Albufeira Sol Hotel & Spa

Fantastic hotel and location

We stayed in this hotel this month. It’s a shame because the hotel itself and all the “other teams” are excellent. They are the only reason which makes the holiday and the hotel doable as unfortunately the “front desk reception team” are very diabolical, intentionally unhelpful, miserable and rude. Definitely not service with a smile. It’s actually the restaurant staff (people such as Miguel, Yasmin and all others), all the bar staff (I.e. Diago) and the entertainment team (I.e vinny, Jonathous, lily, Morgan ect) and the lovely camera man who make the stay excellent. Maybe the reception team should get trained by them. Maybe they don’t have the top level management support behind them. But either way it’s not nice for the guests. The particularly rude staff was the girl with dark brown hair in the day time and the male on the evening shift. In all honesty they ruined our stay as you became too scared to ask them for anything as it was always met with rudeness or resistance. I cannot include the porter guy who takes the luggage to rooms in this as he greets you lovely, smiles and is very polite. When we arrived we was met at the reception who charged 100 euros deposit via credit card, a tax per adult in cash, 3 euros cash daily for the safe deposit and then from downstairs it is 20 euros cash deposit for each beach towel. This is very odd and a cheek given these are basics in pretty much all other hotels. When we arrived at the room there was no towels whatsoever and the shower tray filled up with water within 1 minute and would have overflowed onto floor. Also there was no bedding/blanket sheet for the sofa bed. I called reception at 5pm -6pm to log both issues on day 1. I called again 10pm and the towels finally arrived but nothing about the shower and bedding was mentioned/rectified. Therefore one member of family had to sleep with own shawl they bought from back home. I also had to use the towels they provided for the floor in the bathroom to wipe the overflow of water from shower tray and to avoid the place getting flooded. I phoned again on day 2 as to the shower next morning and also again the same evening about 5pm. The reception man didn’t seem bothered about us/the issue. After a frustrating conversation again they eventually sent a maintenance guy who said the problem had been fixed but actually it turns out it hadn’t as he wasn’t even aware of the problem until when I spoke to him. He then stayed 20 minutes and did the job well. However, unfortunately with that we ended up getting mosquitoes in the bathroom. I had to use the towels given earlier to hit them. Over the remainder of the stay of 5 days we kept seeing mosquitoes in the bathroom. When I asked for more towels from reception it was rejected. I said so Iv had to use the towels to protect your hotel from flooding and also get rid of the mosquitos as u haven’t sent anyone to help with those or even change our room as desperately requested at 11pm. I’m sure if I had let th

My family and I are on our last night of a 7 night stay at the Albufeira Sol Hotel and Spa, and while the hotel itself is large, clean, and spacious, we found a few points of contention that detracted from what could have been an excellent stay. The hotel’s appearance is impressive, and our room was very spacious. The main bedroom had two large single beds, and the living room contained sofa beds that could easily accommodate three children. There was also a small kitchen (which we didn't use as we were all-inclusive) and a good-sized bathroom with shower gel and shampoo provided. Our room was cleaned daily, and the sheets and towels were changed every few days, which was a nice touch. Our check-in experience was a bit frustrating. The check-in time isn't until 4 pm, and despite us arriving earlier, there was no flexibility or negotiation to let us know if a room was ready sooner. We were also surprised by the extra costs involved. We had to pay a €100 room deposit, and a safety deposit box rental was an additional €17. Given that we had paid £4,500 for our stay, this felt like an unnecessary charge. Pool towels, were available to rent at a cost €20 per towel and could be swapped daily for fresh ones. This was refundable at the end. The location is a major plus, being just a five-minute walk from the main *****, with a Spar and Aldi conveniently located nearby for any essentials. The outdoor areas are well-kept, featuring a large main pool and two smaller kids' pools. Unfortunately, all of them, including the free-to-use indoor pool and jacuzzi, were freezing cold. Food at the hotel was to a good standard. There was a good variety of choices every day, with some theme nights. My favourite was definitely Italian night! There were no slush puppies or milkshakes, and simple ice lollies and crisps were charged for. The hotel staff were generally pleasant and very attentive to clearing tables. When it comes to entertainment, there was some day time activity with one adult and one child activity each day, as well as a kids' club which we didn't use as our children are aged 11 and 13. Unfortunately, the evening entertainment was terrible. It catered mostly for very young children and didn’t last long, which meant the hotel lacked atmosphere in the evenings. I would avoid this hotel if your kids are over the age of 8 due to the lack of entertainment. Other hotels we’ve stayed at in the past have at least a few pool tables and quite often a gaming zone and access to watch soccer matches. This hotel only had one long pong table. There was a tennis court and football court but it looked run down and no activities took place in these during our stay. I also tried the day spa, which costs €7.50 to use. I would say save your money. It consisted of a small, cold jacuzzi, a steam room, and a small sauna. The "relaxation room" was far from relaxing as you could hear all the noise from the pool area. Lastly, the small indoor shop is handy for a