Just back from our hols in mid October at the Confortel islantilla.
The journey seemed to take forever, waited 1 hour for our luggage at Faro airport and the transfer time was well over the predicted 2 hours with only 1 drop off. After leaving at 2am, we eventually arrived at 12.15pm on sunday afternoon and were told at the check in desk that our rooms weren't ready and to come back in an hour. We had no rep (at the airport or the hotel - we flew with Thomsons) so had to just dump our luggage and wander around for an hour.
The hotel itself doesn't look great from the outside or the pictures in the brochure, but it is a lot nicer than we expected, very clean and spacious, large pool area with gardens, plenty of sunbeds and you can get towels for a 10 euro deposit, however they are bright yellow and one problem we encountered were the flies when you sunbathe. There is also a small souvenir shop, bar etc however we were unlucky with the weather, we stayed for 11 nights and experienced all weathers from sun, strong winds, storms, cloudy then back to sun. There was absolutely nothing to do at the hotel when it is raining outside, there is a large room with tables and chairs but no games etc except for one pingpong table which they brought inside, we just sat around reading magazines for 2 days!
The rooms were good size, twin beds, tv, piped radio, air conditioning, telephone, safe (deposit required) there was a dressing table, but no mirror so you had to use the one in the bathroom or just by the door. The bathroom had an excellent shower/bath although the water did come out brown one day which wasn't pleasant, a large vanity area, there was also a hairdryer which started off really cool but got very hot! We were on the 2nd floor internal side view which you could just see the sea and pool area, but mainly there was a huge shallow pool in the internal gardens with some geese, two of which had just hatched some youngsters so they were our amusement for the entire stay! If you book I would recommend the 2nd floor as the balconies get smaller by the 4th floor. There was carpet on all the walkways to the bedrooms which cut down a lot of noise, there are 4 lifts which we never had to wait for.
The restaurant for breakfast opened at 8am and there was a good variety of foods, eggs/omelettes were cooked fresh, however the other cooked items ie sausage/bacon didn't look great. A large selection of rolls, breads and pastries, fresh and dried fruit, cereals, fruit juice, tea/coffee/chocolate machines, fresh milk and skimmed milk, also herbal teas, yoghurt, bottled water, meats, cheeses etc.
Dinner was at 7.30pm and was a lot busier, but again lots of choices, fresh fruit, rolls, salads, pasta and sauce, there were always 2 meals cooked fresh one meat and one fish, and other meals in serving dishes which weren't always that hot. Every day there were chips and one other potato choice, ie mash, boiled etc but the vegetables were overcooked and covered in garlic. My only comment was that the spanish eat their meals with olive oil poured over them, so most meals were quite greasy. We found the desserts lovely, the mousses were excellent, gateaux, ice creams, fruits.
The beach area is just a 2 minute walk away, through the gate in the garden, across the promenade and you are there. Fantastic if you love the beach, but as we went out of season, there were no chairs and no shade. We walked along the beach a few times, great if you like collecting shells, thousands to choose from, some were really unusual. A few jellyfish were washed up overnight, we saw one over 2ft wide, also a stingray, crabs and others. Not much else going on, the bars/cafes were closed for the season. Apart from the promenade and beach, there wasn't anywhere else really to walk so if you like adventure this is not the place for you. I also don't think that there is a lot for children to do although there was a small play area and some daytime activities. There is also an indoor pool, gym and spa area. We didn't go in, but others said you can only go into the indoor pool if you have a swimming hat, and the prices for the Spa looked quite expensive,
There was a small shopping precinct next to the compex, with an adequate supermarket, a few boutiques, and the first floor was mainly cafes/bars. We did get ripped off when we sat outside for an ice cream as they charged a 20% surcharge (which was in spanish on the menu). Buy your drinks in the supermarket, even water was 8 litres for 1 Euro, in the restaurant 1 litre was 1.8 euros.
The resort itself is Spanish, for Spaniards to stay for their summer holidays, they own the fishing shacks on the beach front and the new villas built, most were boarded up though as their season ends in September. No-one spoke English, but that wasn't a problem, how many people over here speak Spanish? We got by just fine with the language barrier, one waiter in the restaurant even got his phrase book out to help us out.
The one thing that must be said is that the complete hotel caters for the disabled and blind. There were several parties with wheelchairs and from the coach drop off to the beach there was not one step to encounter, both the pools had disabled chairs which lowered into and out of the water so this must be commended to the hotel, even the rooms had braille numbers on the door handles.
Room vacation was by 12 noon, but we were allowed to extend the rooms until 5pm for 25 Euros, which was great as it felt like we had an extra day there.
The most important things I look for in a holiday are nice location, food, relaxation and sun. Apart from the weather 3 out of 4 weren't bad. I have posted the negatives as well as the positives as everyone looks for different things in a holiday.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
