A Review of the Grande Real Santa Eulalia Resort in the Algarve Portugal

We recently explored the Algarve in Portugal for a weekend and decided to base our stay in Albufeira. It was right in the middle of the different districts in the Algarve so it seemed like a great location. During our stay we stayed at the Grande Real Santa Eulalia Resort. It touts itself as a five star hotel which seems like a bit of a stretch when compared to five star hotels in other cities like Las Vegas. However, even if it does come a little bit short compared to Las Vegas five-star standards, we still loved this place and would recommend it to anyone.

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Location: B+

The location for hotel is okay. There are some restaurants and bars in walking distance but the most interesting part of the city, which is Old Town Albufeira in my opinion, is about a 45 minute walk. There’s a shuttle bus that runs from the hotel into the town center so that helps but if you stay at this hotel and want to have a good night out with a couple of pitchers of sangria, your best bet is to rely on a cab to get back because it’s going to likely be a long walk.

Service: A+

Extremely friendly, helpful, and courteous. They also all spoke great English and seemed to go out of their way to make sure that everything was okay for us.

Cleanliness: A+

This was probably one of the cleanest hotels we’ve stayed at in any European country to date.

Rooms: A+

The rooms were huge and our studio came with a microwave and stove top and plenty of dishes. The bathrooms were pretty spacious as well. We decided to save some $ and not go with the ocean view rooms but I’m sure those would’ve been great. If you’re coming from the United States, this is the type of room size you come to expect but have a hard time finding in Europe for any kind of reasonable price, so it was great to finally have a room where we had plenty of space to put out our belongings and move around.

Beds: A/B

If you love firm mattresses then you will be in heaven here… however, if you’re like me and prefer a softer mattress it will take a little getting used to. Still, there were plenty of soft blankets and pillows to help out so I slept every well. Also, the beds are huge! I think our bed may have been a California king or something because it was one of the biggest beds I’ve ever slept in.

Bang for Buck: A+

We were able to use an Expedia coupon and get a $50 discount on our hotel so we only paid about $75 for two nights! Compared to other hotels we’ve stayed at in Amsterdam, Paris, and Madrid, this was an absolute steal!  Even without the $50 discount it still would’ve been a great deal for us, given its great location, spacious rooms, and amazing service.

Overall: A

Overall, I highly recommend this hotel and would definitely consider staying there again for our next stay in the Algarve. If you’re interested in staying at this hotel click here to find the latest deal!

Grande Real Santa Eulalia Resort in the Algarve Portugal FAQ