location was great staff were friendly and helpful rooms very comfortable and clean

only complaint was the amount of loungers by the pool I would recommend they have more and enforce a no reservation policy as we saw loungers reserved and unoccupied for long periods.

We really enjoyed our stay at AP Maria Nova and will definitely be going back. The room was slightly on the small side but the beds were comfortable. The breakfast was great, something for everyone and the staff kept everything clean and tidy, constantly clearing tables. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and all of the food we had was very nice and fresh. We had a nice relaxing time by the pool and enjoyed the food and drinks that were on offer from the pool bar. We also spent some time in the steam room and spa and in the Nomad roof terrace bar in the evenings. I had my birthday during my trip and I came back to a bottle of bubbly and a delicious cake left in my room by the hotel staff, which was a lovely surprise. The hotel is located conveniently for exploring beautiful Tavira and the surrounding villages. We went to Villa Real and took a ferry over to Ayamonte in Spain for the day. We visited 3 beaches and our favourite was Praia da Ilha de Tavira which is reached by ferry, just a 10 minute walk from the hotel.

The bar/restaurant staff work really hard at this hotel, we saw them covering the breakfast area then the pool bar and later in the evening the Nomad bar. The only little niggle we had was the long wait for drinks in the Nomad Bar in the evenings. We are laid back and every thing comes in time but we did have to chase them up 3 times on one evening, even though it was relatively quiet. The bed pillows were too flat.

Room was good, we were in standard room, with a balcony overlooking the street. I deliberately chose that as my husband can’t sit in the sun, the balcony was shady, so he could sit outside but not be in the sun. Breakfast was good, lots of variety, plenty of fruit. Coffee was self serve from a machine, I prefer it served to the table but it was good coffee. Pool and surrounding areas were great, plenty of beds, with canopies and shady trees. The walk into town for plenty of bars and restaurants was about 2 mins down a steep hill, I’m not great going up hills, I am 68 and have arthritis in my feet and knees, however, the first day took us 3 mins to get back up to the hotel, by the end of 10 days it was taking 1.5 mins. The certainly not a problem unless you need walking sticks. The fourth floor bar was brilliant, open until 1.00am, with great views over the city. Music most nights, sometimes live other nights a DJ. The live music was sometimes a bit loud for us (still good) DJ was fine just background music really. They also do tapas boards, we tried them one evening they were very cheap and large. The staff were all lovely, exceptionally helpful. I think I read in another review you had to pay for the safe, that’s not the case. They tell you at check in you can only connect 3 items to wi-fi, we asked for additional tokens no problem. Internet connection was good in all areas of hotel. The spa area looked good but we didn’t use it so I can’t comment. Also the hotel wine was from the owners vineyard and it was delicious and cheaper than some of the bars in town. 3€ for a large glass.

Nothing

We booked for a suite which we'd done previously. The details read :- room with balcony, patio and terrace. We were given a room with a tiny balcony and had to pay an additional £1723 to be given the same master suite, we'd booked in previous years. Booking.com need to check the room descriptions they are issuing against suites. We waited 2 hrs to be transferred and paid a lot of extra money to get what we initially understood we'd booked for.

Our 3rd stay here. Great hotel for an out of season break. By the end of March we were able to swim in the outdoor pool although the water was very cold! Made good use of the indoor spa pool, sauna and steam room - swim caps now compulsory in spa pool. Fabulous breakfast in conservatory with music from gentleman on grand piano. Amazing selection of breakfast food. Room spacious with good sized balcony. Room 135 at road side of building but still lovely views across the city and wonderful sunsets. Loads of storage space in room. Location is perfect for walking down into beautiful Tavira and using the short ferry ride out to Tavira beach- vast, sandy and very quiet in March. Easy to access the train from Porta Nova station and explore the other beach resorts and towns along this gorgeous coastline. Great walking routes along coastline too. Will definitely be returning.

Great location good facilities

Some areas particularly corridors to rooms were tired and need updating.

Staff very friendly and helpful. Apart from the slow wifi connection, everything about the hotel was excellent. The breakfast was the best ever with a fantastic selection of food. (I would suggest having trays available for guests in the breakfast room - maybe they were available and I just missed them). It had a great sky bar with a beautiful view of Tavira and the music on the night of our stay was a plus. Restaurants and cafés only a five minute walk away (hilly walk !). Wonderful pool area with pool bar and loungers. A great hotel - would highly recommend it.

The slow WiFi connection in the hotel. A faster WiFi network would be ideal. The WiFi at the hotel was very slow with the result, while my husband persevered with it, I used my own 4G. Very comfortable bed, although pillows were a bit too soft.

Indoor pool was nice but small & would feel slightly crowded if more than 1 person in it. Breakfast was excellent - as were the restaurant staff. The piano player was a nice touch. The location for the town was super - even if the walk up the hill from the town to the hotel was a killer!!! Views from our balcony were super as we were so high up.

We had a “superior” room but it didn’t feel anything special. The pillows were dreadful - no life in them at all as in soft & floppy. No instructions on how to reset the safe and couldn’t get it to work - reception said they would send someone up to help us work it but that didn’t happen as they got “very busy” ( according to a receptionist). There was no milk - even long life - on the tea/ coffee tray. Not big things but irritating for a “superior” room.

We had booked a room with a large terrace, sun loungers and hot tub. Having stayed in the hotel before it was worth upgrading, not only for the outdoor space but great inside space as well with a sitting area. The bed was large and very comfortable.

I am not a fan of glass walled bathrooms however the shower and the toilet did have separate areas. The lighting in the bathroom, especially for putting on make up, was not good and I would have preferred a separate mirror rather than just the one over the sink.

- The hotel is conveniently located just a short walk up a hill from the river front and town centre. - The staff were all super friendly and the service was great. - The room was of a decent size, basic but perfectly fine. - Main outdoor swimming pool was lovely, perfect temperature and clean. - Breakfast was great, lots of different options and the fruit was fresh each day. The pianist was a lovely touch. - Nomad bar great for food and drinks with a lovely view over Tavira.

- The pillows are terrible, very flat and lumpy. - The food at the pool bar is ok, nothing special. - Gym was small Unfortunately there is a small building site right opposite the hotel. Of course the hotel can't do anything about this but did note it on their website, however, booking.com didn't so we were not aware of this until we arrived. That said, it wasn't overly bothersome. We had room 313 at the front of the hotel, so didn't get woken up by said building works, however, the train going past every so often was a little loud but again not overly bothersome.