Muthu Balaia Sol

This hotel has beautiful flowers and grounds, it is small in size and the location is quiet for albufeira but too far out for everything. Be prepared to taxi everywhere, 10 euro to old town. Also it is down a main road then a residential laneway , the main road runs alongside some waste ground and then the laneway is very secluded and is not suitable for walking home at night. The nearby mini market is closed down, nearest store is 15/20 minute walk partially up hill, it was torture walking back with water and minerals. The pool and area are lovely but not kept clean, the burst lilo and balls were left for 3 days as was all the used plastic cups. There was alot of mosaics missing in the pool and the baby pool was crumbling. The rooms were big but need updating, everything is worn out and old fashioned. The patio doors are not very security conscious and are held closed by a very old bar, they blow open in the wind. The shower is a disaster u have to hold it in ur hand and try stop the shower curtain sticking to u. Be careful of the shower pipe on the wall i burnt my arm off it. The staff were really nice as was the snack food at the bar and the music played was great. Overall the hotel is tired and rundown and way to far out from bars, reataurants, beach and oldtown.it took 1 hour to walk to oldtown and 45 mins to luisa beach through quinta a neighbouring holiday village. I will not be returning.

Had a lovely stay at the Balaia sol hotel. We booked through on the beach and it was detailed check in was only open until 8pm (our flight was arriving late) however on calling the central line they confirmed reception was open 24/7. It was also noted there would be a €300 cash deposit however when I called they said they could take this on card and we were not actually asked to pay this when we arrived. The location is only 15/20 min walk from the centre (new town) and it was easy enough to get taxis. All staff were lovely and we had no issues during our stay. The pool was usually quiet and easy to get sun beds and we really enjoyed the decor. The only let downs were the shower, it was quite difficult to manoeuvre as it was only a small shower head stuck on the wall and there was no full length mirror in our room. I would however definitely return.