A surpisingly classy hotel in small-town Portugal

Advantages: Very stylish, surprisingly cheap
Disadvantages: Not a lot of reasons for most people to go there

...The last time I stayed in a hotel in small-town Portugal was nearly 20 years ago in the out-of-the-way north-eastern town of Braganca. It was a tiny hotel with a room so small you had to walk over the bed to get to the window and every evening the restaurant would fill up with men in blue overalls, drinking the local hooch, smoking cigarettes out of the corner of their mouths and waiting to see the latest Brazilian soap operas on the TV that was constantly on in the corner of the room. I loved it - the atmosphere, not the men in the overalls! So that was the image I had in my mind when I set off to Santo Tirso with a booking for the Hotel Cidnay. It was going to cost me around Euro70 for the night so I was expecting something pretty basic. I certainly didn't expect a stylish chic hotel that looked like it was straight out of the pages...

koshkha 20.06.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Hotel Cidnay, Sto Tirso, Portugal

Albufeira (Portugal) 4 Star Self Catering Hotel

Advantages: Near all amenities. Good central Location.
Disadvantages: You cannot book the sun (pity)

...Flights: The nearest airport is Faro in Portugal. BA flies there as do the main cheapos. Ryan Air flies from Stanstead whilst Easy Jet flies from Gatwick, Luton and Stanstead. The earlier the flight is booked the cheaper the cost. Faro Airport: A smallish airport. Quite quick once landed but not too funny when flying back, as once you're through security, the shops and eating area is quite small. Expect long and slow queues when trying to eat or drink. Taxi's: Are available from the airport but I dont know their cost. If you're with a tour operator they will usually supply transport. If you've booked with the hotel direct, they can arrange an air-conditioned taxi for a fee of about 30 Euro's. Travelling time to Albufeira is about 40 mins. Albufeira: Imagine a road about 1 mile long, with a few roundabouts dotted along...

martinwi 17.02.2008 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Brisa Sol Hotel Apartmento, Albufeira

  Portugal's Costa do Sol

Advantages: A Stretch of Coastline with Villas and Architecture from a Ggolden Era
Disadvantages: None

...which isn't too far from Estoril and made the first literary reference to the introduction of windmills into Europe. This Arab poet is remembered by a single monument near the windmills on the road to the Autodrome. Palacio Hotel ~~~~~~~~ Estoril is known for its hotels and my favourite hotel is the Hotel Palacio which has been welcoming guests since the 1930's. This famous hotel became the home of King Umberto of Italy when he was deposed and it was also used as a centre for espionage during World War II. German and Allied secret agents are said to have met for discussions at the bar here and Jewish refugees, for whom neutral Portugal was the final staging post before fleeing to America, were obliged to pay their hotel bill by handing over their family treasures. Now, the hotel is a modern symbol of luxury and comfort in...

Praski 06.05.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Cascais-Estoril (Portugal)

Hotel in Portugal's Paris-Hint of Hercule Poirot

Advantages: Friendly Staff, Great location
Disadvantages: Doesn't have all the mod cons

...The Hotel Astoria is situated in Coimbra, one of the four major cities of Portugal. The other three are Lisbon, Oporto and Braga, and the Portuguese (bless them!) have a little ditty to describe all four. They say, in between mouthfuls of roast suckling pig, that 'Braga prays, Oporto works, Coimbra studies and Lisbon plays'. From that you can probably guess that Coimbra is the principal university town, their version of Oxbridge. It is, in my opinion the best-looking and friendliest major city in Portugal. The bulk of the city and the campus areas are on and around a dome like hill and is the usual Portuguese mix of white marble and redbrick squalor. The residential and commercial centre however is on the banks of a wide meandering river, the River Mondego. It is here that you will find the Hotel Astoria, overlooking the river and close...

bigush 03.01.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Astoria Hotel Coimbra

There is more to Portugal than the Algarve - visit Lisbon

Advantages: Easy to get around and different quirky places to visit, everyone speaks English
Disadvantages: The City seems a bit 'faded glory'- places uncared for and tired

...what we would see on the way going across the Serra do Caldeirao and which regions we would pass through and then as it was early she said she would be quiet until nearer Lisbon. As we approached Lisbon she told us about the toll on the A22 and the various industries approaching Lisbon and the fact that we would go into Lisbon over the April 25th Bridge and see the huge statue of Christo Rei which is a bit like the Corcovado in Rio and overlooks the city of Lisbon from a great height. This bridge was the first to cross the Tejo and was originally called Saladar Bridge until the coup overthrew the Fascist dictator Saladar in 1974 and Portugal became a democratic Republic. The Portuguese are justifiably proud of this bridge and liken it to the Golden Gate bridge of San Francisco which is does resemble to be fair. We drove over the bridge...

