Vale de Carros Apartments, Albufeira

Advantages: Fairly quiet area, good location, family friendly, rooms in good condition
Disadvantages: Quality of kitchen facilities could have been better

...I visited the Algarve last summer with a few friends and stayed at Vila Alba apartments during our two-week stay. I really enjoyed my stay here and would not hesitate to return - the apartment became a large aspect of the holiday! The location of the apartments is not in Albufeira itself, but just outside. Although the apartments are simply a 5-10 minute walk from The Strip (where there are many cafes, bars and little shops), it is a fairly quiet area, with little to no disturbance. The apartments are quite detached from one another, so this further lessens the noise levels. The apartments are around a 20 minute walk to the beach. The rooms themselves are of very good quality. The lounge area includea a TV with several channels; some in Portugese and some English. Even the CBeebies channel was available, which is great if you... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Nice pool, pleasanr helpful staff, appartment very clean
Disadvantages: Bathroom stunk of drains, kitchen antiquated, no kettle, toaster or hairdryer

...in the car and go and explore for a while. SUNSHINE MAKES EVERYTHING LOOK GOOD: We made our way up to the pool area and were pleasantly surprised by a couple of big pools, lots of sun loungers and umbrellas, a couple of quiet bars and a restaurant. It all looked quiet, sunny and inviting. We sat down and enjoyed an iced tea and toasted sandwiches. We had been up since 2am and I had only had a cup of coffee and water so I was quite hungry by now. The waiter was lovely and the food was fine. We were getting quite positive vibes and when we went back to reception they said our apartment was ready we were almost on a high. MAYBE I SPOKE TOO SOON: We drove around to near our apartment and went up to the top floor, no lift but we are quite fit so that is not a great problem. We struggled with the old key in the lock and eventually got in. It... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Cheap, great for young people and famies
Disadvantages: Access problems

...Myself and my cousin stayed at these apartments in September 2007. We got moved here from the Samba hotel across the road at the last minute and when we arrived we were a little dissapointed looking at the apartments from the outside compared to the Samba but we were there and couldn\'t change it! Appearances can be deceptive and these apartments were. When you walk inside there is a large reception area with a games room, internet access (which you pay to use but is inexpensive) and pool access. The staff on reception were quite helpful and spoke good English. There are lifts and stairs so access is easy for the less mobile and people with children. The apartment we were in was quite large with one bedroom and a separate bathroom. It was pretty clean and well maintained. The only problem we had was our toaster didn\'t work which wasn... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful