Apartamentos Apolo 17

At 22 floors up, the apartment has wide views of the beach and marshes, with the port on the other side. The beach-facing terrace is very large, though its plastic table and six chairs are basic. You can walk to the beach near Zafiro restaurant in about six minutes, and the port takes around 15. There’s a Chinese bazaar three minutes away, a pharmacy five minutes away, and a supermarket about seven minutes away. Municipal bins are across the street, so taking out rubbish is easy. One inconvenience: you have to collect and return the keys in the city center. The pool is huge, with grass, shade, and two sections for children. It closes at 11 PM, and the lifeguard is there until 8 PM. Air conditioning costs an extra €70, and parking is another €70. I’d skip the parking, since there’s a great lot next door. Inside, the living room is medium-sized. There’s a quickly folding sofa bed, a large bed, a small TV, spare cables and power strips, and a round wooden table that extends to seat six. There’s also a cabinet with two shelves under the TV and a medium sideboard. The entrance hall is quite small, with a corridor to the kitchen and bedrooms. Storage for personal belongings is limited, and the kitchen has just one outlet, so you’ll need a power strip. The kitchen comes with a dishwasher, large fridge without a crisper drawer, toaster, microwave, kettle, immersion blender, a couple of pots and pans, and large, deep, and flat plates for six. There are assorted glasses and medium cups, but no small plates and very few utensils. They leave a small pack with a trash bag, cookie, dishwasher tablet, and washing machine tablet. There’s also a kitchen towel. The kitchen terrace has a washing machine, sink, bucket, mop, dustpan, broom, and drying rack. We had to buy a new mop because the old one was terrible, and the broom was awful too. Both bathrooms are alike, with a bidet, bathtub, and other amenities. Bedroom 1 has a double bed, two bedside tables, a built-in wardrobe with three small drawers, and access to a large terrace. There’s very little room between the bed and walls. Its bathroom is in the same hallway, which can be closed off with a door. No plugs are provided, so it’s best to buy some. There’s no closet, and nowhere to hang towels except on the faucets. Bedroom 2 has single beds, a bedside table with three drawers, a small built-in wardrobe, and access to the other terrace. There are enough large and hand towels for five people, but the bath towel is tiny. Each closet has only three hangers, so bring your own. I’d bring extra hand towels too. There’s very little room for bulky beach gear. The pillows are mostly low and soft, and a blanket is available. There’s no tablecloth.