Sol e Mar - Albufeira, Portugal     

not as bad as reviews we read before we went stated ,stayed only b/b which was OK fairly standard breakfast staff very friendly, hotel very clean But what this hotel has in bucket fulls, is its position, views are fantastic, on the beach and then 20 mtrs to the fantastic old town full of 2-5star restaurants or just have a drink and people watch first and not the last time we will be here enjoy

The Sol E Mar just has a terrific location! It is built into the cliff so you enter reception at street level on the Top Floor (Floor 5) and go down to the rooms. Level 0 opens onto the top of the sea wall and a few steps and you are on the beach. It does not attract young people but the last place I want lively is in my hotel. However the area around is lively and the beach is marvelous. Around the hotel is the Old Town which sounds sleepy but is a huge collection of shops, bars and restaurants. It is an old hotel but the rooms are large with efficient aircon, big balconies with sea views. Breakfast is pretty good and the house keeping excellent. The indoor pool is dreadful but you don't really need it in summer. Everywhere was freshly painted and it was very clean, however because of its age (1965) it is a bit dowdy.. We nearly booked the Villa Nova on The Strip. We walked up there and thank God we didn't! It must be 2.5 miles from the Old Town and is a single narrow road with Kareoke Bars, tacky gift shops, touts for everything and lots of vomit, Be very sure to check the location of wherever you are booking