3HB Falésia Mar

Spotlessly clean apartment in an ideal, peaceful location. The road ends with an overflow car park for the hotel, so only hotel traffic. Impressed that we could go to the pool at 11am and still plenty of sunbeds available. Short walk down steps to the gorgeous beach. Lots of fabulous restaurants within walking distance. We hope to see you again soon.

We were hear in the first week of June 2022. Very quiet. Popular with visitors from across Europe and with families with small children. There are two pools, both on the cool side, which is most welcome in the heat. One pool has a cool water Jacuzzi attached. We were pleased to see that sunbeds couldn’t be reserved. No shortage of sunbeds. To access the large pool you need to be able to walk down a flight of about 12 steps. The smaller shallow pool is meant for children and has a more level access and a gate which can be closed to stop the children escaping! The whole hotel and area is very clean. No litter, however, quite a few of the white walls outwith the hotel area had graffiti on them including in the picturesque Old Town. On arrival we were able to leave our cases in free storage until our room was ready. The hotel is on a slope, on the top of a cliff. There are lots of other hotels nearby and very little else. There are a few small shops within a 10 minute walking distance. The nearest large supermarket is a hike away, however. The taxi rank is at the bottom of the slope off the hotel complex but we used the “1Taxi!” App to call a taxi up to us efficiently. You need to have some Portuguese to use the App. The pavements in the complex are cobble-stoned. If you want to go down to the beach there are 130-odd steps to conquer first. On the plus side they are well constructed and even with a couple of benches to rest on and a handrail. You need to take your room key to open the gate part-way down. There are a couple of bars/cafes on the beach and one or two stalls selling clothing and beach toys but be aware that there is no shade unless you rent a sunbed and parasol. They were asking €20 for a day’s rental of two beds and a parasol. There are toilets and a shower at the Golfinho Bar/Restaurant. The Praia do Barranco das Belharucas beach is full of golden sand and blue water. The sea was calm but the waves breaking could sweep you off your feet for some added fun. Lots of space on the beach too. We took half board. The food was great with quite a few choices. Lots of salads and vegetables and local dishes. Salads, vegetables, breads all very good. A range of continental desserts too. Healthy options and a couple of artery-hardeners available including pizza, lasagna and chicken nuggets. We enjoyed the Portuguese dishes immensely. If you only enjoy British cuisine you might find your choices limited. All very clean at a medium-sized help yourself buffet. On occasion some of the dishes were not as warm as we could have liked. We also ate at the Pool Bar and found the burgers and wraps to be of a very good standard, if a bit expensive. Drinks at dinner are extra. We loved the Super Bock beer. We were in Block 3 which is central to all amenities with a partial seaview. You need to be able to climb stairs to access the rooms. The rooms were enormous if a bit “retro”. The kitchen had a kettle, fridge, microwave and hob along with plates, c