Having stayed at the Hotel Tivoli, Lagos, in the Western Algarve, I have the following comments to make.
The hotel is shown as 4-star, but does not quite measure up to this, in my opinion.
Public areas are smart and the standards of cleanliness throughout are very good. However, rooms are a little dated, with old televisions, table lamps, etc. and, in the case of our room, very poor lighting – quite unable to read in the evening. Our room was on a high floor with nice views of the Marina and Sea, but the balcony was very poor having only 2 old plastic chairs and 1 table and a leaky air-conditioning unit. After complaining the maid mopped the leakage each day but the unit needed replacing (old).
The original hotel has had a fair number of "add ons" etc. which means it caters for a huge number of visitors and the pool and surrounding area is far too small for a hotel complex of this size. Also, a rather odd layout and sometimes needed 1 lift, a little walk, and another lift!
We did not eat in the restaurant but the buffet breakfast is very good (with the exception of the bacon).
All staff we spoke to were polite and helpful. Drinks prices expensive apart from happy hour and measures poor. Entertainment in hotel on several nights a week quite acceptable if a bit noisy on occasion.
The entrance to the hotel is uphill and the paving is a bit uneven and needs to be negotiated carefully. We were advised to take the lift to the underground car park and exit and enter that way to avoid this, which worked quite well.
An good bar/restaurant opposite the Hotel entrance (O Artisto) – lively, good drinks, and friendly service.
Not too far into the centre of Lagos (10 mins). However, wear sensible footwear as the pavements all have local paving which is uneven and slippery – very easy to fall or trip – a lot of people around town with crutches etc! Lagos is quaint and not too big to walk around.