Ninho 7

The room was clean and generally acceptable, but the stay could have been much better. It was cold, with no heating, and there was mould on the curtains. Towels were changed only once a week, and there was no kettle. On arrival I found the boiler had broken, leaving me without hot water. I told the staff, but they seemed to think I meant a bathroom leak, so the problem got lost in translation.

My partner and I came from Ireland for a week expecting a decent break, but the SMY hotel in Albufeira made it a nightmare. The rooms were damp and mouldy, staff became unprofessional when we complained, and it ruined what should have been a relaxing holiday. I strongly advise people to stay as far away as possible. The check-in seemed fine at first, and the receptionist initially helped us. But our room was nothing like the online pictures: it was cold and damp, with visible mould and bathroom leaks. We reported it straight away and were moved, only to find even more mould in the second room. When we complained again, the same receptionist had become much less helpful. Each time we asked at reception, she said the hotel was full and there were no rooms. Then, whenever we insisted or asked again, rooms somehow became available. On the second day, our travel agent contacted her to sort things out. She told them we were fine to stay, implying we had agreed to continue the booking. That was completely untrue. We had never said we were happy to stay in those conditions. We were still trying to find a solution or get a proper room without mould, and her misrepresentation to the agent made an already frustrating situation worse. It felt like an attempt to cover up the hotel's failure to provide acceptable accommodation. I asked for written confirmation that they couldn’t offer us a mould-free room, and suddenly a third room appeared. It was the worst one yet. We were shown five rooms in total, each worse than the last except the fourth, which was the least bad but still unacceptable. When we said so, the receptionist told us she wouldn’t tolerate the way we were speaking to her and reminded us it was only a 3-star hotel. We knew the rating, but mould in bedrooms is unacceptable under any circumstances. Things escalated until the receptionist told us to leave if we didn’t like it. We contacted our holiday agent, who advised us to stay the first night and see what could be done the next day. We did, but heard nothing more and felt ignored and stuck in a terrible situation.

The location is spot on, and the reception staff are excellent. The apartments have what you need for self-catering: a washing machine, microwave, fridge, oven, hob, and cooking utensils. But the lack of maintenance lets the place down. The walls are heavily marked, the sofa has burn marks, the bathroom sink leaks, and the kitchen tap is very loose because it isn’t fixed to the sink. There’s mould all over the balcony wall, and the pillows and bed linen might as well be nonexistent. A bit of attention to detail could make this place a magical gem. If they went the extra mile to maintain and clean the apartments, I’d definitely come back and recommend it. As things stand, I can’t, which is a shame and comes down to complacency.

Ignore the reviews! My friend and I came for a girls’ holiday from the 16th to the 22nd and were nervous after reading them, but we got a lovely welcome at reception. The rooms were average, but perfect for us since we weren’t fussy and just wanted a bed. The pool was lovely, the pool bar was amazing, and the staff were so nice. Security was perfect, too. The location worked well, with the beach 15 minutes away on foot and the strip a 10-minute walk. There are stunning food places all around, and I definitely recommend the Chinese place.