I have stayed in the Hotel Santa Caterina twice in two years. Each time I used it primarily to sleep in, which is a good thing because you would'nt want to stay there any longer than was absolutely necessary. The tiny rooms I booked which were, to be fair, cheap as chips, both had leaks in the vicinity of the toilet bowl, Ugh. No tea/coffee making gear. No slipmat in the bath. Shampoo/shower bottles not replenished. View of a wall 6 ft outside my window. Breakfast was ok. I checked the prices for December and they are horrendous. Only plus is location.

great location , make sure you book sea view room , its the quite end of the strip , lovely to sit on the balcony before going out for dinner with a glass of wine over looking the beach.
Rooms average size, very clean , clean towels daily , beds changed 3 times when we stayed, all staff were extremely helpful.
breakfast was usual continental with plenty of it and lots of fresh fruit, , previous reviews said beds were hard but we found them perfect and had great nights sleep.

the hotel has a panoramic lift which is lovely and noone seemed to comment on before
would definetely book again without hesitation

Stayed at this hotel for a week. On our arrival the reception staff was very helpful despite it being after midnight. We got a sea view room as booked through lowcostholidays.com from where the initial holiday experience started with quick efficient emails with no hassle experienced throughout the booking and flying experience.
Our card did not work on the door lock but this turned out to be batteries which the receptionist promptly changed and the bedroom was clean and tidy complete with en suite.
Yes the furniture is basic and dated but its just furniture at the end of the day. Beds were comfortable and we got good nights sleep every night even with windows open and being along main street from the "brit" area and opposite the Algarve casino.
The air con works, the safe works, the room was cleaned to a high standard and bedding and towels changed regularly and we had no complaints.
Staff were pleased to help and pleasant at all times. Breakfasts were nice, continental as we would expect when on the continent with plenty of fruit, breads, jams and the bacon, egg and beans for those who can't do without. Fruit juice is the powdered variety but we have found this seems to be standard abroad over last couple of years.
Panoramic lift was out of order for a couple of days but plenty of other lifts available.
Perfect location away form the Brit and Irish bars but only a short walk away, a lovely view from our room opposite the casino but could see plenty of the East end of the beach together with the inlet to the harbour, meaning we happily spent time on our balcony with a bottle of wine inbetween the day at the beach and getting ready to go out at night.
The best bars and cafes/restaurants (for us) were also at this quieter end of town if you are away to experience local life but generally overall in the entire resort the main courses consisted of a lovely main item (meat, fish etc) but the veg and potatoes/chips/rice very basic so overall food is only a 5-6 out of 10 for myself but sardines so much nicer fresh!
Potomau nice and included a trip to the gypsy market but overall struggled to spend the whole day there but it is a nice walk along river and only about twenty minute walk along roads.
Lagos was much nicer than expected along with Alvor (bus from Portamau) but can get but there from few hundred yards from hotel.

Hotel is located in a very good area, just across from the beach and at the quite end of the strip and is excellent value for money. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the rooms were basic and very clean. I did not eat in the hotel because Praia da Rocha is full of excellent resturants,my favourite being the Safari resturant.All in all i enjoyed my stay at this hotel and if i went back to Praia da Rocha i would stay here again.