AP Cabanas Beach and Nature

Had a wonderful holiday at AP Cabanas in July 2026. Have so much to say so will try and categorise. Rooms: was in 444 with my late teen kids in adjoining room 445. Close to reception/bar/pool and main restaurant. Cannot fault maid service. Rooms have plenty of storage which is lacking on so many other hotels. Lots of space for all clothes/bags/suitcase. Balcony is close to a sprinkler so don't get caught out with towels over the railings overnight like we did. Lovely comfortable beds and air con was excellent. Pool area: no problem getting loungers - big plus!! Food: excellent throughout. We were AI and there was lots of choose from every day. Best food I've had in AI to date. The osso buco was a particular highlight as was the chilli. Fresh pizza every lunch time- great of you are not wanting anything too fussy and gorgeous salads/fresh fruit. Drinks: would like bigger cups for soft drinks - particularly during the day as drink gallons of fizzy water. Small cups not adequate for me but that is personal choice. Location: at the end of a very busy street but very quiet. Overlooking the nature reserve and it is very true what people have said about the mosquitoes - do not underestimate how much repellent you will have to take - we went through 3 bottles plus were wearing the bands and still got some bites. The hotel do what they can with citronella candles etc. The town itself is charming with lovely shops and places to eat. Loved it at the weekend with all local families walking along the road. Not commercialised in any way. Very nice. Walk to town takes about 10 mins. Beach: we never took the hotel boat to the beach instead got one from town for €1.50 return each. This takes you right to the boardwalk to access the beach which is absolutely stunning! Golden sand as far as you can see. Waves were mega so be careful if not a strong swimmer. Entertainment: aqua Zumba at 4:40 every day was great fun. The team are excellent at what they do. Very approachable and friendly. Loved the extras - melon and strawberries served on a platter at 12 each day - entertainment team come round all the loungers to offer. Saxophone player one afternoon really got the place going but all in all unobtrusive approach to entertainment - no one with a microphone shouting at you. All very understated - just perfect. We also went a day trip to Monte Gordo which the reception staff arranged by taxi. €40 each way. Another cracking beach and nice town. Evening entertainment was varied - singer/dj each night. Enjoyed it all. Would recommend this hotel, had a lovely time and would not hesitate one of the other AP hotels.

We stayed here for a week in July on aJet 2 holiday, going all inclusive ‘premium’.

Hotel info

The hotel is lovely. Very clean. Modern.

High standards of customer service. Staff were unfailingly efficient, professional and friendly.

Some nights there was live music or a DJ on, but otherwise not loads of entertainment. It’s mostly a chill out sort of hotel. Never had a problem getting a sun lounger. There were some fitness things on during the day (Pilates, acquazumba, etc) - we didn’t try any of them but the acquazumba people looked like they were having fun.

There is a gym and spa which was free to use (€5 for a swim hat, card only) and treatments available which you had to pay for.

You leave a 10€ deposit (in cash) for a pool towel, and clean towels are 1€.

There were quite a few mosquitos around in the evening. It seemed particularly bad the night we went to the Grill restaurant. Even with repellent on.

Rooms

Rooms were nice, but not large, with a small balcony. Very good air con, small fridge, kettle. No iron or board, though I got an iron from reception. Shower gel but no conditioner. Double beds were two singles pushed together.

There are two glass bottles of water in the room when you arrive. They are not replaced but you can fill them up at the bar.

Housekeeping come in every day to tidy up. Leave your towels on the floor if you would like them changed.

Food

There are three restaurants (the main buffet, called Flor de Sal, in a separate building to one the reception is in) and then two which you had to book (Grill which was by the pool and Ria which was inside the main hotel building). We tried each of the two bookable ones but mostly stuck to the buffet.

Then there is a day pool bar, day/evening terrace bar and an evening rooftop bar. the rooftop bar in particular is a lovely space.

Buffet breakfast was served in Flor de Sal, with a slightly smaller / quieter offering in the hotel lobby. There was an omelette station in the lobby breakfast area.

The food was good, and less repetitive than most AI buffets. One of our party was vegetarian and one vegan and there were food options for them (limited for the vegan).

There was a good choice of drinks, which were well made and generous pours. But draft mixers, which let them down a bit. It seemed a bit random whether you got a glass or plastic glass.

Out and about

There is not much around the hotel other than holiday apartments (and of course the very beautiful nature reserve).

About a 10 minute walk from the hotel there is a free shuttle boat which takes you to the beach. Well, it takes you across to the sandbar then it’s a 15 walk to the beach which is on the other side of the sandbar. Nice beach, Atlantic waves. You can hire two sun loungers and an umbrella for 20€ per day, 15€ for a half day. No loos that I could see.

Cabanas village is about a 15 minute walk, a few shops, cafes and restaurants and a nice for a stroll along the boardwalk. It looked like there were boat trips from there.

Tavira is about 10 minutes in an Uber and well worth a day there. Lovely historic town, nice restaurants.

We did a Jet2 trip to the ‘historic western Algarve’ which was great, really interesting (but quite a long time on a coach).

We also took an Uber to Praia do Barril and got the tourist train to the beach. Lovely beach, lots of facilities (loos, restaurants, umbrella hire). Quite busy.