Marina de Lagos holiday apartment: Lagos

We were very pleasantly suprised when we entered this very large modern apartment. My boyfriend and I stayed for 9 days in August and it was perfect for us. It's very large for a one-bedroom apartment with a large entrance hallway, good size double bedroom (with twin beds), nice if plain bathroom, modern seperate kitchen and big living room/dining room. This has a pull-out bed couch, and I think the apartment would comfortably cater for 4 people. There's an elevator and the common areas are clean and bright. We didn't rent a car so never got to see the garage. The photos don't really do it justice - one thing they don't show is the large balcony with two sun loungers, and an outdoor table and chairs for 4 people. This overlooks the pool and has views of the marina too. The pool that you have passes for is in the Marina Club hotel next door: again the description doesn't make this too clear. It's a nice pool, good size with decent loungers and nice clean toilets and snack bar/restaurant. The pool was busy most days during our stay, with mainly families from UK, Ireland and northern Europe. We were 10 min walk away from the main beach which has nice bars and you can rent loungers, but we didn't get there for a full day as we did surfing day trips to beaches further away (can be organised through any of the town's surf shops for €45 a day including transport, wetsuit, board, lessons - good value we thought). In the marina there are several bars and restaurants, with the ones near the apartment being more tame. Most evenings we would walk across the foot bridge and down into the main town, this takes 10 mins at pace, or 15 if strolling. It's a nice walk over the swing bridge. The town is super for bars, restaurants, especially seafood. I can see why so many people come here from the rest of Portugal. The 'adega de marina' is worth queueing for, at least once. it's great value. Also try 'Don toro' steakhouse and an african-themed tapas bar, can't remember the name. And enjoy!