catsholiday 21.06.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Lisbon (Portugal)

Graceful Portugal

Advantages: Relaxing, hot, beautiful scenery
Disadvantages: very steep streets, mad drivers

...I went on my first holiday aboard in 20yrs last year, with my sister, her husband, and their family - to Portugal, we stayed in an apartment complex a few miles out of Lagos - We were only there for a week and had a day trip into Lagos - we caught the local bus, which was air conditioned, but was a bit rickerty, the journey took us about 40mins, through very narrow streets in places. At one point we thought the bus would not make it, but it limped and got us there. It cost us the equivalent of £2.00 each on the bus. Once there the main highway boarding along the coast and the marina is very wide and very busy, there are many crossing along the road, which you can us to cross safely and go into the town. We walked along the front, where you go to many little coves and swim in the sea - which is the most beautiful blue. One...

arnoldhenryrufus 17.07.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Lagos (Portugal)

  The modern face of Air Portugal

Advantages: Got there in one piece
Disadvantages: Ohhh where to begin? Customer service, Cabin crew, food?

...~Introduction~ Transportes Aereos Portugueses or TAP Portugal was formed in 1945. The first planes were converted C-47's (or Dakota's) as used by Allied forces to drop troops on D-day and ferry in supplies. Most of the original TAP pilots were trained in England by BOAC, whilst others completed training with Iberia the Spanish national airline. The early routes were local, the first was Lisbon to Madrid, then the major Portuguese cities were added and finally international destinations. Step forward 50 years and we have the modern TAP Portugal with destinations to the major Portuguese cities, Europe, Africa and South America. In 2002 TAP carried over 5.5 million passengers on it's network, (Source: www.worldaviation.com). For this you get jet engine planes, grubby leather seats, sulky attendants, tasteless food and incompetent...

buzzard_cad 12.09.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of TAP Air Portugal

Portugal Revised

Advantages: see above
Disadvantages: see above

...After some helpful suggestions, I decided to do this opinion on the town in Portugal I went to, Lagos. Lagos is on the western end of the Algarve, about 100km from Faro, and it is one of the most historical places in Portugal. On the front, there is a huge statue of Henry the Navigator, possibly Portugal's biggest hero, but you can find a much stranger statue in the centre. It is supposed to resemble a spaceman, although it is actually a statue of a 15 year old king, and it is a very controversial statue, because this king led Portugal to a disastrous defeat in Morocco, but he made Lagos the capital of the Algarve, which earned him this statue. The town today is one of the least built up in the Algarve, probably because it does not actually have its own beach. To the west, there are alot of smaller beaches, and not much building...

Yeahmate 03.03.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Lagos (Portugal)

Northern Portugal - Something A Bit Different

Advantages: Quieter less popular holiday venue for Brits
Disadvantages: Weather doesn't stand comparison with the Algarve

...I?ve tried a couple of times to get a more localised category put on Ciao, but since we have in fact ranged over a sizeable part of northern Portugal, I?ll file this under Portugal:General ******************************************************************** I?ve been to Portugal for a two-week holiday four times now over a six year period, the first three occasions, being, not surprisingly, to the Algarve region. This year, we felt like a change, so we head north to the Douro and Minho areas of the far north ? so far north in fact that it borders Galicia in north-western Spain. After all, an area that produces port and vinho verde can?t be all bad, can it? Well no IT can?t but the early August weather is another matter. Please don?t go there expecting the same fortnight of pool- or beach-side laziness that you can get away...

BNibbles 21.08.2004 (22.08.2004) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Portugal:General

The Strand Palace Hotel

Advantages: Central location, clean
Disadvantages: Food, rooms

...We stayed at this hotel in London a little over a month ago now for two nights, we chose this hotel mainly because of the central location and because it was only a ten minuite walk from the show we had booked to go too. Check in was very quick - About ten minuites and the staff at the reception seemed very friendly. My first thoughts on the hotel was that it looked really clean and that it was nicely decorated and it looked modern. I was a little dissapointed with our room as it was very small and basic, our room had a double bed, tea and coffee making facilities, a tv with satellite and a small, basic en suite bathroom with a shower. The views from our room very very poor - A block of offices which made our room dark as they were so close. The hotel has two bars and two resturaunts, the bars were again nicely decorated...

kate44 03.05.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of The Strand Palace Hotel, London