Aquashow Park Hotel
Aquashow Park Hotel is a four-star hotel built beside its own water park at Quarteira, on the central Algarve in southern Portugal. It is Portugal's first and only hotel joined to a theme park, and the reason to stay is simple: every guest gets free, unlimited entry to the outdoor water park through the summer, and a daily session in the indoor park through the winter, all on a wristband you pick up at check-in. Families come for slide-and-pool days without paying for tickets, clean modern rooms and a well-liked breakfast.
On this page
- Is it worth it?
- Quick facts
- What the resort is like
- The outdoor water park
- The indoor water park
- Pools and water features
- Every restaurant and bar
- Rooms and suites
- The beach
- Babies and toddlers
- Things to do
- The area and days out
- Loves and gripes
- How it compares
- Getting there and when to go
- Weather
- Good to know
- Questions
- Photo gallery
Is it worth it?
The quick read before the detail: who Aquashow suits, what the wristband gets you and the facts to skim first.
Aquashow is a budget-friendly four-star hotel by Algarve standards, and the whole stay is built around the water park rather than the hotel's own facilities. Free park entry comes on a wristband handed over at check-in, and that access is the point of coming: it saves paying for tickets on every day of the holiday.
It is not a luxury resort, and the reviews divide cleanly along that line. Families who come for the water park and take the hotel for what it is (clean, modern rooms, a good breakfast and friendly staff) come away happy. Those expecting a full resort hotel, with resort-standard food and service alongside the park, are the ones who leave disappointed. The other thing to weigh is the setting: the hotel sits on its own between Quarteira and Vilamoura, with nothing walkable, so you need a car, a taxi or Uber for anything beyond the hotel and the park.
Best for
You want pure water-park days for children roughly 3 to 12, with clean rooms, a good breakfast and free park entry every day, and you are happy to stay put.
Maybe not for
You expect a full resort-hotel experience with resort-quality food and service, you want shops and restaurants on the doorstep or you need a double bed.
Best ages
Around 3 to 12 for the outdoor park. Babies and toddlers are better served in autumn and winter, through the indoor park's Babies Pool.
What stands out
The free water-park access, the value, the cleanliness, the friendly staff and the breakfast.
What to check
The dinner, the isolation, the 4pm check-in, the outdoor-park closure outside the May-to-September season, the lack of double beds and how much there is for under-3s outdoors.
Where is it?
On the central Algarve at Quarteira, about 15 to 20 minutes from Faro airport, 4 km from Quarteira and 4.5 km from Vilamoura.
Quick facts for families
What the resort is like
Where it sits, how the building and grounds are laid out and how you get around.
The hotel's address is Volta do Parque nº2, 8125-313 Quarteira, on the N-396 road between Quarteira and Vilamoura, in a quiet, part-residential, part-rural spot with no shops or restaurants within walking distance. Quarteira town and beach are about 2.5 miles (4 km) away, Vilamoura Marina about 3 miles (4.5 km), and there is no safe pavement to walk to either, so a car, taxi or Uber is needed for anything off-site. There is a free car park on site, subject to space. The outdoor water park has been running for several decades; the hotel and the indoor park are the newer parts of the story, the indoor park having opened in 2022.
It is a compact, four-storey building, with the outdoor water park in the same complex right next door. Inside, the hotel is arranged around an internal atrium of glass balconies, each floor in its own colour, floor one green, floor two orange, floor three blue and floor four purple. The public areas are flat and step-free, with a wheelchair-accessible adapted lift, so getting around the hotel itself is straightforward. What is not straightforward is getting anywhere else, which is the trade-off for the quiet setting and the park on the doorstep. For the wider region, its beaches and when to go, see our Algarve guide.
The outdoor water park
The two water parks the whole stay is built around, split by season, plus the hotel's own three pools.
The outdoor park is the summer draw, open daily from 1 May to around the start of September, 10am to 6pm. Hotel guests get in free and unlimited for the whole stay, on the wristband given at check-in, and access starts from 10am on your arrival day even if the room is not ready until 4pm.
