Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Albufeira Sol Hotel & Spa is the Premier Choice for an All-Inclusive Holiday in the Algarve. A modern and elegant 4-star Property that offers the Ultimate comfort and service for a memorable stay, situated just steps from the most renowned beaches in the Algarve. The hotel features exceptional amenities and activities for the whole family and guests of all ages. Enjoy a relaxing and enjoyable stay with top-notch hospitality, wellness options, and convenient access to local attractions. Book your next All-Inclusive Family Vacation with us and Experience the perfect blend of luxury and beachside fun.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Quiet
Modern
Languages Spoken
English, French, Spanish, German and 1 more
Location
Rua Da Corcovada, Areias de Sao Joao, Albufeira 8200-664 Portugal
Name/address in local language
Albufeira Sol Hotel & Spa
4 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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Albufeira Sol Hotel & Spa is celebrated for its vibrant atmosphere, modern amenities, and prime location near beaches and shops, with a shuttle service for further destinations. While the hotel garners praise for its overall cleanliness and lively entertainment options, some guests have called out the cold indoor pool and perceived high prices at the spa.
The service quality appears to vary, with reports of both friendly staff and slower, less helpful interactions. Travelers have also expressed concerns about additional costs affecting the hotel's value.
Location
Convenient
Atmosphere
Lively
Rooms
Spacious
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Mixed
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Satisfactory
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This was our first visit to this hotel. On arrival about 11am we were given our wrist bands for all inclusive paid the room deposit €100 in cash (received back on departure day) and tourist tax for 3 was €42. We were told our room wouldn't be ready until 4pm, so we left our cases and went to the bar. The reception smells beautiful and was spotlessly clean, like the rest of the hotel. Receptionist spoke very quietly but she was pleasant.
The bar does a 2 drink per person rule but we managed ok as a group. Beer was nice as was other drinks on offer. One of the bar staff was ignorant, no communication skills what so ever.
The pool was a very good temperature and there were plenty of sun beds throughout the day. Indoor pool was free with toilets and showers inside, there is also toilets for the pool around the back side of the building near where the entertainment crew stand. This was not signposted. There was music on around the pool which I like whilst away.
The restaurant was lovely, lovely staff who greet you and something for all to eat. One of the nicest I've been too, the meat dishes were very good quality and the pizza was nice to according to my son. Food wasn't the hottest but that's the case with most buffet style restaurants. We did eat out most nights, which is our choice whilst away. The only night we did eat in was the Thursday and I struggled to find something as there was nothing taking my fancy. We did eat breakfast and lunch everyday though.
Our room overlooked the pool, very spacious for us with a separate kitchen area, pull out bed in the living area, bath, shower and main bedroom with ample storage and a safe €17 for the week. Maids came everyday.
The entertainment crew were great and worked hard getting people involved etc. They were very funny, oh yeah, don't be lazy be crazy haha. They had done a fantastic job of decorating the hotel for Halloween too.
My only niggle is there should be a designated smoking area around the pool and bar, as the outside bar area especially at night traps smoke and its not pleasant for those who don't smoke.
I noticed alot of French in this hotel as well as people from the UK.
Location of hotel was brill, 10 min walk from main strip and 40 min walk to the old town, both worth a trip. Beach was about 15 mins walk. Plenty of restaurants and shops around the hotel too. There is a bar at the top of the street where the bus drops you off which has two very chatty parrots and cheap drinks if you fancy a change of scenery.
Overall great hotel and I would highly recommend it. I would return if coming back to albufeira.
The only downfall was faro airport, complete nightmare getting through passport control leaving! It was manic and stressful.
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Date of stay: October 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We had a fabulous 5 night break in The Albufeira Sol. It is a lovely hotel in an ideal location for us as it was perfect for the places we planned to revisit. A few wrinkles but nothing that we couldn’t live with…
We booked a one bedroom suite and it was huge with a double terrace with pool view (great for photos) and because it was the end suite it was very quiet too.
The kitchen area was separate from the living space which I thought was excellent if a little dated. It was very well equipped. Plenty of crockery and cutlery, some decent size glasses and a working microwave and toaster. They even supply a kitchen towel, washing up liquid and a sponge.
The bathroom was a bit of a challenge, nice and clean with a decent hair dryer and plenty of space for your toiletries - though the hotel did supply plenty of hand wash, soap, shower gel and conditioner. What I found difficult was getting in and out of the shower in one piece - you have to have the psychical agility of a Crystal Maze competitor to stand in the bath due to the large glass door that acts as a shower curtain...Once you are in you then need the mental agility of a Krypton Factor competitor to work the tap system! Then you have to try and get back out again! By day 5 we had mastered it though and I am trying out for Survivor next week!
