3HB Guarana (ex. Riu Guarana)

Six friends in their 40s/50s/60s on a trip to Portugal for 5 days. The hotel felt grand walking into the lobby, once checked in and taxes paid, our room was ready. Plenty of food to choose from, good range of drinks on all inclusive, although the bottled wine seems nicer than the on tap, especially the red (but just our opinion) 😁 beer on tap, soft and hot drinks available without going to the bar during the day. We were out of season, so I can imagine this would be a lot busier and involve queuing in high season. We went to both speciality restaurants, preferring the Asian one. Hotel was clean, quiet, room had the basics you need, comfy bed. lovely indoor pool for a few laps first thing. Outside pool chilly to start, but being British, ok once you were in. aqua fit was always entertaining with the cleaning guy joining in 😁 no need for your own swim towels, collect at the pool and changed them as often as you like. Surrounding area, we used Ubers to venture into Albufeira and Vilamoura, it's a little way out, although we did walk back along the coast from Albufeira, was about 6miles. Beach is 5mins walk down hill, turn left and up some steps, you can venture further up more steps, that lead back up to behind the hotel. We went on the jeep safari which we booked through Get your Guide, rather than at the hotel. Can thoughly recommend. Evening entertainment seemed to be geared for the kids first, then a different act every night, however we tended to sit, drink and chat elsewhere. Overall a great little holiday. 😁🌞

Great hotel, rooms were cleaned daily and fresh towels provided. Food in the restaurant was very good, plenty to choose from. Lots to for children to do. Nice and close to.a lovely beach. The only negative was the temperature of the pools, probably ok in the height of summer but really cold in May.

Just outside Albufeira , just a short taxi ride to Old Town( 10 Euro's). Lovely hotel , all inclusive, food was excellent, staff where very friendly and always willing to help , hotel very clean. Didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to put a towel on a sunbed , as there was more than enough for everyone. Rooms cleaned every day, and the evening entertainment was good. Large outdoor pools and the Indoor pool was lovely and warm, a Jacuzzi and a sauna. Albufeira old town is lovely, plenty of shops and restaurants. The new town(7 Euro's) is more for the younger holiday maker, with plenty of clubs and bars , ideal for Stag and Hen parties I've been told. The hotel is part of the 3HB group of hotels and a lovely efficient place to stay. Will return at some point. The only negative is , the lifts were quite small and if a family with kids and pushchairs were in the lift, you could not get in.

We booked this hotel due to excellent reviews and proximity to the beach. Very difficult to fault, it was a hotel were they did almost everything veryy well, but there was no "wow factor". Mealtimes could be busy, so expect queues to get a table and a hot drink if you go for breakfast around 9am. The main restaurant, like so many in the Med, offers a buffet every mealtime. Whilst the food was a bit repetitive, there was always plenty of choice. The alternative "Mediterranean" restaurant (bookings only) offered similar food, but in a calmer environment. The "Oriental" (also bookings only) was our favorite due to the excellent sushi. Guests were mainly British and Irish and seemingly either retired couples or young families with not much in between. There were a lot of children, so if you want a near "adults only" experience this may not be the place for you. The staff were helpful and friendly, without exception. Cleanliness seemed to be a high priority and our room was serviced daily. For a 500 room hotel, it is built on a fairly small plot, which adds to the sense of it feeling busy. The sunbeds, whilst plentiful, are packed in tightly with barely any gap between them. Similarly, the main bar also felt congested and hard to navigate, particularly if carrying a round of drinks! But these, really, are just niggles. The beach was a 10 minute walk. (Turn right out of the hotel and head uphill to the sister 3HB hotels, then follow the footpath 10m to the left of the black Porto Bay hotel sign and that will get you to the long and sandy Belharucas Beach).

We had a lovely 10-day holiday here. The location is excellent — we could walk to the beach, and there was a nice selection of shops along the way. The beach itself, with its surrounding cliffs, offers breathtaking views. Our room was fine: quiet, comfortable, and conveniently located near the lift. My only complaint, and the reason for giving 4 rather than 5 stars, was the lack of tea and coffee-making facilities in the room. We usually like to start the day with a hot drink before going down for breakfast, so we were really looking forward to one in the restaurant. Unfortunately, it seemed everyone else had the same idea, and there were long queues at all the coffee machines. They frequently stopped working due to running out of milk and other supplies, and the poor staff were run ragged trying to keep up. The machines were also only switched on at breakfast time, so it wasn’t possible to have a coffee after lunch or dinner. We ended up walking to the nearest supermarket and buying a kettle on the second day. That was really my only negative point. I found the food to be of good quality, with plenty of variety, and the staff were always very friendly, helpful, and smiling. There was entertainment every night — some acts were better than others. As the programme runs on a weekly schedule, we ended up seeing the same performances twice during the last few days of our holiday. I’m glad we travelled when we did, as it became noticeably busier during the second week, with more young children around. At our age, we tend to prefer a quieter atmosphere. All in all, we had a very good holiday.