Advantages: Proximity to Beach. Friendly Staff. Disadvantages: No onsite restaurant.
...I arrived at Club Amarilis in March 2005 for my first visit to Portugal accompanied by my wife and two boys, aged 10 and 6. The hotel is located close to the beach but not with a sea-view. It is a clean, quiet hotel with a basic mini-market, a hairdressing salon, indoor and outdoor pool. The outdoor pool was not open in March but we were offerred free access to the indoor pool/jacuzzi.
A good variety of restaurants, bars and the beautiful beach at PraiadaRocha are all within a short walk. Tour buses also stop close to the hotel - I recommend the aquapark for the energetic. Overall dad, mam and boys enjoyed the whole Portugal experience finding the people very child friendly with special mention of Bruno, the hotel barman, who always amused the boys when taking their order of Coke/Sprite.
We returned to Ireland looking...
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...In the past two years I have visited Portugal, the Algrave to be specific, for my holidays. The first Time was in November when the weather was sunny warm during the day but chilly at night. visiting a tourist spot , Praia du Rocha, out of season was good , no crowds , empty beaches. In July we visited in the height of the season The weather was hot, sunny no sign of rain but a wonderful breeze that kept you cooler, the flowers were beautiful Very similiar to the Carribean.My summary of Portugal is it beautiful as the Carribean but cheaper and nearer to get there and without the beggars . The food is not very imaginative but if you like plain grilled food you will be happy. The prices are cheap compared to great Britain. The people are friendly well worth a visit....
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Advantages: Lots of resorts to choose from Disadvantages: Poor standards
...For the past few years I have been with my family to various European package destinations with Thomson’s and have always been more than satisfied. This year we left booking rather late having to settle for what was available from a limited choice. We decided on The Algarve with JMC, two weeks in an apartment at Praia do Vau, a quiet resort close to Praia de Rocha. The cost of the holiday seemed comparable to those we had been on in previous years. A pleasant time was had by all, but I felt that JMC rather cut corners and did not come up to the standards set by Thomson. The holiday rep was less than helpful, appearing to be interested only in selling JMC excursions and her welcome talk would have been suitable for a group of young lads, of which there were none present, rather than the family groups at the apartments! Our experiences...
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