Recently returned from a week in late January at the Do Cerro on a half board basis.

The hotel is in 2 parts, the small main part with reception, bar and restuarant and a few rooms, and an annexe reached by an attractive tunnel that runs under the road. The layout is a bit quirky, but that just adds to the charm!

We were in the annexe part and on the 4th floor, with a sea view. The room was comfortable and spacious with a small balcony. The bathroom was a bit dated (to UK eyes) but well maintained and clean. The rooms were cleaned daily, with fresh towels supplied.

We were on half board. The breakfast was buffet style, with a large selection of cereals, hot breakfast, or cheeses, cold meats, fruit etc. Given the relatively low occupancy in January, the evening meal had to be pre-ordered by 2pm. You could choose from a selection of around 5 starters and about 15 main courses. This pre-ordering was entirely sensible, to us, given the small number of guests in the hotel. Given the price for the accomodation through Monarch holidays, the half board option offered outstanding value for money. I understand the hotel provides normal meal service in peak times of the year.

The Do Cerro is situated at the top of some steep bluffs overlooking the beach and the old town. To directly reach the town you need to go down a steep hill and various steps. However, that is the topography of Albufiera. It does not have a 'sea front' and the small old town is surrounded by hills.The majority of hotels are way out of the centre and all must involve some kind of hike to get down the the town. In this case it is short and steep, but there are various gentler ways of going to the beach/town with only a short detour.

We had a hire car and there are plentiful parking spaces around the hotel. We were out and about all the time, and recommended:

Monchique, Lagos, Cape St Vincent, Quinta do Lago (beach and nature trail), Vilamoura marina, Loule (and Saturday market). Bear in mind though in January a lot of places will be closed, we noticed this in Lagos in particular.

Totally unrelated to the Do Cerro, the Portuguese economy is is poor shape and it seems to be hurting, I have really noticed this returning to the Algarve for the first time after a few years. Shops and supermarkets that have gone bust are very evident, half built hotels and villa complexes are everyehere, some of them vandalised, a lot of graffiti, some of it political etc. Tolls have been introduced on the A22, and payment is very complicated at the post office at the other side of town, i'd advise using the N125.

All that aside the Do Cerro is a great place to stay at bargain prices!