Lovely place to stay, only 1 minute from the beach! (Clube Maria Luisa Apartments (Albufeira, Portugal))

Member Name: sakura8

Product:	Clube Maria Luisa Apartments (Albufeira, Portugal)
Date:	15/04/09 (88 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice well equipped rooms, great pool area, good location

Disadvantages: Surly barman gave us a bad room to start with!

<<< Description >>>
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The Clube Maria Luisa apartments are situated on a cliff-top just 250 metres from the lovely Maria Luisa beach. There are 28 guestrooms, all of which include balconies, kitchens, and sitting rooms.


<<< Location >>>
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The distance from Maria Luisa beach ranges from 100 to 750 meters depending on which website you read! We actually timed how long it took to walk to the beach because it is so incredibly close. It only took us 1 minute, but the beach is located at the bottom of some quite steep steps. This isn't too bad going down, but on the way back up it's a little bit tiring, but there are seats located at intervals to allow you to rest. I wouldn't say it's really suitable for those with mobility problems or if you have young children in a pushchair/buggy. The beach is really lovely and one of the nicest beaches I've ever been on as the sand was so soft and clean. There is a fantastic restaurant on the beach that serves tasty fresh fish - I highly recommend the swordfish or the grilled sardines!

The hotel is approximately a 35 minute drive from Faro Airport and it is located in the Olhos d'Agua district of Albufeira in Portugal. This area is pretty quiet with just a small selection of restaurants and places to drink, so if you're looking for a relaxing holiday away from the hustle and bustle then it is ideal.


<<< Facilities >>>
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The hotel has a medium outdoor swimming pool and a smaller children's pool. We visited in October and it was just about warm enough to swim in. We really liked the pool area as it is surrounded by grass and comfy sun-loungers. As it was off-peak season, the restaurant wasn't open, but there were plenty of restaurants open in the surrounding area to provide us with a variety of meals for a weeks stay. When the restaurant is open, you can have breakfast on the outdoor sun terrace by the pool.

There is a bar/lounge area with pool tables, but it didn't have the most welcoming atmosphere as the barman was a little surly, however the wonderful receptionist more than made up for his gruff nature. There is only someone on the front desk during certain hours, so if you have any problems or help then you need to be aware of that. When we arrived at the hotel about 10pm there was no one on the front desk, so the barman checked us in. However we weren't that pleased with our room so we spoke to the receptionist the following morning. She was really helpful and friendly and also helped us with our tickets and transport to Zoomarine where we went swimming with dolphins (also reviewed!).


<<< Room Amenities >>>
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The first room we were given wasn't very nice and we were pretty disappointed, as it was nothing like the pictures we had seen. It was located near the Cleaner's Cupboard so it felt like we'd been given a sub-standard room that wasn't ordinarily given to guests! It was on the ground floor and really small and dark, so when we mentioned it to the receptionist she moved us to a much nicer and bigger room as soon as one became available.

The new room was a huge improvement as it was far more spacious, had more light and a better balcony as it was on the top floor. All the rooms were a decent size and equipped with everything we needed. The kitchen had a fridge, coffee maker, microwave and even a washing machine, but we didn't use that as we were only staying for a week. The bathroom had modern fittings with a powerful shower and a bidet. The living room had a sofa bed, a TV with Cable/satellite (although the majority of programmes were Portuguese) and a dining table with chairs.

We were mostly pleased with the bedroom as it had proper wardrobes and drawers, which the last room lacked, so we now had somewhere to put our clothes! This room also had a safe, which we had to pay for, but it was a small price to pay for the security of our personal things.


<<< Would you recommend this hotel? >>>
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Yes I would! It is rated as a 2 star hotel and I think that is an accurate rating. The rooms are clean and comfortable (when you're given a decent room!) and have everything you need. The location is absolutely perfect if you like going to the beach and is within easy reach of local shops and restaurants. It was quite windy down at the beach, so we chilled out around the pool quite a lot because the hotel building surrounds the pool and blocked out the wind so it was nice and warm.

The receptionist did make the holiday special for us and we became quite good friends with her (we're even friends on Facebook!), but I would stay there again even if she didn't work there anymore as I really liked the location and the hotel itself met all our needs.

We booked this hotel as part of our package holiday through Expedia and to give an indication of cost, it was £402 for 2 people travelling in October 2007.

Summary: I would stay at this hotel again.