We flew to Faro for a quickie week in early/mid September. We collected a car at Farp airport at 7.45pm (8.45 Spanish time) and drove the hour and a bit to Islantilla.

The hotel wasn't very hard to find and was very welcoming - the lady told us we had missed dinner but could have lunch next day if we wanted to (we had booked half board having read reviews on here). Our room was very comfortable, enough room for 4 with a sofa bed as well as our very big double and the decor and bathroom were excellent. TV and minbar laid on. The balcony wasn't great, big enough but a poor setting with any view blocked out by the bulidng design.

There was plenty of piping hot water and a wonderful power shower in the bathroom.

Food was pretty good on balance, the dining room was frantic as these self service buffet styles always are, but the food was plentiful whenever you went in. Yogurts, cereals hot food, cheese meat etc at brekkie - soup salad at least three types of lhot meat dishes, two fish and a cook to order area, ice cream, creme brulee, creme caramel, fruit cheese and bics in the evening. Loads and loads of it and wine very reasonably ppriced.

Evening entertainment wasn't rated by us, there was a mini disco with Agadoo going non stop and drinks in that area were dear.

Pool was good if cold, pool towels supplied and the grounds were well kept, tennis courts (with coach) gym sauna etc all laid on.

A long beach is a short walk across the promenade and it is a lovely beach if you like that sort- I prefer small sexy coves with sea views. Not so here, after all it is the bottom of Spain and next stop is Morocco I suppose.

The area itself disappointed me greatly. It is a beautiful natural place which has been ruined by developers, dumping hotels, apts and malls along it with not a lot of thought for conservation.. No atmosphere would be my biggetst criticism and the cost of drinks in the local mall are horrifyiong. £12 for a gin and tonic and a gin martini. There were restaurants and shops in the mall, mostly kiddies clothes, grown up clothes, perfumeries etc.

A word of warning - cigs are the most difficult thing to get a hold of in this area. The Spaniards have taken this non smoking ban very seriously and we had to go to Huelva up a back street to fiond a tobacconist would you believe!! I know I should stop but.........

We hired the car through a firm called Sixt and they were good, covered many hundreds of miles - Seville, Huelva, El Rompido etc. El Portil was a lovely little place but Islantilla was as I say bland and uninteresting.

The weather wasn't great either, I like wall to wall hot sun, and we did have a lot of cloud in the morning and a very severe thunderstorm one night. Not blaming Istantilla for that though!!

Driving back on the following Saturday we went to Monte Gordo, Tavira and Santa Lucia in Portugal. If I am honest I think I would have preferred to spend our week there, nice little towns and villages with an authentic feel.

Having said that Confortel was a very comfy hotel with a high standard of cleanliness and customer care. It was, as others have said especially caring about disabled people.

I don't think I'd go back but OH did enjoy it, he thought it was great.

i found staff unhelpfull , room so small patio door could not open fully too near bed ,hotel entrance very dirty should not be graded 4 star ,food was poor ,fruit was rotten .got room service on first day plate covering food had geen mould and thick dust underneath . thank god for sunway travel they got us moved to another hotel 3 days later.where we enjoyed the rest of our 2 week holiday in the hotel playacanela isla canela

we loved the hotel, and the food at the hotel, but the staff were very rude, and had bad attitudes towards us english. there was a few nice bars and restraunts, but other then that, not alot to do. we made it a good holiday though. zoomarine was great. x

We have just returned from a week in Confortel - Islantilla Costa De La Luz. it was okay, thats all i can say really. i expected more for a 4star. as soon as we arrived the staff at Reception were very helpful. One thing though- all british visiting this resort/hotel, try and learn some spanish even simple lingo will make your life alot
easier, and it also goes a long way with the locals. for example Ola-Hello, and Gracias- Thank you. It was me and my partner who went, both in our 20's getting away for a relaxing holiday by the beach, and this is what we got. the room was nice, could do with abit of a re-vamp, but was nice. in our room we had balcony, magnificent bathroom, aswell as a little fridge, with minibar, tv, a little device that allows you to play music, with speakers in room, but can be swiched off if you didnt want it. we werent very happy with the beds we had requested a double bed, but still got twin, which was very annoying when you go as a couple, but still have to sleep seperately, as the beds seperate. the room was also very spacious. the hotel overall was nice to be in, and very clean. the maids do a tremendous job, and work very hard, changing linen, towels and moping
up rooms daily. we were there on half board so we were provided breakfast and evening dinner, which were both buffet style. the food got abit repetitive, and i found it very bland, and unappetising, i didnt enjoy the food here at all, and we spent most nights eating out
from various restaurants around the town. as i mentioned the hotel had a great deal of facilities, the pool was huge, and i loved it. there was also a little walkway, and behind here was the beach, we didnt visit much as the sand was lovely, but the water had alot of seaweed, looked very dirty, and very pebbly, which made it hard to get into the water. but the good thing is the long stretch of miles of seafront, which we took into advantage. the hotel had its own gymnasium, which was free to use, and also a spa/sauna/and Jacuzzi. we used this facilities 3 nights out of the week. these luxuries were also very cheap, jus half an hour in the jacuzzi cost just 12euros each. there were 2 bars in the hotel, with 2 restaurant, entertainment was a bit naff, but we didnt stay for it, when the
central commercial" town was a minute walk, literally as soon as you stepped out the hotel. these have nice shops, a supermarket, and various cocktail bars, and many restaurants, including BURGER KING!!!! it also has a cinema, and plenty of ice cream parlours. in peak season they have a stretch of many stalls, selling jewellry, kids toys, bags, clothing, henna tattoos, hair braiding, which was nice. our week here was nice, i jus wished i had learned abit more spanish before coming out here, as sometimes they dont know alot of english. this was the first time i had been to spain and there werent alot of english/british. they were all spanish and portugese. which werent necessarily always a good thing. there was also a mini tram which picked u up outside the hotel and took you on a pleasure trip, or to the next town called La Antilla, which also had LOADS of Restaurants, bars, and stalls, there beach was magnificent. it was about a 15-20 min walk from the hotel. there is a car rental in the town, and excursions are better off being booked from here!! but that was our holiday, a nice one.