The bedroom was again huge with its own door to the balcony which I loved. Unfortunately a previous occupant of this room appears to have used the wardrobe as a toilet and every time we open one side of the wardrobe door it stunk like a rugby club toilet on New Year's Eve! Not ideal when you have your best clothes with you.
The living room was huge too, with a spare storage cupboard so we didn't have to use the wardrobe and a nice dining area but we used the terrace. Bedroom and living space both had TVs but we didn’t bother with them. Plenty of plug sockets and great lighting throughout the apartment.
It was way too cold to use the outdoor pool but I did have a swim in the indoor pool and found it to be very clean and lovely and warm. We didn't use the spa or other facilities. The hotel bus to the old town wasn't running due to winter hours but that didn't bother us too much as it wasn't in our plans and for what we paid for our break it was excellent value.
There's a decent size Aldi supermarket two minutes from the hotel which was very very cheap and well stocked and there are several nice resturants local to the hotel. We would highly recommend Made In India if you love a curry...so nice we went twice.
All the staff we met were very friendly and helpful, although we found the 4pm check-in a bit late we were aware of it and went to the delightful Amanhã há Mais Snack-bar on the corner which became our starting point for every evening.
I have to finish off by saying a massive thank you to Solange on reception for taking lots of nice photos of us each evening, it’s difficult to get nice photos together when there are just two of us and Solange was a great sport…MANY THANKS x
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Date of stay: November 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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We stayed here for the last week of the summer season and by the end of the week the number of guests had reduced considerably. The hotel displays a 4 star rating but, in my opinion it slightly misses the mark on this.
On arrival we paid our €100 room deposit and a porter helped deliver our luggage to our room. The room was very spacious with a sofa bed in the lounge for our daughter, separate bedroom and kitchen. The beds were comfortable and the room was cleaned everyday.
The complimentary bus to the old town was useful and reliable. We also paid €20 deposit at the spa to hire towels which you could change daily. We did not use the spa as this had an additional cost of €7.
The pool area was spotless, plenty of sun beds available. The entertainment team worked hard and activities were varied. We tried the escape room and enjoyed some of the evening entertainment. They definitely loved Halloween with themed shows and decorations around the hotel,
Food was ok. Pizza and pasta were available at every meal. You can help yourself to draught beer and wine as well as soft drinks. There was a Portuguese themed evening and a Mexican night. The layout of the food was a little confusing with the desserts positioned next to some main dishes and other main dishes were positioned in another area. We soon got used to this.
The biggest disappointment of this hotel was the bar where even in the evening, drinks were served in disposable plastic or cardboard cups. For a 4 star hotel this was not appropriate and did not make it a pleasant experience in the evening.
Overall we enjoyed our stay but I don’t think we will return to the hotel mainly due to the resort of Albufeira being over-commercialised and the poor bar service.
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Date of stay: October 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Â Use the complimentary bus service. Reliable and runs to time.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Looks nice in the pictures but not what it seems. Came with a family of 8 people checked in on the 24th of July for a week. Upon arrival the hotel reception was clean. You have to pay tax plus a deposit per room. All of our rooms were on separate floors one was a disabled room which the shower didn’t have a hook to hold it up and plus the drain cover had came off so studs were sticking out the floor. The rooms are fairly clean with A/C, the showers had no pressure and drainage was smelly and was over flowing.
The outdoor poor is nice and clean with a kids pool. There is an indoor pool with jacuzzi which wasn’t working and freezing cold.
My daughter cut her toe on a drainage gutter round by the pool which are metal so be warned to always were sandals.
Food and drinks - it’s the same food every day - the breakfast is ok standard. The sausages are under cooked and mushrooms swimming in grease. For lunch every day is pizza, chips, pasta ( which is under cooked and swimming in sauces and water etc.
The salads are always mixed with other fruits and salads so are unable to pick separate salads.
The deserts are always the same, moose’s and jelly’s and ice cream.
Drinks at the bar in the downstairs area are two drinks per person plastic or paper cups. If you want certain spirits you have to pay.
I can understand paper or plastic cups outside by the pool but inside is silly.
The entertainment was rubbish in the evenings very late if there was something going on and it’s super loud music and the microphones are really loud too especially for me if I wear hearing aids.
Any spar treatment you have to pay over the odds for as well.
There is an Aldi down the road which is good to get food and snacks for the room if you have a cooker in the room etc.
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Date of stay: July 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip: Don’t go it’s not worth the money
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Gonçalo Campos e Sá, Diretor-Geral at Albufeira Sol Hotel & Spa
This was a last min booking, we originally wanted to go self catering but opted for here as it was only an extra ÂŁ250 between us for an all inclusive so felt silly not to. The pictures looked abit dated compared to the 4 stars we are used to but when we arrived we were shocked to find the rooms looked a lot better than the photos. We upgraded to a pool view and our room was HUGE! We loved the space and the separate kitchen, it had everything from glasses, utensils, coffees machine etc. lots of mirrors and sockets.
Beds so comfortable!!! Couple of pillow options.
As far as the food goes… this was the best all inclusive we have ever had! Everything was so full of flavour and plenty of options. Even the breakfast, I was shocked at the scrambled egg was actually cooked properly and not runny. Usually I never like the desserts but actually ate enjoyed a lot of these. The fruit was huge, fresh and juicy! Went to the a la cate once, nice but preferred the buffet.
Staff all polite, cleaners would make sure room got cleaned even if it meant them coming back later.
Location less than 5 min walk from strip so perfect, lovely food places close by! 15 min walk from beach.
Pool area nice.
Can’t comment on entertainment or spa as didn’t see / use it.
Faults… bathroom lack of ventilation. Air con had a bad smell when on. Wasn’t a fan of cocktails / spirits. Anybody can walk in this hotel as no security and the reception can not see the door.
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Date of stay: September 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed self-catering as a family of 4 with 2 children aged 11 & 15. The hotel is lovely and clean and the staff were all friendly. We had a one bed apartment which was on the 5th floor, lovely views. The only issue we had was that the key cards stopped working in all the rooms on New Year around midnight. When we arrived back at 1.40 am, everyone had to wait till someone came and let them into their rooms. Technical faults happen just unfortunately the timings of this, we had to be let into our rooms the next day also until was fixed. They did organise as well as they could. We used the outside and inside pool. Outside was very cold as you would expect this time of year with the inside pool being an added bonus. The apartment had cooking facilities with hob and microwave, kettle and fridge. Unfortunately, we didn't use the spa as 7 euro each for a day would have made quite expensive, I did want to use the small gym but this would have been 7 euro to use just the gym. Location is in the new town we walked to the old town, which was about 35-40 minutes, or the tourist train was just around the corner. Lots of nice places to eat nearby and a Lidl around the corner. If you are looking for breakfast, you need to try Bom appetite just on the main road a few minutes away.
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Date of stay: January 2025Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I paid €100 deposit via card on check in and we stayed from 11/12/23 to 18/12/23. On check out I was told that my deposit would be reimbursed to my account within a few days. However, I noticed on my receipt that the last 4 digits on my card did not match their details and I pointed this out to the receptionist but she wouldn't listen and said it was correct. I knew it wasn't. I'm still awaiting a refund. That female receptionist on the morning of 18th dec 23 was friendly and generally nice but she wouldn't listen to my complaint. The cleaning lady refused give us 2 bath towels despite explaining and she threw them at me and complained to the guy on reception who then called our room and was extremely rude n blamed me. The staff on reception were generally very sarcastic ( the males only) and rude and were no way helpful. Eg; I rang reception to ask for some blankets as we were cold at night. He told me to turn up the air conditioning , I asked where it was n how I do this and I wasn't familiar with what it looked like or where it would be n he just said: "Mam, it's not a huge apartment and you should be able to find it easily!". All I wanted was to know how to find and adjust it n he laughed at me. He wouldn't help me and made sarcastic comments instead. We in Ireland are not generally famiywith AC units and I honestly didn't know what it looked like or where it would be. I didn't realise that AC also warms a room!!. Our 1st morning there we had used the 2 coffee sachets the night b4 which had been supplied by the hotel and so I went down to reception to ask for a few more and the guy on reception laughed and told me to go downstairs to the bar for them. He even laughed and said "we don't have any coffee here!" And I said I know that but I was just asking where n how I can get some. I went down n the guy there was of no help and sent me into the breakfast bar to get coffee sachets but they had none. (We didn't book B&B) I requested to have the sachets replenished in my room but they refused. They clearly state "tea and coffee making facilities " in your room but we never had them replenished for the entire week despite asking. All hotels In Ireland automatically replenish them on a daily basis otherwise they cannot advertise "tea and coffee making facilities " in your room.
There was noise pollution every single morning grass cutters, leaf blowing, cutting palm trees, power washing, a guy trimming shrubs, another guy blowing and cutting particles from a house roof. Every single morning it was loud noise from about 8am. We were at the back of the hotel and we were probably unlucky and I wanted to ask for a room change but I hadn't the courage after the way we had been treated all along. despite asking!. U have to pay a deposit for everything and you even have to pay €7.50 per day to use the pool etc . I wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone!. Stay well clear!!
