the balcony too. Listening to the rhythm of the sea from your bed was one of my highlights.
The sea view suite has large rooms and two large bathrooms. The showers are over baths, but the water was always hot and powerful.
There is plenty of wardrobe and drawer space and housekeeping came every day to clean and replace towels. They also provided a very welcome service of turning back our bed covers and popping a chocolate on our pillows for when we returned after an evening out (not sure if this was all rooms or just the sea view suites?).
I have to highlight the room cleaning was exceptional and we thank the staff for being so thorough and diligent.
The hotel/room decor is intentionally based on times gone by, which can come across as dated, as it is far from modern, but everything is looked after well and is part of the charm of the hotel.
There was one annoyance though which was early mornings and during dusk there were large groups of birds (maybe swifts?) swooping around the balcony area (maybe hunting for insects in the warm air??), which we became used to but were also an irritation too. The birds never came near the balcony windows but you couldn’t open the doors wide, during these times, due to the risk of a bird flying into the room. In fairness though, this wasn’t the fault of the hotel.
The hotel has a lovely relaxing Reception/bar area, especially in the evenings when stopping by to have a drink before bed. There is also an outside veranda, overlooking the pool, where you could have a drink day or night. Staff were always polite and friendly.
You wouldn’t even know there was a casino built adjacent to the hotel. There is a doorway linking them but it is subtly placed and the two properties function independently.
The breakfast is very good. Lots of staff working hard in that area with an abundance of selection from fruits, croissants, breads, ham, cheese yoghurts, cereals with extra additions of salmon and a glass of breakfast bubbly, if you fancied it!
The main pool is salt water with plenty of available loungers around the pool. There’s also a children’s pool with a small play area attached for the little ones. Pool towels are provided each day (you’re given a card on check in to exchange for a pool towel), which is next to a spa area too. The pool toilets were impeccably clean - never seen such immaculate toilets next to a pool. There’s also a parrot called Laura who chats away to you near the spa area/pool towel exchange. Apparently she’s been there 18 years so is very much part of the hotel. The children loved her! Adjacent to the pool is a nice cafe for lunch which sells ice creams too. From the pool there are steps down to a wooden boardwalk so you are on the beach in minutes. The beach is wide and vast with many bars/snack restaurants along the front and a section of sunbeds/umbrellas to hire if you prefer the beach experience. Some of the beach restaurants were open until 10pm so you could dine there in the evening if desired. The day time menus were all quite similar, but we took a liking to a restaurant called ‘Tropical’ as always welcoming, friendly and good food.
There is a ‘strip’ of bars and restaurants along the road from the hotel, paralleling the beach but at the top of the cliff. We ventured here once with the children but it was very commercialised and not the authentic Portuguese experience we were after.
Opposite the hotel is a good Italian called Dolce Vita and further down the road (to the right as you come out of the hotel) is Portimao Marina where the NH Collection hotel is. There is a selection of nice restaurants along the South Deck side (which is a 10 minute walk from Hotel Algarve Casino). It is from the end of the south deck you can catch a water taxi to Ferragudo (takes all of 7 minutes - will attach their business card in my photos) — highly recommended. There are some lovely authentic Portuguese buildings there, a church, tourist shops and a small square with restaurants.
Another must is to book an Uber to Alvor. Takes around 12 minutes in the taxi and costs around €6. Another pretty village full of shops, restaurants, church and we enjoyed a delicious lunch on the seafront.
We visited Portimao old town via taxi one evening and were pretty disappointed. There was a lovely church in the centre but not much else - maybe it was the time of year we visited though as very quiet.
In summary, a really pleasant family stay at a reasonably priced hotel on a beautiful beach."
