We were allocated a 1st floor apartment overlooking the pool area. Probably one of the better locations as the balcony was massive and it was easy enough getting back to the room as you only had one flight of stairs to contend with (which was a mean enough feat with 2 inflatable dingys and all your towels, etc.,). The lifts were always very slow and often full. One thing we noticed was that despite the fact that all the entertainment was around the pool area (which we were overlooking), the apartments were very well soundproofed and there was very little noise to be heard from neighbouring apartments.

The apartment itself was very clean and well equipped - maid service was every day except Sunday - but we did notice that things were starting to look a bit grubby round the edges and the stairs were really dirty and littered for the whole 2 weeks we were there. We had lunch a couple of times in the restaurant....stuff like tuna salad, chicken salad, tomato and mozzarella and we had an evening meal there....nothing spectacular but certainly edible. We were initially put off by comments made on a review on the internet saying 'the food was awful and served by disinterested Eastern European staff'. This was rubbish. The staff were Portuguese (admittedly they do have a slight Eastern European/Czech slant to their accent) and they were very helpful and went out of their way one day to make me a fresh fruit salad as there was none already prepared.

The entertainment was ok. If you like playing cricket, football, bowls, water polo, aqua fit, killer pool and you like joining in then fill your boots, it'll be great! I prefer to do very little and remain prone on my sunbed. You weren't hassled though and it all took place away from the sunbathers so I wasn't disturbed! The swimming pool was good. Plenty big enough for everyone's inflatables, always very clean and I noticed the maids doing a chlorine check a couple of times a day.

The daily rush for the sunbed became a bit of a chore.....I think we're competing with the Germans in the heat to bag the most desirable spot around the pool. People were putting their towels out at 7am and then going back to bed for a couple of hours!! The reps got wise to it after a while and started collecting the towels up that had been left unattended for more than an hour and putting them behind reception. There is another pool complete with sun loungers and a poolside bar. It is also close to the children's play park, a little water park and the tennis court and football pitch. However, the pool is very small......a bit quieter round there though if you want to get out of the way for a bit.

The Kids Club was very good. My 8 year son went out with the reps for a whole day from 9am to 4.45pm to Krazy World and thoroughly enjoyed it. He also spent an evening at the Bugs Bunny Bash from 7pm to 10pm, giving us the chance to go out for a nice relaxed meal. There was plenty for him to do and there was also the indoor arcade games and the pool table (everything was 1 Euro).

We entered the quiz a couple fo times, which was good for a laugh but didn't really make use of the evening entertainment. We saw bits of it now and again when we returned from having gone out for a meal and it looked pretty awful but I suppose they try their best.

The worst part of the holiday had to be the location of the apartments. You are basically, out on a limb. Not wanting to spend every night stuck in the hotel restaurant, you have no choice but to either walk or get a taxi. We went to the Strip (in Albufeira) twice and it was abysmal....unless you like Blackpool! Really tacky, nasty cheap shops, lots of English chippies, Irish bars, yuk, yuk, yuk! Not really what I want when I go abroad I'm afraid.

You can walk to the Strip (apparently) and it takes 30 minutes......we walked to the beach one evening which isn't as far as the Strip and it took 20 minutes. There's a lovely restaurant down there though (at St Eulalia beach) but it gets very busy and it's probably wise to either go before 8pm or make a reservation. It's call St Eulalia Restaurant. We went to Old Town Albufeira most nights and that would probably take 40-45 minutes to walk so we got a taxi every night. To get reception to call you a taxi costs you 1 Euro. The taxi itself will set you back between 4 and 5.5 Euros. We worked out that we spent an extra £120 for our fortnight's stay purely on taxi fares. The other set back is that everyone else has the same idea. One night we spent an hour and a half in the taxi queue. The busiest time is between 6 and 8pm....the time most people want to go out for something to eat! The hotel got the minibus out one night as the queue was so bad but would only go to the Strip. It was by far the worst part of the holiday.

We went to Vilamoura one evening and went to play Super Mini Golf. It's open til 1am and it was really good. Expensive though as it was 9 Euros per person and 6 Euros per child. Vilamoura was a much nicer place to visit....more cosmopolitan than Albufeira, although we did like Albufeira Old Town. The Old Town has some lovely seafood restaurants and there's more of a continental feel about it....it has more character and atmosphere. There were street entertainers in the evening and all the shops were open til late.

There was also a small mini market at the apartments. It was ok for convenience but obviously a little pricier than the supermarket in town. It would probably be cheaper to get a taxi to the supermarket, stock up and get a taxi back than it would to get the same items from the mini market but it was fine for fresh bread rolls and milk, etc.

We went on 2 trips. One was the gypsy market in Quateira......don't bother unless you like car boot sales. The stuff they were selling was dross. The only reason it was vaguely enjoyable was that it was raining that day and it would have been better than being stuck round the pool bar back at the apartments. The other trip was the jeep safari which was one of the highlights on my holiday. The guy who was driving our jeep was toroughly entertaining and gave us a very informative guide around some of the villages in the Algarve. Even my 8 year old son enjoyed it. He told us about bits of Portuguese history, the Revolution, the cork industry, etc., and we visited a distillery. Excellent trip!

I wouldn't go to the Alto Da Colina again simply because of its location. The apartments and the amenities are great but it's let down by the fact that you're in the middle of nowhere and it's so difficult to get out and about. We toyed with the idea of getting a car but we both like a drink and the hardest part was getting a taxi to go out for a meal so we didn't think there was any point. The buses were also unreliable so you didn't have that as an option. I'd be more inclined to go to Vilamoura or somewhere round the west coast....Lagos, for example. I wasn't terribly struck on Albufeira but would definitely go to Portugal again. The food, the wine and the people are wonderful and the climate is fab....not too hot and always that bit of a breeze to keep things cool. Perfect! Bon dia!

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Alto Da Colina - Balaia

Operator and Date: Eclipse - May 2005