Tivoli Marina Portimao is a really fab complex. Really clean, great staff, helpful and polite. We had a 2 bedroom Family apartment which is situated on the Marina, between the Hotel and the Beach. It was really roomy and clean, the balconys are a bit on the small side alright, only fit 2 chairs, but this was enough for us, we also had access to a roof terrace, which is very big and this had two sunbeds there. The Marina view is really great. Kids loved it.
Our stay included Breakfast which was fantastic, runs from 7:30-11:00 am, fresh fruit, breads, rolls, croissants, pastries, yoghurts, ham, cheeses, jams, hot buffet ( bacon, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, frankfurters, beans, juices, really great. with a fabulous view...

The only problem I had with the Hotel is the amount of sunbeds around the pool... they were all gone first thing in the morning, which was not really a problem for us as we did not go to the pool during the day, but when we came to the pool in the evening about 5 o clock there were still no beds, but there was loads of room for extra beds around the pool area, please Tivoli buy some extra beds, you could fit at least 20 more!

The complex is just a short walk from the small beach or the longer and wider beach of Praia Da Rocha. Here you are just a few seconds walk up some steps to Praia Da Rocha, but away from noise and hustle and bustle (mabye a little bit of noise heard on Saturday night) . We went to the Aqua Beach club, you can either go into the area which has a toddler pool and a deeper pool with bar and restaurant for €5 per person for a day which includes a sunbed each and a watery fruit cocktail, or the actual beach part of it, no admittance fee here unless you want to use sunbeds on the beach, then it is €7.50 per bed, worth it if you are there for the day as you can order food and drinks from the beds and they all have a little table which to eat from... kids loved this beach as it was not that busy, you can also just use your towels and move up to the fab seating area to eat or drink, proper toilet facilities her too, although only one of each! Food great in either, but not cheap, same prices as Ireland.

We ate in the Marina Complex, even though is was more expensive than Praia Da Rocha, it was close to the apartment which was handy, the best here was Dockside, great service, fab food, Pizza Hut was a bit of a disaster, ages waiting, service not good, service bad also at Americian Grill and thay overcharged us on our bill, when we brought this to their attention they charged us for the usually complementary bread.

There is newsagent/ corner shop in the Marina area too which is great for the newspapers etc, a havianas shop, a sunglasses shop and a clothes shop too. Also a Seafarias Booth at which you can book Dolphin Tours, we booked a water-taxi through them to Lagos and back, excellent, punctual, service. So polite and mannerly which I have to say was the norm in Portugal, Very respectful people.

We also booked a water-taxi, through reception in the Hotel to Ferrguardo, (accross from restaurant area,) well worth a visit, lovely little fishing-town, again very friendly, polite taxi - driver. Only something like €16 return. We also got the same water-taxi on another day to take us to Portimao Marina, you can walk to the little shopping areas from here... nice for a day out, not much shops though!

We used Shuttle-Direct for our transfers and they, once again, were reliable, picked up at the airport and our driver was there to collect us 10 mins before he was due for our return to the airport. Great service.

We really just used Hotel as base, didnt see any "Kids Club" or anything like that there, pool great if more beds, loved Portugal itself, but I would advise you to explore, no cheaper than Ireland. Overall happy though, sure who couldnt with sunshine and 28 degrees!