We enjoyed our stay at this hotel for the following reasons;

- clean and very well maintained
- friendly staff
- excellent child facilities (dedicated child playground and child playpool)
- quiet location, away from hustle and bustle
- short walk to beatuiful Falesia beach
- short walk to local shop/restaurants
- reasonable price for hotel (approx. €80 per night)

The only signifiacnt drawback of the hotel is that the pool area is not large enough for the amount of guests staying at the hotel; there was lots of competition for the sun-beds around the pool.

Here are a few small gripes;

- balcony door cannot be opened from outside when closed (our child locked us out on the balcony!)
- room front door can be easily opened by child
- no microwave in kitchen
- no english language satellite stations on TV
- stairs had to be navigated to get access to our "ground floor" room

My husband and 4 month old baby and I have just returned after staying at the Stella Maris in a 1 bedroom apartment for 7 nights. Having read many of the positive reviews before we booked, I am happy to say that the apartments lived up to our expectations.
The room looked just like the photos, was very spacious, clean and well maintained. Our kitchen was one of the best equipped we had stayed in, having kettle, toaster, fridge freezer and good selection of plates, utensils etc. ( I had asked for a microwave in the room and it was also supplied). The safety deposit box works out at 2.50 euros per day, and if you want beach towels for the pool, there was a refundable 20 euro deposit.
The TV in the room had only 2 English speaking channels, CNN and Euro sport, and a music radio channel. The towels and bins were changed daily and beds made.
We found all the staff to be friendly and helpful.
Top tip- if you want a sun bed at the pool, you need to get up at about 7am and get your towel down, or you won't stand a chance - there are definitely not enough beds.
The Stella Maris is in a quiet area with the nearest supermarket and restaurants about a 5 minute walk. This said, the small square area had a few small shops, 2 local restaurants, a Chinese Restaurant and a Pizzeria, an ice cream shop and a cafe.
The food was nothing to rave about in any of them, but the Flor de Mar was the better of the 2 local ones. We did walk the 20 minutes to the shops near the Sheraton, and ate in the La Lagousteria; the meal was good but dont order the chocolate mousse - it was still under cooked in the middle and my husband got food poisoning.
I would definitely recommend thee Stella Maris apartments and we had a lovely quiet week, the only down side was the lack of any good restaurants nearby.

Spotlessly clean, very helpful staff, great value, generous self catering apartments Leisurely 10/15min walk to glorious beach – albeit with steep hill and many steps which were easily manageable 3min walk to Supermarket, several shops, six (?) restaurants and two bars– recommend friendly Bar33 for quite coffee or beer and “Flor do Mor” for simple food well done

Downside – possibly too quite/remote Aside from shops and restaurants 3min walk – not much else around €12/15 Taxi to either Albuferia or Villamoura, although there is a limited bus service Plenty for kids, but not teenagers – or indeed party animals of any age Although there is a huge construction site close by, it in no way affected us – very quite and very clean

Better TV would be nice – cartoon network and some English language station aside from CNN

All in all great value for money

Top Tip
“Bar33” and “Flor do Mor” – see above Romantic 45min walk along beach to Vilamoura – at Vilamoura look out for bridge behind dunes to roundabout and Marina “O Marisco” at Vilamoura Marina, great food, friendly service and value for money, superb desert menu – ask waiter for recommendations “Adega Ticosta” opposite Sheraton – rustic Portuguese restaurant, although rough and ready, great food excellent value

I stayed at the Stella Maris for 1 week in a Studio w/c 29th May with my wife and 10mth son.

With only a 30 min transfer from Faro airport the realitively quick journey after a 3 hour flight with a baby was appreciated!

Check-in was very quick and the reception area very clean and modern. Our studio bedroom was on the 3rd floor of the hotel overlooking the gardens and childrens playarea. The open plan appartment was excellent and included an ironing board, hair dryer and toaster which was excellent.

The bedrooms were splotlessly clean, as was the pool and restaurant areas.

The pool area was pleasant but not overly huge - so be prepared to get up early to 'claim' your beds! Also do be aware of the parasols - as if the wind picks up they seem to easily fall over. My wife got a bang on the head - which whilst vaguely humourous could have been more serious. You have been warned!

The beach is lovely, nice and quiet, and very safe. The sea was freezing though!!!! Still didn't stop me going in!

We walked to Villamoura along a hillside path one day - well worth a visit - a lot more shops and restaurants than Praia De Falesia which only really had a handfull. We also visited Albuferia old town for lunch - 10 Euro in a cab - which was nice for a change of scenery.

We ate at the Chinese restaurant and the Flor De Mer restaurant (nearby) in the main square by the hotel and both were very good! The hanging meat mixed kebabs at the latter were very good indeed!

All in all, the hotel is very good and the surroundings very relaxed and low key - ideal for a family getaway.

(PS for those taking little ones you can buy baby food in the local supermarket but not baby milk - remember to take your milk powders!)