For the youngest children, Aquakids is the dedicated zone, open from age 3 with no height limit: a mini multi-lane slide, a larger slide and a star tunnel. Aqualand is a wider children's play area, also from age 3, but with a maximum height of 1.40m, so taller or older children are not admitted. The Mini Train is a small ride for children aged 3 to 8. The three big pools, the Wave Pool (the largest wave pool in Portugal), the Swimming Pool and the themed Tropical Pool, have no age or height limits and are open to everyone, including under-3s.
The rides step up quickly by height. The Lazy River, a gentle 250-metre floating loop, along with the Thunder Cruise, the Wild Snake and the Flash Coaster, all start at 1.10m. The headline family rides need more: the Watercoaster, a 740-metre water rollercoaster 23.5 metres high, starts at 1.20m; the Mammothblast, a group tube taking up to five people, and the Speed Race at 1.25m; and the Free Fall, a pair of 32-metre drop slides, at 1.40m. Aquashow describes the Free Fall as the tallest in Europe, and it is not one for under-fives or a nervous child. The rest of the line-up runs to the Twin Space Shuttle, River Slide, Top Swing, Shark Slide, Pink Slide, Air Race, Tubes, White Fall, Speed Foams and a jacuzzi.
For under-3s the outdoor park is thinner. They have the wave, tropical and swimming pools, but there is nothing built specifically for them, and Aquakids starts at age 3. Children under 1.00 metre tall get in free and do not need a ticket. The genuine baby offering is indoors, in the Babies Pool, which has no equivalent outdoors.
The park has snack bars, a shop, an infirmary, drinking fountains, toilets with baby-changing, free sun loungers, free rubber rings and free parking. Lockers are hired for a small charge with a refundable deposit. You are allowed to bring your own food and drink in. Food otherwise comes from several snack-bar stations serving roast chicken, steaks, burgers, hot dogs, salads and sandwiches, though one family found the park's evening food slow and disappointing.
How the free park access works
At check-in you are given a wristband that covers free water-park entry for every day of your stay, the outdoor park in summer and the indoor park in winter. The outdoor entry is unlimited; the indoor session is three hours a day and does not roll over. On the outdoor park the wristband works from 10am on your arrival day, before the room is ready. If you book just one night, you get free access on both your arrival and departure days.
The indoor water park
The indoor park, Aquashow Indoor, opened in 2022 and runs from 1 October to 30 April, daily until early evening. Hotel guests get one free three-hour session for each night of their stay, again on the wristband, and it is one visit a day rather than a running total. Two things are not included in that free session or in a standard indoor ticket: the Indoor Playground and Heaven's Challenge, a sky obstacle circuit over the pools, are both separate paid extras.
For very young children the indoor park is the stronger of the two. It has a dedicated Babies Pool with no restrictions, alongside a Kids Pool, an indoor Waves Pool, a quiet Relax Pool and an Adventure Pool with a climbing wall, hammock, rings and waterfalls, all with no age or height limit. The slides sit higher up the age range: the Tornado, a 16-metre cone, and the Hidrorace and Hidrotube start at 1.20m, and the Black Hole from 1.10m if a child rides on a double buoy with an adult. Adventure Island is an indoor play area for children aged 10 and under. Children under 2 go free.
The Indoor Playground is a soft-play area for ages 3 to 12, roughly 0.80 to 1.30 metres tall, with trampolines, tunnels, bridges, slides and climbing. It is a paid extra, not included in the hotel wristband or a standard indoor ticket, priced at 30 minutes for €6 or 60 minutes for €10 (last checked June 2026), and it closes for an hour over lunch. The indoor Spa is a separate adult zone for ages 13 and up, with a Turkish bath, sauna, ice features, an essences pool and massage rooms, so it sits apart from the family pools. If you want longer than the free three hours, extra sessions can be bought at the desk.
