3HB Guarana (ex. Riu Guarana)

Our first experience of all inclusive, and we are converts. We stayed just 4 days as sitting in the sun for longer doing not very much is not our usual holiday. Plenty of space and loungers although if you want to be sat further away from your fellow holiday makers, choose wisely. The place is spotless, and plenty of greenery too. The pools are plenty warm enough, and each popular with children. It's definitely a family hotel. The entertainment was entertaining, and even we were joining in 'the song/dance' by the end of our stay. Food was plentiful, and restaurants ran smoothly. I'm not convinced there was much alcohol in any of the drinks, which means there was also no drunken behaviour, but there were plenty to choose from and a swim up bar. I guess my only suggestion would be , make an area around the swim up bar where people don't play ball games etc and splash those of us sat enjoying a drink. The indoor pool and sauna etc were lovely, and adjacent changing room/shower useful on our last day when we had to surrender our room at 11 for a flight much later in the day. We also treated ourselves to a massage in the lovely spa, which does just take cash payments.

I’d rate the hotel 3.5 ⭐️ there is lots of positives but the things this hotel lacks compared to previous 4 stars we have stayed in prevents me from giving it 4 stars. The location of this hotel is great a short 5/10 minute walk down into the town where there is plenty of shops and restaurants and you can walk down to the beach. It’s also only a short drive into Albufeira and Vilamoura and Ubers are fairly cheap. The hotel is very clean and the staff do work really hard clearing plates and cups from round the pool and in the restaurant and bars etc. The pool: Baring in mind we came end of July when the weather was mid 30s for our first few days the pool was too cold to get in and I mean it felt almost Baltic, yes you want it to be refreshing but the water was too cold to stay in for more then a few minutes, luckily after a couple of days it did improve slightly but we’ve never been to a hotel where the pools were this cold. You are not allowed inflatables in the pool so almost everyone has volleyballs or footballs so you do sometimes feel like you are constantly dodging and trying to not get hit, there is a smaller quiet pool which doesn’t allow balls. Food: The food is nice but there is not much variety at all, the snack bar offers chicken nuggets, burgers, hot dogs, pizza and chips and a couple of sandwich and wraps this is the same everyday. The main buffet restaurant again has very similar things everyday, there is a pasta station which normally has tomato sauce and bolognese and then one sauce which alternates, nuggets and burgers and then normally has one or two meat options chicken or pork in a different sauce, then pizza, chips and rice. It has a selection of cheese and meats but I feel the more adventurous would struggle, my family is not particularly fussy but we did struggle and found we were eating the same things daily they don’t seem to really do theme nights or anything, we saw live cooking a couple of times at lunch and the paella they did for this was delicious but they don’t do this often enough. There are 2 specialist restaurants which are Mediterranean, which is meat like chicken, ribs, chicken wings, veal this was nice but it’s lacking an a la carte vibe as you can book as many times as you want but it’s still buffet and the queues were very long. We tried the oriental but didn’t really enjoy this one as it’s mainly sushi. Entertainment: This is where the hotel is really lacking. When you pay 6.5 grand for a holiday you expect better entertainment then a Kahoot quiz and karaoke from YouTube which is what they do on alternate nights, we had a good band called 33lm I believe who sang 80s hits and the white party was ok but other then that it really is awful, if your near the back you often can’t hear the singers and the show the entertainment team put on was so bad it was funny, wether it’s a new team or it’s not practiced I don’t know but half didn’t seem to know what they were doing and they were not in sync with eachother at all. As they do a weekly rotation we were there 10 nights so the quizzes were repeated aswell. We would return to the area but probably wouldn’t return to this hotel the pool is too cold and the entertainment and food options were not good enough for the price and of a 4 star standard.

