Hi Joanne and welcome to the forum!

You would love the area of Praia Da Oura/Santa Eulalia in Albufeira.

I always bang on about the area and place,sorry to those of you who have
read this already - but my family and I love it.

It's 5 mins in a cab or on a bus to the Old Town and 10 mins walk to the start
of the Strip, but there's also plenty of great restaurants and some really good
bars in the immediate vicinity too.

We stay in a private rental apartment in Quinta Pedra Dos Bicos, (have a look on
owners direct, holiday-rentals etc or you can book through travel agencies too)
but there's also Club Praia Da Oura, Oura Praia Hotel., Forte Da Oura aparthotel,
Santa Eulalia Beach Club that are all within minutes from the beach too.

Hope this is of some help.

hi my wife and I are looking to stay in Albufeira this November at l, fort do vale possibly what we wondered was how much activity would there be at this time of year , we have never traveled to portugal so are unaware whats on offer really , we are not really concerned with pubs and clubs more resturaunts bistros shops culture etc and with this hotel will it still have pool open. tlaslo20 this hotel is a 4 star hotel and was only completed july 2008 dont know when you are looking to travel but we have managed to get a 1 room apt quoted for £76 for the week for both of us and it is a lovely looking hotel

Hello tlaslo, if you want a mix of Old Town and The Strip then I would pick the Cerro Alagoa, it is in the middle of both. The little train has a stop just outside the hotel if you want to use this, a taxi rank just up the road two minutes walk, two big super markets for all your bits. I have stayed here twice and it is a very good hotel nice rooms, new pool, and even a pub to start or end the night in, good breakfast. have a look in the hotel reviews.
Dave.

Other hotels near Cerro Alagoa worth looking at are Brisa Sol and Alagoa Mar.

i would recommend the hotel baltum in albuferia
its right in the old town and a short walk to the beach and to the main square
you cant beat it

Some friends of ours stay at the Baltum, it is quite basic, but clean and friendly. It is right in the heart of things so can be a bit noisy at times. But then that is what you expect if you are in the centre.

Hello again, I would have to say that what ever you do don't book into the Hotel Villa Bella this has to be the most over priced hotel on the Algarve it looks nice from the outside and in the travel brochures, but unless you are lucky and get one of the rooms that look over town and sea and that is the only thing good about it. We paid all fortnight for a enverlope to keep our passport/ money and stuff safe but on the last night before we left the next day, they told us we had to have them back as there will be no there in the morning to give them back to us, so when I asked about them being safe they said they will be safe in your room, so we had paid all that money to keep them safe for nothing. The breakfast is a small bun and some jam, weak tea and you have to plead with them for some orange juice, the beds are rock hard. The best bit is you can stay in the Cerro Alagoa for the same money as this so called hotel, that is not much more than a hostal, in fact I have stayed in better B&Bs in Skeggy.

Dave.