Pools and water features
Separate from the two parks, the hotel has three pools of its own. Outdoors there is a main pool for adults and older children, unheated, with a pool bar alongside it in summer, and a smaller outdoor children's pool with two mini slides. Indoors, in the wellness area, there is a heated pool with a jacuzzi next to it, open all year. The hotel is clear that it does not have a spa of its own: this heated pool, the jacuzzi and the gym are its wellness offering, and the spa with the Turkish bath and sauna is the one inside the indoor water park. Pool towels are lent against a deposit. The pools are open through the day.
Every restaurant and bar
Where you'll eat and how board works, every room type with its size and the beach a short drive away.
The hotel's restaurant is the Charme Restaurant, serving international and Portuguese food as a buffet and à la carte, in a modern room of black-wood tables. Breakfast is a buffet and is always included in the room rate; you can have breakfast in your room for an extra charge.
Board comes two ways. Bed and breakfast includes breakfast only, and you cannot book a room without it; half board adds a buffet dinner, though drinks are not included. When the hotel is quieter, dinner switches from a buffet to a set à la carte menu, a soup, a starter, a meat or fish main and a dessert. Half board covers dinner only, not lunch; lunch is à la carte from the restaurant or the pool bar.
Dinner is the part of the food that reviews are split on. Breakfast is consistently well liked, with plenty of variety and choices for children, but dinner draws the most criticism across TripAdvisor and Booking.com, described as limited and variable. Food is not the reason to come here. There is no confirmed children's menu, and reviews describe a limited children's choice, along the lines of nuggets, chips, pizza, pasta, salad and soup. Dinner opens in the evening, and one family found it opened later than they expected, so if you have early-to-bed children it is worth asking the time on arrival, or eating at the pool or lobby bar first.
Two bars round it out. The Requinte Bar is the indoor lobby bar, serving cocktails, beer, soft drinks and snacks, with TVs and a few video-game machines, and it is a popular evening spot. The Pool Bar runs beside the outdoor pool from May to September, with cold drinks and light bites.
Rooms and suites
The hotel has 148 rooms across four room types, and every room has free WiFi, air conditioning, a 32-inch cable TV, a minibar, a safe, a desk, a walk-in shower, a hairdryer, a makeup mirror, a telephone and toiletries. The table below is the four types with their official sizes; the guidance after it is which suit a family.
| Room type | Size | Sleeps | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twin Room | 22 m² | 2 adults | Two single beds; balcony with a pool or water-park view; the standard room. Booked with children it adds a sofa bed for a child aged 3 to 12 (2 adults + 1 child, or 1 adult + 2 children). |
| Twin Plus Room | 22 m² | 2 to 5 | Two interconnecting rooms with two single beds and a bunk bed; occupancy varies by configuration. |
| Family Room | 44 m² | Up to 3 adults + children | Two connecting bedrooms, each with its own bathroom; four single beds; the core family room (most sub-types up to 3 adults + 2 children). |
| Adapted Room | 20 m² | 2 adults | Two single beds; no balcony; adapted shower with a seat and support bars, for guests with reduced mobility. |
The one thing to know before you book is that every bed in the hotel is a single bed. There are no double beds anywhere, in any room type, so a couple who want a double cannot have one.
For most families the room to book is the Family Room at 44 m². It is two connecting bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, sleeping up to three adults plus children, so the children can sleep in their own room. The Twin Room at 22 m² is the standard room, two single beds for two adults, with a balcony over the pool or the water park; booked with children, the same room adds a sofa bed for a child aged 3 to 12, either as two adults and one child or, in another configuration, one adult and two children. The Twin Plus Room, also 22 m², is two interconnecting rooms with two single beds and a bunk bed, sleeping between two and five depending on how it is booked.
The Adapted Room at 20 m² is the exception on layout: two single beds, no balcony and an adapted shower with a seat and support bars for guests with reduced mobility. Every other room type has a private balcony with a pool or water-park view. A cot is free on request, subject to availability, and needs to be asked for when you book. A single room appears on one booking site but is not on the hotel's own rooms page. Reviewers are broadly positive on the rooms, clean, modern and colourful, though a minority find them dated. A couple of isolated reviews mention specific problems, mould in a shower in one and ants in a bathroom in another, but neither is a recurring theme across the wider feedback.
