Clube Praia da Oura

10 days late January 2016, 2 couples in adjoining rooms, all inclusive deal via Travelzoo.

hotel: staff always friendly & helpful.

situation: overlooking the sandy beach.

food: buffet style, plentiful, wide choice at breakfast; good choice of meats, fish and salads for lunch & supper.

drinks: house wine quality poor ( this is a pity as we enjoy Portuguese wines and it is a good opportunity to showcase decent ones to a wider clientèle); other drinks good.

facilities: plenty of seating in outside gardens, terraces, good pool area but unheated so unused. advertised a sauna which sounded good as no indoor pool, but this was only available to members of the infiniti club, not for standard use. never found the tennis courts.

room: deal included upgrades to newly refurbished Deluxe pool view room - which was a studio apartment (however, our friends next door had a room which was not refurbished) the main disappointment were the beds - sofabeds! of some age and despite a topper, the springs were felt acutely. these dipped in the middle and were really uncomfortable. They were permanently down which made the rooms tight on space and with no sofa to relax on.

MGM hotels need to sort the beds as a matter of urgency, and also the astonishing 'bath cemetery' - a central area of ground where we had some activities with the doubtful pleasure of looking at a hill of redundant toilets, baths and basins we were informed had been there for at least fifteen years!

overall, we had a very good winter holiday, with warm sunshine, great location and very hospitable staff. we would have scored it higher had we been able to sleep on proper beds.

Having arrived late Saturday night we were allocated a beautifully clean and well equipt room ... but overlooking the brick wall of the kitchens! However, a quick visit to Reception the following morning resulted in our being given an even better apartment overlooking the sea and bowling green. I can't thank staff enough for their courtesy and helpfulness. Highly recommended!

This is the best situated hotel in the area but not great service

Poorly equiped kitchen which made self catering awkward

5-10 min walk to 'the strip' and its various bars and restaurants

Poor staff service - they ignored you at reception for as long as possible then were very unhelpful

Loved the fact you could walk straight onto the beach and there was a little fish restaurant on the beach too

The Clube Praia da Oura hotel in Albufeira looks well presented, but the foyer or lobby was too small for the size of the complex. In the rooms (saunas) there is no respite from the hot sun, and the supplied fans are totally inadequate and just circulate warm air. The rooms are clean, but the furniture is non-existent, so be prepared to live out of your suitcase. The hotel menu is much too expensive, and the drinks prices, including children's drinks are a rip off.

Outside of the hotel there are some very good places to eat, which helps to improve things. For snacks check out Susans at the Oura Praia (sister hotel), which is a franchise not related to the Oura. The USA Club is a meal in itself, and it was only 6 Euros. Also, under the Oura Praia, there is the Oura bar. Again, it is not related, and they have real decent lager at decent prices. Check out the Sizzling Stone and the Festa Praia. Both serve really good food. The best entertainment is at the top end of the strip at the Chor bar and the Erin Isle.

Now back to the CPO... Although I did not attend the welcome meeting by the airtour reps. For one reason only, they should not be encouraging CPO timeshare reps to be attending these welcome meetings, or even showing association with them. I spoke to a number of parents who felt trapped by these people. The CPO manual in the apartment strongly criticises the timeshare lottery touts, but on the last day up on the island, there were 6 CPO timeshare staff. One was even that desperate that he stopped to offer us a lift to the beach. Other than this, I was not pestered by the timeshare pressure group. Excuse the pun, but it was the biggest and most obvious presence.

Spend some cash on air conditioning. For the location I may go back.

Although we visited Clube Praia da Oura out of the main season, there was plenty to do in and around the hotel. It is very close to the "Strip" and not withstanding the time share touts, this was a very pleasant week. I would recommend CPO to anyone, it is very clean and well maintained, you do get stung in the bars, much better to take a short walk where there are plenty of bars/restaurants at very good prices.

The Clube Praia da Oura is a nice apartment complex - on the beach with a few restaurants/bars around but not too far away from the Strip or Albufeira old town. 2 adults, one 13 year old and a one year old. We have stayed here 3 times now so that should be an indication of how much we like it. First time we travelled with Cosmos, 2nd & 3rd time, we booked direct with the Clube Praia da Oura and got our flights separately - which worked out cheaper.

From personal experience of Clube Praia da Oura, they will try to get you to one of their timeshare presentations lasting over 6 hours where you will be plied with lies, food, drink and more lies in the hope they can get you to part with over £4000 for a timeshare you can buy elsewhere for £500.

I am able to prove they tell lies to get your money. They try to exploit loopholes in the law, they then threaten you and bombard you with loads of meaningless information in the hope you'll give in if you sus them out.

They'll listen to your complaint and make noises as though they're going to do something about it, but in fact, they're about to rip you off for some more money, and do nothing in respect of your complaint.

Don't believe me? Then take a look at this www.clube-praia-da-oura.co.uk

cpo said they were going to shut this site down ..... that was over 2 years ago!