Stayed in september , weather great 29c everyday, food great although expensive , just went b/b breakfast really nice plenty of option, staff helpful , apartment really comfortable and clean,not hot as in reviews as you have your air con, could not fault it, quite resort but teaming with bird life , flamingos flying over most of the time,Tavira town really qaint,we walked it in twenty minutes , but the free shuttle is ideal if you want to go there for a meal, will definitely return.Yes there is a smell at times but its not the drains its the saltpans, but thats what draws all the birds, spoonbills, storks, cattle egret, little egret, hoopoe , and many more birders paradise

This is a very interesting hotel, inside a protected natural area. You have beach on one side and the "salinas" on the other.
It is an old fishermen village turned into an hotel, which makes it a beautiful place but has its downsides: the rooms are small and hot. But it's nice outside, and you really feel you're living in a small village.
We didn't enjoy at all the music in the bar and restaurant. Breakfast was nothing special neither the snacks in the bar.
But I would recommend it for it's a different hotel, far from the crowds.
You have to rent bikes, specially at sunset, it's beautiful in the "salinas".

We have just returned from a 6night break in this hotel on what was our first visit to Portugal and what a lovely time we have had. The staff were lovely and always did whatever they could to make our stay comfortable. It is so tastefully laid out, peaceful, clean, breakfasts lovely and how can you resist a jug of sangria by the side of the pool! It is the perfect place to relax and unwind. We would have preferred a room with a window that we could have open at night but we had french doors instead and so had to rely on the air-con which drives us mad (wherever we stay) as its either too hot or too cold or too noisy! Im sure we could have moved rooms but we had such a lovely patio area with a gorgeous view of the jetty and estuary that we decided to stay where we were.

There is no mistaking that there is a really horrible smell of stagnant sea water at times but we found it was only there twice a day at most and didnt last very long (couple of hours at most) and it was only ever there early mornings or late eves and so we just went inside - and besides, it really didnt matter as the whole atmosphere of the place is just so relaxing, we barely noticed it after a few minutes.

There are some lovely walks to be had around the area and we even saw some flamingoes wading in the nearby salt marshes, and lots of white herons, and storks, to name but a few. There are also lots of good eateries in Tavira and nothing too pricey.

For us, it was the perfect place to unwind.

We have spent 2 nights during our 15-days self-drive tour in Portugal with a friend in September 2011.
Out of all the hotels we lived in during that trip (7 in total) that was the only one which left such a bad impression.
The likes:
- a very nice beach on the island nearby,
- nice breakfasts
The dislikes:
- strong smell of drain everywhere around (especially in the areas nearby the fence and the bathroom) - maybe it was the bad time of the year but it was something you could smell all the way driving there from the town (the place is about 5 minutes driving from Tavira) and in the hotel as well.
- construction works noise starting at 8am sharply next to the hotel area. We lived just 2 doors from the hotel area fence and it was a 8am-alarm we really did not need!
- the rooms could be more spacious and need some maintenance (as well as the bathrooms)
- very poor choice of food for the dinners
- reception can barely handle this large number of guests - there are always queues there

I know that this place offers a lot of activities like birdwatching, nature parks walks etc. which we were not able to try due to a limited time and this could possibly make it a bit sweeter. But I could not get rid of a 3-star (maybe 3+) hotel impression during the whole stay at the hotel itself.

P. S. WiFi is available only in reception area and you need to pay for it.