Algarve Gardens Hotel & Apartments, Albufeira

We were feeling very sorry for ourselves when we had to leave this fantastic hotel to come home. We pent a week here, which wasn't enough. We stayed in a two-bedroomed villa, which was more like a private villa than an apart-hotel (which we thought was what we'd get). You can stay in hotel rooms in the main hotel building, but with a family you'd prefer one of the apartments (ranging from one beds to two beds). We were amazed when we entered the villa for the first time, as the space was superb. We had two bedrooms, a seperate kitchen kitted with washing machine and microwave and an oven. We also had two bathrooms - one main one, and another with a shower cubicle and sink and WC in it. The lounge had a fireplace in one corner, in Portuguese style. It was tiled and decorated very nicely and was spotlessly clean. It also had a pull out bed under the sofa, so we could have brought the mother in law after all (ahem). We asked for a cot for our toddler and it wasn't there when we arrived but we phoned reception and one was brought to us straightaway. The lounge led out to a large cobbled patio with palm trees and shrubs, and we had garden furniture, and steps leading to the roof sun terrace (which we only used for ball games - it was too hot to be up there and bake). We hadn't expected to be so self-sufficient in our villa, but we made use of the self-catering facilities and did our own barbecues in the terrace. The hotel itself is massive, and for a 3-star hotel seems to have more than you'd expect. A bar and cafe serving drinks, cocktails, snacks (such as toasted sandwiches, fries). There is a restaurant for the evenings but we didn't try it as we had our son back at the villa in bed after a long day at the beach, so we tended to make something at the villa. Through the hotel and out the other side is a large pool with sunloungers around the edge, and a lawn for sunbathing and playing on. A pathway leads through it, down a little path to the beach (3 mins walk) along a boardwalk where there is a beach cafe and toilets. We found this really handy as it saves you trecking back to the hotel all wet and sandy if you need the loo or a drink. The beach itself is beautifully sandy with gentle, warm sea, and the backdrop is stunning rust-coloured cliffs. You don't find many British folk here, but we did encounter many friendly Portuguese people here, having their holidays with their family. My son made friends with a little girl on the beach, and they played happily for hours. A very friendly and safe environment. No watersports or anything too hustle-bustle here. The hotel is veyr close to shops, cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, fresh fish shops and much more. The hotel has details of local excursions, and has lots of leaflets for days out, and can organise car hire (there's parking at the hotel but a bit pushed for space at times). There's a kids disco at about 8pm, which we would do now that our son is older. I'd recommend this hotel to anyone travelling with children of any age. In peak season there's a kids club but it was closed in September when we were there. Ten out of ten for our spacious accommodation and beach access!