The beach
Quarteira's beach, Praia de Quarteira, is about 2.5 miles (4 km) away, a five-minute drive rather than a walk, and there is no safe pavement between the hotel and the coast. It is a long stretch of golden sand with a promenade behind it, flat and easy with a pushchair, lined with cafes and restaurants, and it typically holds a Blue Flag. Breakwaters break up the water, so it is usually calm and shallow for toddlers at the edge, though reviews note it can drop away quickly, so keep young children close. Lifeguards are on duty from June to September.
Babies and toddlers
What's set up for babies and what isn't, everything else to do and the days out beyond the gate.
Children aged 0 to 2 stay free, a cot is free on request and there is baby-changing in the toilets at the hotel and in the outdoor water park. The genuine baby water feature is the indoor Babies Pool; outdoors, Aquakids starts at age 3, so under-3s have the wave, tropical and swimming pools but nothing built for them.
There is no supervised kids' club. What the hotel has is a games room, an indoor playroom with soft play and an outdoor playground, all for self-directed play rather than drop-off childcare. In July and August a seasonal team runs daytime animation such as football, water polo, dancing, singing and arts and crafts, plus evening entertainment such as magic shows, karaoke and bingo, which families praise warmly. Outside those two months it is very limited or absent. The evening entertainment usually runs until 11pm, which some guests near it find noisy. Babysitting is listed as a paid service booked through reception, though it's not confirmed on the hotel's own information, so check when you book.
A few things cost extra on top of the room and the wristband: babysitting, room service, laundry, in-room breakfast, locker hire at the outdoor park, the Indoor Playground and Heaven's Challenge, extra indoor sessions beyond the free three hours and massages.
Things to do
Away from the water, there is a 12-hole mini-golf course, table tennis, a games room with air hockey, billiards and arcade machines, plus the indoor playroom and outdoor playground already mentioned. The gym is in the basement, small and mostly cardio with a few free weights, and it is for over-16s only. Massages and a fish spa run through an outside company using space in the hotel, with an open-air area by the pool in summer, and you book and pay them directly rather than through the hotel. Car and bicycle hire can be arranged at the hotel, and there is a meeting room and business centre if you need one.
The area and days out
The hotel sits between Quarteira and Vilamoura, and you will need a car, taxi or Uber to reach either, since nothing is walkable from the door. Vilamoura Marina, about 3 miles (4.5 km) away, is one of the biggest marinas in Europe, with restaurants, bars, shops, boat and dolphin-watching trips and a casino; the Family Golf Park there is one of Europe's largest mini-golf parks, 18 holes on an ancient-Rome theme. Loulé, a traditional market town about 15 minutes away, is known for Loulé Market, and Karting Almancil, with adult and children's tracks, is about 5 minutes. For shopping there is Mar Shopping and the Designer Outlet Algarve nearby.
For days out, Zoomarine, about 30 minutes away near Guia, is a marine park with shows and sea life that suits younger children who want a show more than slides. Slide & Splash, about 40 minutes near Lagoa, is another water park for similar ages. Faro, about 20 minutes, has a historic old town, a cathedral and the Ria Formosa lagoon; Portimão and Praia da Rocha are about 40 minutes for a bigger beach resort; and Sagres and Cape St Vincent, about an hour away, are dramatic clifftops that suit older children more than a typical toddler day out. The hotel's own list of things nearby also runs to boat trips, horse riding, bike tours, stand-up paddleboard and kayak tours, diving, fishing and buggy safaris, and the coastal Ecovia cycling and walking trail passes through the area.
Loves and gripes
What guests rate and what they flag, how it compares with other Algarve family hotels, the journey in and the weather by month.
