Well. The hotel is brillant lovely and clean. The best hotel i have ever been to. There is loads to do. The hotel was fanstatic lovely and clean, Very spacious. The food at the hotel was great. Entertainment a bit poor but that was because they are making the hotel bigger. But it didnt bother me, Made good friends with the bar men and women. They are very helpful always there when you need them. Going to miss you Magel, Carlos and Grasa. You are great. Hope you dont forget us. Love you. The hotel is great, Very big. But in a couple of months it is going to be much bigger. The bar and resturant are very big. The swimming pool was rather cold, But there is a indoor swimming pool which is very warm. I LOVE THE ALTO DA COLINA. Definatly going again. it is fanstatic. I will miss you megel. You were very nice to me. Love you. Hope to see you all next year. Going when i have finished my exams with my best friend. Hope you are all stil there. See you soon. Love you lots Magel, Carlos and Grasa. Love from Racheal and Sarah. xxx

Have just returned from the Alto Da Colina which will be absolutely brill when finished but not very nice when in the middle of a building site.
Could not fault the accomadation which was fantastic, rooms were large and very clean. as maids came in 6 times a week.
Great sea views available which i would recommend as there are great balconies.
Did not eat in the restaurant but did have a few drinks in the bar but have to say there wasn't much of an atmosphere a bit like a canteen in a high school.
Outdoor pool was lovely but freezing this time of year and also there was an indoor pool which also had a jucuzzi.
Lots of work going on as will change into a holiday village for the summer which is due to open in May but they are running behind schedule and still plenty to do.
Bit of a track into town but reception will call a taxi for you and yes they charge 50 cents to do this but if you called from your own phone it would cost a lot more. taxi to the strip cost around 4 euros and to the old town 5.50 euros which is very cheap compared to other countries.
The strip is a bit ropey and was getting quite loud but there some very good restaurants. Frogys pizzeria was amazing and also Fredis on the crossroads is worth a visit. Also tried out the only Australian rest in Portugal called Kaola Garden and had kangeroo and ostrich!!!!!
The old town is beautiful and set around a lovely old square with numerous bars and restaurants and also lots of gift shops. We walked here from the apts and it took about an hour or so down hill but beware its a killer walking back!!!!!
The beaches are fantastic and the nearest is Eulalia accessed either through the Alfagar apts or from the main road. Only one restautant/bar but very resonable and then there is De Oura beach which is near the strip which is lined with restaurants and bars but quite pricey.
The apts are situated on an incline so is not really suitable for the less mobile or small children but keeps the rest of us fit!!!!
When the work is completed here it will be great fun for the kids as they had just fitted a high wire and installing a new pool with slides and in the summer they will have entertainment so the best thing is not for all of us to put you off but to go and enjoy as all peoples opinions are different.
We did enjoy ourselves its what you make it and yes it would of been better without the mess and noise of a building site but hey its not any worse than England so my advice is to lie back relax and enjoy .... with a nice cool beer of course!!!!!!
Happy holidays

We've Just returned from a fantastic week at the Alto da Calina. The accomodation was excellent, the rooms were to a high standard and a good size. They where extremely comfortable with amazing sized baloncies, we had a beautiful view over the pool and and the sea. The hotel is kept spotless at all times and the rooms are cleaned daily (apart from Sunday) with fresh towels everyday.

The hotel is quite far out of the town and we felt car rental from the airport instead of transfers would have saved a fortune. We hired a car Monday to friday which was excellent.

Bulidng works are taking place at the hotel but did not affect us at all. This place is going to be something else in the summer. We went out of season so enjoyed the hotel and the Algarve being quite. We often had both the indoor and outdoor pool to ourselves which was bliss although outdoor pool was cold but once you ventured in, you warmed up pretty quickly. (It's massive compared to other hotels in the area).

They have built an adventure play ground and are increasing the size of the splash park by adding pool sildes and a new pool.

The staff were friendly and helpful at all times.

Avoid the shop at the Balia Golf resort next door we spent a fortune on the first day! If you are self catering, hire a car for a week and from faro airport, avoid the transfer fee's, (don't be afraid of driving on the right hand side, it's not that much different), go straight to your local lidal, spend 100 euros and get your entire weeks shopping, If you can get a good deal go halve board, we believe it would work out cheaper.

The downside to a great hotel like this, is that it's been pre bought by the holiday companys i.e. thompson, airtours. etc What I mean by this is that they basically buy X amount of rooms and sell them at a greater prize as to what the hotel wants from the. From May to Sept us Brits are ripped OFF!!!! I believe we got a great deal, we got on every ride, we had entire beaches to oursleves and enjoyed 20 to 23c all because of the time of year we went. before the prizes jump up!

A must see is the zoo marine, a great day out.

A fantastic holdiay and we can't wait to go back, as long as it's the right prize, halve board and we rent a card for a week from the airport.

Trust me, you'll love his hotel! we did....

Went to Portugal for the first time, was a bit worried about it, got the holiday last minute for the Easter break. Went with a friend and our 2 kids, age 10 and 11. Was impressed how clean Portugal is, there is no high rises, everything very villa like, even the shops. Arrived at hotel about 9.30 at night, still managed to grab a meal in the bar and was able to buy water and milk from the bar as well. Went to our rooms and we were pleasantly suprised, they were large, modern and everything was new. Even had BBC 1 and ITV on the telly which is unusual abroad. You have to pay 30 euros for the deposit of the remote control, and another 30 euros deposit for remote for heating/airconditioning plus 10 euros charge for them both, but you got the 60 euros back when you hand in keys. We were put off a bit because the hotel has nothing round about it, not even a shop on site nothing on in hotel, just small bar come restraunt, so we decided to see rep in the morning to find out were to go to for food etc. I was pleased i went to the meeting, found out everything i had to know, where hypermarkets were and where to take the kids to keep them amused. taxi the the nearest supermarket was 5 euros, took kids to zoo marine twice they loved it, very cheap once in for kids to eat and drink. Dolphin show, seal show , bird of prey show, sharks swimming over glass tunnels, all the kids rides included as well, brilliant fun, still loads i could tell u about it, its a must to go to with kids. Took a walk up the strip one day, done some shopping and walked back, took about 20 min each way, lovely walk. Went on pubcrawl with the reps one night, the kids are wecome, they loved it, they had games, kiddies cocktails and kiddies shots, great night. Ended up cooking for the entire holiday, didnt like food in bar, didnt mind tho evrything new, ended up having the cheapest holiday i ever had, supermarkets cheap. Back to the hotel, they are turning it into a holiday village, will be some place in the summer, loads for kids to do then, they have 6 pools, but were too cold in march, although they have an indoor pool which we used everyday. They also have gym and sauna. Everything spotless. Nothing on for kids in march, infact nothing on period, but i know it will be something else in june, would love to go back when its opened properly, now that i know my way around, gypsy market a bit scary, didnt stay long, kids were getting pushed about. Overall we enjoyed our visit to portugal and i would recommend the hotel , i will take kids back to it. Its a bit out the road of everything but everything only a cheap taxi away.