This year we decided that our summer trip would be to the Algarve in Portugal! I booked with TUI as I thought it would just be easier to go with a package deal. I used TUI’s app/website which was quite easy, and booking was hassle free. For context, we travelled as a group of three; it was me, Elijah (who is 6) and my mum, who has recently had a knee op and had slightly reduced mobility.
Through using the TUI app, we booked 4 nights in the Algarve in a small town called Olhos Agua, very close to Albufeira. We stayed at the hotel 3HB Guarana and flew via Easy Jet.
After I booked, I looked at booking Special Assistance at the airport (to support my mother) and rather than go through TUI; you have to contact the airline to book this directly with them. Once I found the number online, it was straightforward and took about 10mins to book.
As you may be aware, Easy Jet has strict limits and charges for luggage, so we decided to only take hand luggage. However, when looking at Easy Jet deals, do add the cost of luggage into the final costs, as when you initially see the flight price, it looks super cheap but can quickly add up!
Easy Jet flights were delayed both there and back. I cannot work out if it was just Easy Jet who couldn’t get their act together or if it was a wider issue. On the way back we were on the plane but could not take off for over an hour because they announced that maintenance had not signed something off…...! Other than the lateness, the flight was fine, and I probably would use Easy Jet again in the future.
The Special Assistance worked really well at Gatwick. After we arrived at the desk, we were assisted straight away, and an airport wheelchair and airport buggy were used to drive my mother through the airport right up to the departure gates. When we landed in Portugal, the Special Assistance was non-existent as we exited the plane, but when a member of staff saw my mum’s crutch, they did not make her wait in the normal queues; we were waived through to an express lane. On the way back, Special Assistance helped both at the Portugal end and the Gatwick end. I would definitely recommend that you look into this service if you need it. The service is free and really helped my mum navigate the long walks in the airports.
The hotel that we stayed at was 3Hb Guarana. It had 4 stars on TUI and 4 and a half stars on Trip Advisor. We had a family room, which consisted of a double bed and a double sofa bed. The sofa bed, whilst comfortable, but had some sharp sides made of metal, which all three of us got hurt on at various points of the holiday. Aside from this weirdly violent ‘bed’, the rest of the room was nice, the bathroom was spacious and there was access to a balcony that overlooked the hotel pools.
When we got to the hotel, we were upgraded to a room with a distant sea view, which was a nice touch. All the staff were friendly, and the hotel was clean. There were three outside pools, a kids’ splash area, kids’ climbing area, a kids’ club, a spa, an indoor pool, an arcade and several restaurants. Facilities were really nice, but some services had weird opening and closing times. For example, you could only get fresh pool towels between 9 and 12 in the morning, or the indoor pool randomly closed for a few hours in the middle of the day. The cleaners attended the rooms at strange times as well. The indoor and outside pools were very, very cold. If you could get in and get over the coldness, then after a while your body got used to it, but in particular, the indoor pool I think should have been heated.
The staff went out of their way to create a lively atmosphere, particularly for the children and every evening we were there they had a little disco and sing-along for the kids where the staff really committed to dressing up. There were also daily activities, such as water aerobics and pool games that anyone could get involved in. There were touch screens around the hotel which you could press on to look at timetables for the different activities for the different age groups. A great thing about the hotel is that they gave out free bottles of water, this could be stored in your fridge or taken with you as you went out in the day, I thought that was a really nice touch.
There were two buffet restaurants which were opened at slightly different times. Both offered quite similar foods, although one was more limited in their offer than the other, but there was quite a vast choice in food in one. There were also a couple of other restaurants which were also included in the all-inclusive, but you had to book in advance. They had a few bars around the hotel and by the pool area from which you could get a wide variety of drinks from.
The hotel had a small game arcade, for which you needed coins to play the games. Most games were 1 euro each. Most kids, especially boys (from what I could see), loved this. Elijah and I spent a while in there and he thought it was fantastic, so I would advise you to have enough coins.
The hotel was located near a beach, but it was small and got very packed. This could have also been maintained a little better as there were some rickety stairs to get down to the beach (remember, I was travelling with a person with a mobility issue). However, once on the beach I felt the atmosphere was really nice even though it was overcrowded, as a black woman travelling, I have had experiences (particularly in Europe) where I have felt uncomfortable, but this was not the case the local residents were extremely friendly. The sea was cold, but the sun was hot, so it works itself out and Elijah and I had a delightful few hours just playing around in the sea.
TUI has a rep that visits the hotel for a few hours every day. Through the rep you can book excursions. There were several available, like costal tours with wine tasting, catamaran trips with BBQ, trips to a splash park, etc. We chose to go on an ocean boat ride from Albufeira to see the dolphins and to visit the top 5 caves in Portugal, including the Benagil cave seen in films and used for weddings etc.
When you are choosing a trip, you can see the costs and the length of time on the trip. The rep also talked through what happens on the trip. Our rep was Ella (she was great) and I was able to check with her about which trips were suitable for kids and my mum because of her mobility problem, and Ella made the process really easy.
For the trip, we left out in the early morning. A minibus came to pick us up and took us down to the marina. From there, we could board the boat. The trip was a really pleasant atmosphere; we went around the coast and saw some beautiful sights; we then went in search of the dolphins, and we found them! It was a really good experience that I would recommend. My only issue is that there were several groups, which should have operated together to make this trip work. There was Ella the rep, the person who sold us the tour, the minibus company who took us to the marina and the boat operators. Sometimes they were a little out of sync with each other. For example, Ella mentioned that we should take swimwear, but there was not the option to swim and the minibus driver was not 100% sure what time our boat was coming back so that he could pick us up. However, we had such a good time, so I think we can overlook this! This trip cost 51 euros per adult and 36 euros for children.
Overall, I would recommend this hotel and TUI. I’m a little on the fence about Easy Jet. Please subscribe to the blog and follow us on all our social media channels. The links are above.
Comments