Vila Gale Albacora Hotel

“ Hotel excellent very clean, rooms are really nice we got a connecting room looking onto the beach. Pool area is fantastic. The only down part is that customers staying at the hotel have to pay 11 euro's each to use the indoor pool and spa area.

“ Top Tip: There is a free shuttle bus into Tavira which is fantastic with lots of great restaurants and very good scenery and views.

“ We stayed at the hotel for a few nights in 2008 & planned to stay again which is why we booked this trip. As we live in a seaside resort we tend to travel in March or September when places aren't so busy, and the hotel was fairly quiet in our first week and started to get busier in the second.
The hotel is in the middle of a nature reserve, lagoons and saltpans, so is away from Tavira town centre, it is a lovely peaceful place, loads of birds - mainly birds migrating for spring/summer and every day brought new sights..a flock of flamingos that seemed to increase day by day, owls etc etc. A lovely walk into town or along the beach, or cycling too.
The guests were all ages, a few young families, a birding tour, some golfers- all sorts and all nationalities.
We were only b & b and the choice at breakfast was very good, the restaurant was calm and relaxed even when full and the staff very helpful and attentive..a change from some of the frenzied breakfasts we've had in other places. Maybe it is the good time range from 7 to 1.30 or the type of guests.
The rooms were comfortable and clean as was the whole hotel and staffed by a pleasant and efficient team of housekeepers.

My only downside was to do with evening food, as a vegetarian I have a lean time anyhow when I am travelling. People often don't understand and try to give me fish (!), and I am often left with the omelette, pizza or pasta options - pretty boring and unimagnative. We ate out in Tavira most nights and found a few accommodating places. We did try the hotel one evening, and I was shown the a la carte menu and chose a pasta dish which was a bit bland. I could have asked for an omelette (but I was starting to get omelette fatigue by then) or was given the choice of suggesting a recipe to the chef. So if you are a veggie I'd stick to b & b.

“ Top Tip: If you are driving try a trip up to Cachepo and take a picnic, there is a lovely spot up in the mountains with fabulous views & the scent from the trees is intoxicating.
A warning to drivers too, the A22 is now an electronic toll road, we used the road a few times to get to the the West coast or other towns a bit quicker -little traffic too- but check with the car hire companies, some have electronic devices on the dashboard some don't. We went in to the local post office 48 hours after our A22 trip to pay the charges - they don't go on the system 'til then.

“ We found the hotel very pleasant and well suited to our needs, as we are interested in wildlife being located within a nature reserve was ideal. The staff were polite and very helpful and also very attentive to our 2 year old. The hotel also runs a shuttle bus to the Vila Gale Tavira so eating elsewhere isn't a problem, but we always had breakfast and dinner at the hotel - we found the selection of food good. The room was also nice - being a quiet season we were upgraded to a river view room. Overall we would recommend this hotel and enjoyed our week here.

“ Top Tip: Its well worth hiring a car for a few days just to travel along the coast towards Spain - there is a great nature reserve in Castro Marim.

“ Another relaxing, idyllic holiday at the Albacora - the weather was perfect and we were given the room we requested. Will return with Travel Republic.

“ Top Tip: Their are some great restaurants in and around Tavira. For an inexpensive seafood meal in a no frills family run restaurant, you can't beat Bica. For a few euros more you can have a wonderful meal at Brisa do Rio with nice surroundings and friendly service.