Aquashow rates well across the review sites: 4 out of 5 on TripAdvisor from more than 2,100 reviews, second of the 48 hotels in Quarteira, 8.7 out of 10 on Booking.com from around 1,200 verified reviews, 9 out of 10 on Trip.com and 8.6 out of 10 on HotelsCombined from around 1,700 reviews. Here is what comes up most, on both sides.
What families love
- The free, unlimited water-park access, the reason most families book.
- Friendly, helpful staff, warm and attentive with children.
- Reception staff who go beyond the basics: one family had a receptionist call the children over to fit their park wristbands before they'd even asked.
- Cleanliness throughout the hotel.
- The buffet breakfast, with plenty for children.
- The modern, colourful rooms and the family and interconnecting layouts.
- Good value for the Algarve.
- The July and August animation team.
Common gripes
- Dinner quality, the most common complaint.
- Occasional restaurant service niggles separate from the food itself, slow service and some friction between the kitchen and the waiting staff.
- The isolated setting, with a car or Uber needed for anything off-site.
- Fewer rides and areas for under-3s in the outdoor park.
- The outdoor park being closed outside the May-to-September season.
- No double beds anywhere in the hotel.
- Check-in not until 4pm.
- Some rooms called dated by a minority, and the odd service niggle such as the jacuzzi jets going off early.
- Noise from evening entertainment and corridors for some guests.
How it compares
Aquashow is not really competing with the Algarve's luxury family resorts; its peers are the value four-star all-inclusive hotels, and what sets it apart is the water park. Against Martinhal Sagres the two are in different leagues: Martinhal is a purpose-built family resort with a crèche from six months and full baby kit at a premium price, while Aquashow is a budget water-park hotel with no kids' club, so they are not really alternatives. Tivoli Alvor has six pools, a kids' club for ages 4 to 14 and all-inclusive beach access, but for a slide-obsessed 4 to 12 year old the Aquashow water park is far more compelling. Pestana Blue Alvor is a similar budget four-star all-inclusive with direct beach access, so the choice there is beach against water park. Pine Cliffs has the large supervised Porto Pirata children's area but costs a good deal more; Aquashow is the budget water-park alternative.
Getting there and when to goGetting there and when to go
Faro is the airport, about 10 miles (16 km) away and 15 to 20 minutes by road. The hotel runs its own airport transfer service, arranged directly with it and usually requested at least 48 hours ahead; contact the hotel for the current price, as it is not laid on automatically. Private transfer firms also cover the Faro run and can be booked in advance; one family's trip report used Yellowfish Transfers for around €67.50 return, a useful market-rate reference given the hotel doesn't publish its own transfer price. On public transport, the VAMUS Route 55 bus stops right at the hotel, at the stop called Aqua Show, on the line between Vilamoura, Quarteira, Almancil and Faro airport, running about six times a day on weekdays and less at weekends; it is about 7 minutes to Quarteira and 14 to Vilamoura. Taxis and Uber are easy to get and are how most guests reach Quarteira or Vilamoura for an evening.
For timing, July and August are the hottest, sunniest and driest months and the peak for the outdoor park and its animation; June and September are quieter, slightly cooler shoulders with the outdoor park still open. From October the indoor park takes over for the winter. The outdoor park runs from May to around the start of September and the indoor park from October to April, while the hotel pools and indoor facilities stay open all year. Check-in is from 4pm, though the water-park wristband works from 10am on your arrival day regardless.
Month by monthWeather
The figures below are typical monthly averages for the Algarve. Summer is hot and dry, the sea reaches about 21°C by September, which is warm enough for young children, and the wettest months are the winter ones, when the outdoor park is closed and the indoor park takes over.
| Month | Daytime high | Overnight low | Rain | Wet days | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16.5° | 8.5° | 49 mm | 6 | 16° |
| February | 17° | 9° | 42 mm | 5 | 15° |
| March | 19.5° | 11° | 38 mm | 4 | 15° |
| April | 21° | 12.5° | 39 mm | 5 | 16° |
| May | 23.5° | 14.5° | 21 mm | 3 | 18° |
| June | 27° | 17.5° | 6 mm | 1 | 19° |
| July | 29° | 19° | 1 mm | 0 | 20° |
| August | 29° | 19.5° | 0 mm | 0 | 20° |
| September | 26.5° | 18° | 22 mm | 2 | 21° |
| October | 24° | 16° | 56 mm | 6 | 20° |
| November | 20° | 12° | 76 mm | 7 | 18° |
| December | 17.5° | 9.5° | 90 mm | 7 | 17° |
Typical monthly averages from weather-station records. Sea temperature is the open-water figure, so a sheltered bay can feel a degree or two warmer.
