Iberostar Selection Lagos Algarve

This hotel is certainly a 5* hotel overall, great cleanliness, wonderful staff and good food in a great location. Firstly the hotel is 50min-1hr away from Faro airport, around €100 in a taxi. We checked in on time and were given a large room (huge double bed) and extra single beds for our luxury. The room itself is large and open enough for a family of 4 but there is no separation between room and bathroom, so keep that in mind. Balcony is reasonable overlooking the beach. We were staying from the 4-10 Nov, which is the final week the hotel is open before it shuts down for the season. (Reopens in Feb/Mar). This was apparent as it was very quiet with alot less tourists during this time. Food in the hotel is of a good standard. Breakfast is fantastic, selection of freshly made eggs, porridge, cereals, plenty of hot and cold food, and lots of drinks options. Dinner in evenings had a different theme each night, but fresh seafood and meats were cooked regularly each night on an open grill. The variety of vegetarian food was plenty and lots for the kids (although the staple of pizza, pasta, chips was on every night) The gyn is tiny, so dont expect a full workout. The outdoor pool was too cold, and the indoor pool whilst says its heated, was certainly not. Great bar & lobby area! The hotel is overall great for couples, families and single travellers, not far from Lagos city centre (7min taxi ride). Although some services within the hotel were sparce given it was shutting down that week, for e.g no kids club! Which was highly dissapointing. Would come back again, in high season!

We stayed during the last week of October rolling into the first week of November. Overall we really enjoyed our stay. First, we were welcomed with a beverage and a stunning view of the beach from the hotel lobby! The hotel is in a wonderful location, just a few-minute walk to the beach. We also walked into downtown Lagos (about 35 minutes) along the boardwalk. Our room (with Bali bed and patio) was spacious. We loved having both a bathtub and shower, 2 vanities, loved the Bali bed, and had an indoor sitting area too. The indoor bed was large and comfortable. We wish the shower area had better lighting. The wifi signal was reliable and fast. Air conditioning worked well except at night it was hard to cool the room. And while we appreciated having a coffee maker and mini-fridge, the hotel was not transparent that guests have to buy refill coffee pods after Day 1. Really? At a 5-star hotel? We bought a pack at a store in Lagos for much less (2 Euros). The gym is nice but was quite crowded before breakfast (until November when the hotel started emptying). While we were happy that they supplied water, towels and wipes, the gym gets really hot. Also, the one treadmill malfunctioned halfway thru our stay and they never fixed it. The indoor pool is the only one that's heated and it's very popular. Food at dinner and breakfast is mostly good, there's a lot of selection and it's fresh. However, food at the second buffet table (the one offering Vegetarian food) was never hot. We liked the common areas including table tennis and even a library where guests could "recycle" books. Some issues to be aware of: - We were in an odd-numbered room and the sun bakes the room in the afternoon--maybe ask for an even numbered room which are on the other side of the hotel. Also we could hear loud music and utensils clattering in the morning, so if you're not a morning person, ask for higher room number since they are located farther away from the restaurant (i.e., 239 and not 209). - During our stay, there was a very unpleasant sewage smell in hallways, especially on Level 0 but we could smell it on Level 2 where our room was. - In late October, we experienced long lines and half-hour waits for dinner at 7:30 and at 8, so we gave up and only ate at 8:30 or later. Maybe this was unique to shoulder season when there are a lot of guests but it's too cold to eat outside which limits seating. If the hotel is not going to install heat lamps or use a reservation system, we suggest that they do what we've seen at other hotels with very crowded restaurants--post signage in elevators with color coded meal times: red (very busy), yellow (busy) and green (not too busy) and forewarn guests.

Modern, spacious Hotel with large reception area and lounge. Bedrooms spacious with either pool view or side sea view. Buffet breakfast, large variety of hot and cold continental choices plus bacon, eggs etc. Lack of boiling water to make English breakfast tea. Staff excellent especially on reception. Housekeeping a bit random, rooms refreshed at differing times of day. Parking on site inadequate if hotel full but staff helpful offering options. Plenty of space at poolside and excellent indoor pool and gym facilities