A Fabulous Family Holiday in the Algarve
We stayed at the five star Grande Real Santa Eulalia Resort and Spa hotel which is about a 15 minute walk from the centre of Albufeira. We had a family suite with sea view and balcony. It was just beautiful to wake up to hear the sound of waves lapping onto the beach - it's that close! The suite consisted of two separate bedrooms, two separate bathrooms, a mini fridge and a TV in each room which was ideal for a family of four.
This hotel has fantastic facilities for families and couples alike. It has two large swimming pools one of which is heated and a baby pool. It also had a brilliant kids club which had a daily programme, a playground area, tennis and basketball court, a games room and TV room for teenagers. The hotel has private direct access for hotel residence to the beautiful beach of Santa Eulalia. For the adults there is a spa and music entertainment at weekends.
We stayed on a Bed and Breakfast board basis there was loads of hot and cold choices which even included champagne and their freshly squeezed orange juice was just to die for. On the evening of my daughter’s birthday we had dinner at the hotel where the hotel surprised her with a complimentary birthday cake which was a great surprise to us all and really made my daughter’s birthday. I felt this was a nice personal touch by the hotel. For dinner there was a great variety of hot and cold food buffet style and there was also an A la Carte menu available which had a great variety of food also. Most evenings we would take the complimentary hotel shuttle bus to the old town or new town “The Strip”.
The old town is very family orientated with its pretty cobbled streets lined with quaint little restaurants, bars, cafes and shops. It also has a beautiful beach called ‘Fishermans Beach’ which the old town overlooks. Here we watched local people carve the most beautiful objects out of sand, it was fascinating to watch and the attention to detail was amazing. The New Town or “The Strip” runs downwards from the Hotel Montechoro, all the way down to the beach, dissected by the main road to Albufeira. It's full of bars and restaurants of all types, catering mainly for English/Irish tourists, along with some shops and a chemist (Farmacia).
The "tourist train" starts and finishes half way down the Strip, just past the main crossroads, outside the Vilanova complex. Most bars are open fronted, so there are lots of people watching opportunities. In general they are loud with a mix of Karaoke, Sky Sports and live acts/tribute night and more suited to a younger clientele.
The Grande Real Santa Eulalia Hotel and Spa is a very relaxing and peaceful hotel with very friendly staff, good for re-charging with more action and nightlife a short taxi ride away.
Albufeira is perfect for families, couples and singles of all ages and is central for all the tourist attractions, with the added bonus of a short transfer from Faro airport. We are looking forward to our next family holiday in the Algarve as we had the perfect family holiday!