Good to know
Health, accessibility and the day-to-day details, then the questions families ask.
There is an infirmary on site at both the outdoor and indoor water parks. The nearest pharmacy is in Quarteira town, about 2.5 miles (4 km) away, so none is walkable from the hotel. The nearest hospital is Hospital de Faro, about 12 miles (20 km) away, with private Algarve hospitals in Faro and Portimão; a GHIC or EHIC covers state healthcare in Portugal. The hotel has a souvenir shop, a paid laundry service and self-service laundry. There is no supermarket within walking distance, though Quarteira town has them and the bus passes an Intermarché near Almancil. All the hotel's public areas are step-free, with an adapted lift and adapted rooms available for guests with reduced mobility, with reserved parking for them; there is pushchair and wheelchair access to the wave and tropical pools, but no ramp up to the slide towers.
Portugal needs no visa for a stay of up to 90 days, and your passport should be issued within the last 10 years and valid for at least three months after you leave; the EU's new Entry/Exit System is being rolled out. There is no FCDO warning against travel to Portugal. The usual Algarve advice applies: take care near cliff edges, watch for wildfire risk in the hot months and keep an eye on belongings in busy tourist spots.
Questions
Can we book a room without breakfast?
No. Breakfast is always included, so the cheapest board is bed and breakfast and there is no room-only rate. Half board adds a buffet dinner but not drinks, so work out whether you will actually eat in most evenings before you pay the difference, given dinner is the weakest part of the food.
Is the airport transfer included?
No, nothing is laid on automatically. You can book the hotel's own transfer by contacting it ahead (ask for the current price), take a taxi or Uber, use a private transfer firm or catch the Route 55 bus that stops outside. With luggage and car seats a pre-booked transfer or a taxi is the least hassle.
We want a double bed, is that possible?
No. The rooms are fitted with single beds throughout, in all four room types, with no double option anywhere. That suits families spreading children across separate beds, though a couple set on sharing a double should book elsewhere.
What time does dinner start?
There is no set time published, so you cannot plan around one before you arrive. Confirm it at check-in, and if that turns out too late for younger children, the Requinte lobby bar and the summer pool bar both do lighter food earlier.
Is the outdoor park any good for a baby or toddler?
For under-3s it is limited. They can use the wave, tropical and swimming pools, but Aquakids and most of the rides start at age 3 or a minimum height. If you are travelling with a baby, an autumn or winter stay is arguably the better fit, because the indoor park has a dedicated Babies Pool the outdoor one does not.
Can we get a babysitter for an evening out?
Babysitting is listed as a paid service you book through reception, though it's not confirmed on the hotel's own information, so check when you book. There is no kids' club to leave children at during the day, so this is the way to get an adult evening.
Are there highchairs in the restaurant?
The hotel takes babies and toddlers, but highchairs are not confirmed on its own information, so contact the hotel ahead of arrival to arrange one if you will need it.
Can we use the water park on arrival day before the room is ready?
Yes. Check-in is from 4pm, but your wristband works from 10am on the day you arrive, so in summer you can go straight into the outdoor park while you wait for the room.
See more Aquashow Park Hotel photos
Open the Aquashow Park Hotel photo gallery →
Useful links
- Aquashow Park Hotel: the resort's own site for rooms, board, park access and opening seasons.
- GOV.UK Portugal travel advice: entry rules and safety updates before you travel.
- The Algarve with little ones: our guide to the wider region, its beaches and when to go.
Last updated 12 July 2026.