This is my honest review of this hotel and I will give has much information as possible. When we book holidays, I always believe in, you get what you pay for. There may be cheaper options around then this place, but you certainly won't get better value anywhere else. Travelled as a family of 5 with a 5 year old, 3 year old and 1 year old. Booked with Jet2. We had an early flight, Faro airport was fairly busy on arrival with passport control but as we were travelling with a little one, we were moved to assisted line which helped us get through quicker. We decided to opt for an uber to the hotel instead of using the Jet2 transfer as we didn't fancy the 1.5hr transfer time that was advertised but we were told by others that is was actually closer to an hour. The uber took around 30 mins and was around €40 but I think is cheaper and quicker on quieter times of the day. Check in: On arrival at the hotel, the reception is beautiful with very nice seating areas and great views of the pools. The staff at reception were extremely helpful with giving all the information about the hotel and our stay. They did remind us that check in was 4pm but had notified the cleaners and would try get us in the room as quickly as possible. After a short trip exploring the facilities and some quick lunch, reception phoned to let us know that our room was ready around 1pm. Room: The room was a lovely and clean. Plenty of storage room and many hangers. Good size bathroom with toilet, bidet, sink and bath with shower facilities. Soap, shower gel and shampoo all included and plenty towels. There wasnt sn't any tea/coffee making facilities or iron which others have previously mentioned. But not much of an issue for us. Tea and coffee is available from all bars and restaurants for most hours of the day. Safe was free to use, which we have to pay for in many other destinations. TV with lots of channels and some in English. We had a balcony with a view over the pool areas. Yes we could hear the entertainment but when the door was closed and the air con was on, we couldn't hear a thing. We were also surrounded by families but never heard anything from neighbouring rooms. Hopefully they couldn't hear my children either 😆 Rooms were cleaned daily, towels and sheets were exchanged but not daily. Some people have mentioned disappointment in this but you don't change bed sheets daily at home so why expect it on holiday? The rooms was a good size but as a family of 5 it was a squeeze with a cot. Still enough room to move around and get ready though. Nothing that we didn't already expect. Restaurants: The main buffet restaurants offered a great selection of many styles of foods for all meals. Some foods are repeated every few days but we never struggled for variety. There are two specialty restaurants in the hotel. Both included in the price of your stay but need to be booked at the reception. I can't mention anything about the Mediterranean as we didn't use it but the Oriental restaurant was fantastic with plenty of choice including a Sushi bar. There is a snack bar which is a open for most of the day and reopens in the evening once the main restaurant is closed and is open til late. The food here is always the same, Pizza, toasties, sandwiches, wraps, hot dogs, burgers, fries and salads. If I could say one negative, it would be that a variety change would be good in the snack bar. Drinks are self service in the restaurants, with beer and wine of self pour taps and juice, pop and coffee machines. The staff are excellent in the restaurant, very welcoming and very good at keeping things clean and tidy. I don't remember seeing any stains or food spillages in the buffet areas. All in all, this is the best all inclusive food I have ever experienced. We enjoyed every meal and so did the children. Bars: Good selection of drinks and never qued long for a drink. Self service drinks available aswell. There is a Pool bar, main bar in the evening next to the evening entertainment , Sports Bar and a Swim up bar in the main pool which was a nice touch. Pools: Pools were exceptionally clean and water levels were checked multiple times in the day. I also saw people cleaning the filters and grids every morning. Plenty of sun loungers available through all hours of the day. People did get out early in the morning to reserve prime spots next to the kids pool. You can really make this place as busy or quiet as you want to. There are plenty of sun loungers available in quieter areas if you want to stay away from the kids and loud areas. Towels are included in your stay and can be exchanged every day inbetween certain hours. We didn't try the spa and indoor pool but we did go and see it and it did look very nice. Our children really enjoyed the splash park each day. Plenty of slides with a tipping bucket which is built on soft flooring rather than in water. This was really good as our 1 year old could wander round and enjoy the facility without the fear of him falling in the water. Our older children loved it too and we often had to prise them out each day. Entertainment: Plenty of entertainment available throughout the day for all ages and adults. My son enjoyed kids club and the splash park and play area was very good. Unfortunately the kids club is only available for ages 4+ but can be used for younger ages if accompanied by an adult. Sports pitch is also free to use but need to book with reception. Evening entertainment is a good variety, with outsides acts from magicians, bands, singers and Saxophone players ( which was very good). There in-house entertainment team are an absolute credit to the brand. They are extremely energetic and seems to generally enjoy their jobs. Always tryng to make people smile and get people involved. Their team shows they put on were very well organised and choreographed and always full of fun. There is a mini disco every evening which my children loved and even the adults seemed to love getting involved. One of the biggest highlights for us, was the pool party they put on every Saturday. So much fun and everybody seemed to enjoy it. Location: The area was brilliant. Plenty of little shops, restaurants and bars within easy walking distance. The beach area was really nice with great views and bars. Sun loungers are available to hire on the beach but not sure on the cost. There are plenty of towns and places to visit in quite a short taxi ride and low cost. We travelled in large taxi to Vilamoura for les than €20. I celebrated my birthday whilst away. Without any mention of it to the hotel, a note was pushed under our room door wishing me a happy birthday. When visiting the restaurant for our evening meal, again without it being mentioned to them, they wished me a happy birthday and brought us a bottle of fizz to celebrate. Just a really nice touch. Overall, I really can't rate this place any higher and really recommend it to everyone. Yes this place is excellent and geared for kids but it really is for all travellers. You can make this place as busy or quiet as you want to. With yhe facilities and entertainment it has, what do you expect if its full of kids having a great time and being loud. True happiness. Like already mentioned, the cleanest hotel and best food for an all inclusive I have every experienced. We very rarely are sad to leave somewhere but we truly were very sad to leave this place. We really hope to visit this place again.

