Praia da Rocha, Mirachoro Apartments

We have just arrived back after a weeks holiday. We do not smoke, and when entering our room for the first time we were taken aback with the stale smell of cigarette smoke, this took around 4 days to clear! The furnishings and fixings are so dated, even the balcony light was just hanging from the wall....bulb and cable not fixed. There were cobwebs hanging from the corners of the ceiling. There was also a smell when standing in the kitchen area, after investigation I found it to be the extractor....smelt like rotten food! The bath shower mixer tap diverter would not work correctly. I have stayed in many 3 star hotels, maybe we have been spoilt previously, but we were definitely overcharged for what we got.....room 504 avoid !!!

My girlfriend and I got this apartment as a last minute deal for a week, when we arrived from the outside the hotel looks like the place you wouldn't stay and we had to wait near 2 hours for our room. But we discovered that are apartment was in a separate block and it looked really good. We were shocked to see how big our apartment was and it was nice to go into after the wait, it could have slept 6 people overall.

We discovered the beach on the first night and were amazed by it, without a doubt the best beach I have been to in my life, and the bars right along it made it even better!

The restaurants are amazing and total value for money, I recommend Big Reds, we went 3 times in a week it was that good, and the people were really nice.

One thing we picked up on was the attitude of the Portuguese people, they stared at you, walked into you and it was very intimidating to walk back to the apartment late at night so we decided to get a taxi, make sure you have the right amount because you don't get change off the driver and they already add a tip on! There was also a homeless man who shouted abuse after we said we wouldn't give him money!

If you go make sure you go to Ireland's Eye of a night as its superb, and they have two amazing acoustic singers on, we went every night and the people are friendly! There's also a great cocktail bar that overlooks the beach.

Overall the holiday was great and we really enjoyed it, I believe a week is sufficient as we went the water park and on a boat trip and through Portimao, doing everything really. Plus we don't think we could have tolerated the locals much more. Was a great get away, but we wouldn't go back just because of the people.

If the Mirachoro Apartments had been located in the centre of Praia da Rocha, it would have been much better. We found the walk into town took about 20 minutes at your ease but, in addition, you had tons of steps to get to the beach and a long walk over the beach to the water. There was no way my 5 year old would walk back. Bus service runs three times a day but last bus home is around 5 pm. I ended up renting a car (reasonably) from reception at the hotel and it was delivered and picked up right at the hotel thus solving some of the location problems. The apartments were spacious with comfortable beds. Cooking facilities were limited to two rings, a toaster, a microwave and a fridge. I did find it a bit noisy at night but nothing beyond the usual sounds you would have coming in open windows in an urban area and with a holiday crowd in a high rise building. The bar served great pizzas, toasties and burgers for the kids at reasonable prices. Pool was small and we found it to be very cold. Pool lounge area also very compact and tight. The majority of people staying at the hotel were English speaking so the staff were excellent English speakers. The hotel also had a small reading library behind reception which was much appreciated when I ran out of books. Loads of tours are available and can be booked through your tour operator, reception or you can call many of the places yourself and they will offer free transport. We would recommend booking direct to save money. Overall, the hotel was certainly satisfactory but we did not really like the resort of Praia da Rocha as it lacked character and was mostly full of high rise apartment blocks, restaurants, bars and souvenir stalls.

We stayed at the Alto Golf and Country Club - Alto Vau apartments in Alvor Portugal in October. the weather was amazing, just like an English summer's day. The privately owned apartment was very smart, yet homely and there was a lovely pool. At this time of year there were hardly any people in the apartments, just one or two owners spending a few weeks out there - lucky them.

We had only a week, but it extended the summer and was very good value.

We have already recommended the place and the tour operator (independent villas) to our friends. However, we think it is a bit of a hidden secret out of season and would not like to see it get too popular! You do need a car to get about although there were bars and restaurants nearby and the beach was around 10 mins walk.

Alvor has a wide choice of restaurants and is typically Portugese, but is a 10 minute drive away. The new road has opened up this area. It only took us 40 min from Faro.

We'll be back next year for a fortnight at least.

we wasn't sure what to expect as it was the first time we had been abroad. The area itself was up and coming. Alot of building work was still going on around us to other appartments, it wasnt noisy though. The apartment was large enough for 2 adults and 2 children althought my 2 had to sleep on sofa beds. The staff were very friendly and helped us when we needed it. The free bus goes into town 3 times a day but if you miss it its about a 15 min walk and its a trek if it gets hot. Coming back its all up hill so not so good if you have walking difficulties. There are a lot of places to eat and drink but make sure you use their toilets as there are no public ones. Also keep an eye out for the ticket touts they get you to scratch a card for a time share and they take a day of your holiday looking at a hotel complex but you get nothing for your time. Also the men selling you cheap gold jewelry and cigarettes are everywhere and can be very annoying and they do go away. Also don't drink the tap water always drink bottled water from the supermarket as it is very cheap and you wont get tummy troubles. There are 2 supermarkets near by but its about a 10 min walk to them a taxi will cost you around 5 euros.The main entertainment is in the Mirachoro 11 they have reg music nights. Take advantage of the excursions as it is well worth it. We went to a place called Zoo Marine. My children loved it as they had dolphins and sealions and parrot shows. Beware of the kerbs on the pavements as they are a lot higher than here at home you can esily trip. The palm trees are also a little on the low side so mind your head. The streets are cleaned everyday by locals. All in all we had a good first holiday abroad and we will be going back to the Algarve but to a different place.