Faro hotels · head to head
Two old-town hotels a few streets apart — one five-star with spa, one four-star with a rooftop pool — answering whether the extra star class erases the cleanliness gap.
By Kaiser Khan · last reviewed
Rates for both move constantly, so nothing here quotes a price. Each full review carries the rate comparison for that property.
Same neighbourhood, same Cidade Velha walks, both with POI distances in our seed. When two hotels are this substitutable on the map the comparison is useful; pairing old town with Praça D. Francisco Gomes would not be.
We publish a handful of comparisons per city, chosen by an editor. We do not generate a page for every possible pairing: at thirty hotels that would be 435 near-identical pages per city, and at five hundred it would be 124,750 for one city alone — which is a doorway-page pattern, not a service to anybody trying to pick a hotel.
Should you book this hotel?
Take 3HB for the supplier score, spa and uniform category praise; take AP Eva for the slightly closer old-town pin and four-star rates — accepting room quality at 7.15 and mold in the bathroom as live risks.
Position is close on paper. 3HB puts Faro Old Town at 0.4 km; AP Eva at 0.3 km. AP Eva puts Praia de Faro at 4.5 km against 6 km at 3HB; both put the airport at 4.2–4.5 km. Location scores 9.68 against 9.15 — both strong.
Guest scores favour 3HB on almost every category: supplier rating 9.8 from 4,003 reviews against 8.4 from 7,973, captured January and December 2025 respectively. Room quality is 9.68 against 7.15; cleanliness 9.68 against 7.65 with mold named at AP Eva. AP Eva’s larger sample does not close that gap.
Facilities split cleanly. 3HB lists spa/wellness, sauna, children’s playground and babysitting; AP Eva lists pool and fitness but no spa. Both list restaurant, bar, family rooms and airport shuttle. Parking costs are a named con at 3HB; AP Eva names cleanliness and noise instead.
Star class is the spend fork: five-star against four-star. If you are paying for room quality and a coherent guest story, the five-star wins on the numbers. If you are paying for the closest old-town pin at four-star money, AP Eva is the bet — with eyes open on the bathroom complaints.
Verdict last reviewed . Rates, refurbishments and management change — re-check anything time-sensitive before booking.
5-star hotelOld Town & Cidade Velha3HB Hotels
A five-star on Rua Vasco da Gama — old town 0.4 km, Ria Formosa 0.9 km — with rooftop pool, spa and guest scores that are almost suspiciously uniform until you read the parking complaint.
Third-party guest reviews: 9.8/10 from 4,003 reviews — as of
4-star hotelOld Town & Cidade VelhaAP Hotels & Resorts
A four-star on Avenida da República — old town 0.3 km, beach 4.5 km — with rooftop pool and praised breakfast, and guest data that is harsh on cleanliness and room quality despite an 8.4 headline.
Third-party guest reviews: 8.4/10 from 7,973 reviews — as of
Every row is checkable against the supplier data on the two property pages. “Level” is a real answer and is used — a comparison where one side wins every row is usually a comparison somebody wrote backwards from the conclusion.
| What is being compared | 3HB Faro | AP Eva Senses | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official classification | 5-star | 4-star | 3HB Faro |
| Position | Rua Vasco da Gama. Old town 0.4 km, Ria Formosa 0.9 km, airport 4.5 km. | Avenida da República. Old town 0.3 km, beach 4.5 km, airport 4.2 km. | AP Eva Senses |
| Supplier rating (our hotel data provider, /10 — display only) | 9.8 from 4,003 reviews, as of 10 January 2026 | 8.4 from 7,973 reviews, as of 6 December 2025 | 3HB Faro |
| Room quality (third-party guest score, /10 — display only) | 9.68 | 7.15 — dusty rooms and hard beds named | 3HB Faro |
| Cleanliness (third-party guest score, /10 — display only) | 9.68 | 7.65 — mold in bathroom mentioned | 3HB Faro |
| Food and beverage (third-party guest score, /10 — display only) | 9.68 | 9.15 — breakfast praised | 3HB Faro |
| What guests complain about | Parking costs; minor service issues | Cleanliness; room noise; facilities could improve | 3HB Faro |
| Spa / wellness | Spa/wellness centre and sauna listed | Not in cited facility facts | 3HB Faro |
| Pool | Swimming pool listed | Swimming pool listed | Level |
| Airport shuttle | Airport shuttle listed | Airport shuttle listed | Level |
| Airport code on seed row | Not published in seed | FAO | AP Eva Senses |
Rows taken: 3HB Faro 7, AP Eva Senses 2, level 2. Counting rows is not how you pick a hotel — one row usually decides it, and the verdict above says which.
Every property we cover in Faro, the areas they sit in, and the verdict on which area suits which trip.
Until a full Faro destination hub exists, this hotels page is the planning guide: three neighbourhood bases, four verdicts, and two head-to-head comparisons.