This hotel is one of the best we have stayed in for a long time. The hotel was very clean and the rooms were very comfortable. Only downside was that we did not have a room overlooking the pools, but that is a minor issue. All staff were very friendly and helpful. Food was varied and plenty available. Eating earlier, meant there was not the usual congestion you would expect. The times when we did eat a bit later was busier but still not too bad. Having the option of eating inside or outside was nice and the staff that greeted us and took us to our table were always very polite and cheerful. Waiting staff were very efficient and polite. The whole dining experience was the best we have ever experienced for an all inclusive. Availability of sunbeds was good and the pools were busy but still had room for fun. The variety of pools for different aged children was excellent. We had 2 x 13 year old boys with us who spent all their time in the larger pool. But if you have really young children the pool and water splash area for younger children is perfect. The quieter pool near to the restaurant is ideal for couples. The entertainment team run a pool party on Saturday afternoon which was brilliant fun. The entertainment team work really hard both during the day and in the evening and you can get involved as much or as little as you like. As part of our hotel package we had 2 days at slide and splash and then we also went to Aqua show as well. If you want to go into Albufeira it is a 10 minute uber ride which costs about 7 euros one way. Definitely worth it for water sports and walking around Albufeira old town. Overall, we had a great week and will definitely look to go back.

Positives: Standard room was nice with fridge, (free) safe and refillable bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body cream so no need to bring your own. Be aware pool view rooms are above the evening entertainment which can be a bit loud at night. Food - loads of choice for kids and adults. I really don't think you can fault the food choice, variety was excellent. There are also 2 onsite buffet restaurants (Mediterranean & Oriental). Both free. We booked the day we arrived, they only do 2 sittings in the evening. Drinks - the self serve areas are brilliant, for water, fizzy drinks, juice, tea and coffee means you don't always have to go to the bar where there may be a queue. You're never short of food or drink. Cocktails and alcohol free flowing, all very good. Pool towels available no need to bring one (changed daily between 9.30-12 noon). Hotel entrance is really nice but you never see it (unless you have a room on the reception floor). Negatives: - Queuing in the main restaurant - this makes it feel like a school canteen and with little purpose. You have to get ticked off the list but don't need someone (from the animation team dressed as a pirate or fairy etc) to show you to a table, this causes a delay and a queue and really dampens the experience. The kids mini disco is right next to the outside dining area so you can't really have a nice dining experience because it's very loud with the kids having a great time. The indoor aesthetic of the restaurant isn't all that nice, canteen vibe with LED screens showing 'pizza', 'pasta' bar etc. - Pool - there are 3 outdoor pools (2 swimming, 1 splash) and a spa. It's the first time i've been to an all inclusive (or any hotel) that allows children under 16 in the free spa area (16+ for sauna or steam). This is just another extension for children. I wanted to swim lengths in the indoor pool but the jacuzzi and pool had small infants and children so I couldn't. This area is open to children but be aware you won't be able to do any 'actual' swimming here. I considered using the steam/sauna (but couldn't) as kids just use it and there's only space for 1-2 people max comfortably. - The hotel is mainly British rather than a mix of different cultures/nationalities. - Housekeeping - tidy room daily (bins emptied, beds made) but sheets are only changed every 3 days for eco/sustainability, I wasn't a fan of that. - Sunbeds - this hotel has SO many sunbeds, you can get one at any time of the day (tried & tested). I never sat by the main pool as they're just lined up in a row so you're lying next to someone else which felt a bit too close for comfort. Sunbed warriors reserve beds at the crack of dawn but there are loads (even whole areas by the splash pool) so no need to worry. - there is a retro gaming room and 2 pool tables in a room next to it. I love playing snooker/pool but the rooms were really dank, dark and smelt like feet that I couldn't bear to stay in them. -our shower was not great, inconsistent temperature going from very hot to cold likely due to the sheer number of people showering at core times. it's not a 'rain shower' which was fine for me but might bother others. Overall - if you have kids, book it, loads to do and they'll be well catered for. This hotel is run with children in mind and not necessarily for a mix of guests. I normally don't like staying in an adults only hotel as it can be a bit stuffy but unfortunately this had gone too far the other way for me personally. Would I recommend? If you have children, absolutely but couples or solo guests, sadly not.