A new, modern facility in a small Portuguese town. The Axis is a bit of a surprise. If you're scrolling through the hotel listings looking for something a bit more up-market, this is probably your best choice.

Positives: it's new, so everything works. The rooms are nice, the restaurant has a good menu and reasonable prices, the staff is helpful. There is Wifi internet in the rooms, although the signal strength is a bit spotty. The bathrooms are very large and surprisingly well appointed.

Negatives: the rooms feel as though they were designed by an art student who never stayed in a hotel. They are super trendy with lots of contrasting blacks and whites, and quite nice to look at, but there is very little lighting. It feels like you're staying in a cave. There is simply not enough light to check your appearance or read a book. Please add a few lamps in the rooms, it's not a nightclub. There is Wifi internet in the room, but no desk. So business travelers will have to sit uncomfortably in an armchair pulled up to the dining table to do any work. Putting a pillow on the chair might get you high enough to sit at the table.

I'm not surprised this is the first English review on here, as with just foreign reviews we were unsure as to what to expect. Well..wow what a hotel, clean friendly, ultra modern hotel, in my top five of all hotels. I say 'hidden' this is quite the opposite, but an asset to the local area. This is only one year old and a bargain at £71 p/room incl breakfast through hostelbookers. If you like modern contemporary hotels you will love this one, all the staff we met were friendly, professional and helpful. The restaurant was great with al-la-carte style dining and reasonable priced. Breakfast had a very good selection of hot and cold food and drink all of a high quality. The outdoor 'infinity' pool was only 22° but soon warmed up!. The massive gym had all modern equipment with a friendly personal trainer (Hugo) to help use the machines and exercise. Parking was free outside the lobby, and had an underground overflow carpark. The local area is great for sightseeing and shopping (plus a massive supermarket within walking distance) See attached pics, looking forward to seeing more english reviews on here now!! as we will return here in the future. The only negative was I never saw the blonde which appeared in nearly every picture on axis website !