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Date of stay: December 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:Â Avoid this hotel at all costs
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Gonçalo Campos e Sá, Diretor-Geral at Albufeira Sol Hotel & Spa
Responded Jan 30, 2024
Dear guest, Thank you for your comment. First and foremost, We must apologize for the experience not being up tp your standard. This being said, there are parts of the comment that need to be adressed and other need to be properly clarified. . The reported reimbursement,issue if it has not been done - please amail me at g.campos.sa@conforhoteis.pt with all details of your reservation for us to investigate further.This has never happened. . We do not replenish the coffee & tea during the stay, only upon entrance. . form the indicated location of your apartement indeed you must have had badluck. For sure services were being done in the surrounding houses nearby the hotel. . The usage of the interior pool and Jacuzzi of the interior pool area are both free of charge. Kind regards
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Not a 4 star hotel!! First impressions were fine, clean reception and welcomed by friendly staff however from then on it was quite an average stay. None of the bar / wait staff cracked a smile the entire 5 days. When I asked about using the safe I was told I’d have to pay €3 per day for that service. When I asked to use an Iron, I was told they don’t have any but I could use the paid service. You have to pay €20 deposit of towels, which is fair enough however you are only allowed to swap them for clean ones twice in a week!? The plastic cups they use throughout everywhere are the smallest cups I’ve ever drank out of. Food is OK! Lots of selections of fresh salads etc however most of the hot food was cold. The gym is another paid service not included - $7 to use but no weights etc just a treadmill and few other machines. Entertainment was pretty non existent - no live music or anything during our stay. Bar could do with some background music or something. All in all I would not recommend or return to this hotel.
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Date of stay: September 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We waited over 3 and half hours before we were given our room and had a check to charge 100 euros for breakages a bit of a joke was then the last room on top floor even although all other rooms were empty the first 4 days were good just about enough food altho repetive as veal was on menu every day for a week for lunch and dinner you also could get any amount of drinks at the bar as you required then bang day 5 big intake of guests and the hotel could not cope at all no matter what time you went for food always massive queue and food still didn’t get any beta Also then limited to 2 drinks per person as for entertainment that was non extistent also no pool bar I dread to think how they will cope in the summer months. The room was clean enough also less then 10 mins to strip altho that was loads of people trying to get you to eat or drink so a bit off putting The hotel does offer free bus to old town which is a god send as weather was not good. Maid service was bizarre as could come at any time of the day they once came to our room at 5.30 at night defo won’t back as was not a pleasant stay at all
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Date of stay: March 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Avoid only thing good is location defo not a four star
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Gonçalo Campos e Sá, Diretor-Geral at Albufeira Sol Hotel & Spa
Responded Apr 11, 2024
Dear guest, Thank you for your comment on Albufeira Sol. Yes, because the hotel is always very full, we only compromise on the Check-in the most at 4PM. - Your Tour operator has this information. It does not seem fair that because you arrive at 11AM, we are forced to have your room ready when it was occupied from previous guests up to 11AM. Food wise, we are confident of the standards we ensure are practiced daily. Drinks wise, we only allow two drinks per person, because it is what can be carried individualy. We are confident on the team of Albufeira Sol Hotel & Spa and we invite you to come again to see the diferences. Kind regards
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We arrived back from Portugal yesterday evening. We had read a few negative reviews before we went, so were a little worried about what we had let ourselves in for. We needn’t of worried Albufeira Sol hotel and spa was amazing Rooms were lovely my hubby and I shared and our grown up children shared. Room contain a little kitchen complete with kettle. microwave, hob and a fridge. There was a bedroom with a large bed and lots of storage space. The batroom had a massive shower, toilet and and sink also a hairdryer. You got fresh towels and the bed was made daily. There was also a settee and a table with 2 chair. On the balcony there was also a table and chairs. The food at the hotel was plentiful at all times. If like me you like fruit, there was fresh fruit daily at every meal. Every day meals were varied but there was always stuff for my very fussy son. Drinks were plentiful although you could only get 2 drinks at a time which wasn’t a problem as you could go up to the bar as often as you wanted. We never had to queue for the restaurant or bar. The entertainment was great too The entertainment team worked so hard and like some places they were not pushy leaving you be if you did not want to join in. Also there was a lovely little shop which sold inflatables, crisps, sun cream, biscuits, souvenirs and other essentials if you didn’t want to venture out. We did have to pay a 100 euro deposit per room but this was handed back at checkout if paid in cash. Card I believe takes 7 days. At the spa you could hire towels for 20 euro deposit each towel but that saved ruining your own towels with sun cream and you could change daily All in all a fab time was had by us all
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Date of stay: August 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip: Don’t worry about going early to reserve sunbed we always got a bed even the day we came back...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Areias de Sao Joao area.
PRICE RANGE
C$96 - C$307 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
dom pancho aparthotel albufeira, dom pancho portugal, dom pancho algarve, dom pancho albufeira, dom pancho aparthotel hotel albufeira, albufeira dom pancho
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Albufeira Sol Suite Hotel & Spa
LOCATION
PortugalAlgarveFaro DistrictAlbufeiraAreias de Sao Joao
NUMBER OF ROOMS
220
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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