Aqua Ria Boutique Hotel

The location is perfect, and the receptionist was kind. We ended up paying an extra 5€ per night for a balcony room starting on our second night, and that upgrade was well worth it. It was clean, spacious and very nice. The first room they gave us was older, with no natural light, an odd smell and a very uncomfortable bed. Ask for one of the newer rooms.

Our room was surprisingly huge. The location is great too, tucked down a little alley about three buildings from the main square, with the waterfront and everything in the city centre an easy walk away. For what we paid, though, the room could have been cleaner.

The balcony faced south, so it got direct sun, and the room was spacious. I also got to watch storks nesting right across the street. I spent a week here, and the reception and cleaning staff were consistently friendly and helpful. The location worked perfectly for me, close to the marina, old walled city, shops and cafes.

The hotel’s main advantage is its city centre location, handy for getting to the transport hub. The floor covering wasn’t clean, though the bed linen was. They also still use little individual plastic shampoo bottles in the shower, which seems wasteful and inefficient. Faro is a beautiful city and I enjoyed visiting, but I’d choose this hotel for its location alone.