| Holiday-Truth Readers Reports |
Danny @ the sycamores from Bradford travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
otbeach.com
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 01 2008 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff |  | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed here early Jan and its absolutely fantastic the hotel/apts were spotless you could eat your dinner of the floor.!!!!
The apartment was massive great for space good kitchen all you need nice clean bathroom/shower. Good size balcony. Maids cleaned and changed every 2 days.
The receptionist were very helpful and would always point you in the right direction.
The outside pool was great cleaned every early morning as well as the kiddies pool also grass was well maintained and the were plenty of loungers.
The pool bar was franchised to a guy named Jose he was great what a comedian the food snacks were great too and the best thing was they had happy hour everyday 5 till 8 when the pool, bar was closed in the hotel also good entertainment karaoke ect....
The staff could not do enough for you and dont worry about being too late for a beer Jose is always there till the last one goes try his cocktails at happy hour what a bargain. Please make sure you tip these guys its well worth it and they will look after you.
I would definitely go back again what a bargain for £53.00 for the week.
Click here for more information on this hotel, resort and region
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Rafferty from Scotland travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 1 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2006 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food |  | |
| Entertainment |  |
| said: We stayed at the Valmangude Sept 06 for 1 week, after reading reports on various review sights I was a bit wary so thought I would write an honest accurate review.
Apartments are huge, sofa beds in lounge area are very uncomfortable and not really suitable for young kids!
Quite good location (10 min walk from strip) but on a very busy road!! Noise at night is very loud.
Apartments really do need renovated very dated and bathrooms really need upgraded!!
We had a 2 year old with us and there was nothing for her to do at all would not recommend these apartments for families. There was entertainment at night but nobody was ever at it entertainer must have been a bit bored performing to about 4 people.
Pool bar was lovely staff very nice. Pool bar offers great breakfast and snacks and has a pool table and big screen tv, there is also a games room with a few things in it.
Pool area was always clean and there is a small childrens pool.
Overall these apartments are very basic so don't expect too much from them! You have to pay 15 euros for the safe with a 15 euro deposit and if you want the tv it costs 12.50 euros plus 10 euros deposit for the week but you only get 2 English channels CNN & eurosports.
Unfortunately we would not return to these apartments again but a big thumbs up to Mel the First Choice rep who helped us come home early due to illness, she was top class!!
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Duffy from Dunstable travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
First Choice
on a singles holiday.
There were 1 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff |  | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Hotel in very good location with shops, restaurants, beach and 10 Min's from'the strip'. Very clean, good value at the pool bar.
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Roberts from Manchester travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 5 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2006 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Just got back from the Valmangude Jarmim Apartments - had a fantastic time. Brilliant for families, great atmosphere, staff were spot on especially the bar staff! Big up to Sarah behind the bar - good northern lass. Kids could do with a few more activities to keep them occupied or possibly a creche for the husbands!! Apartments are supposed to be renovated in Oct 06 so if this happens it will be an even better place next year - would probably return.
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simpson from morden travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2006 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have just come back from our holiday and have had a lovely time. We found for a 3 star accomodation this was very acceptable. Apartments were clean and very spacious. The only complaint was that the sofa beds and beds were uncomfortable.
The food in the pool side bar was good. Near to supermarkets. Near to the strip. About 20 mins walk to the beach.
Too noisy on kareoke nights but this wasn't every night thank goodness!
Road side was noisy at night. But could cope with that.
We would come back again as everything was nice and intimate, the kids were safe you could see them all the time. We had a ground floor apartment which we could run in and out of. That was marvellous.
We had a couple of problems which were sorted out immediately. The reps were on hand every day and were pleasant and helpful.
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The Richards Family from West Midlands travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 04 2006 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We were a little worried about these Apts after reading some of the reviews, so we were quite surprised to find them spotlessly clean and very spacious,the Bathroom and Kitchen are a little dated, but we wern't expecting luxury for the price we paid!!!
The maids came in 5 out of the 7 days, in fact they came on our first full day in them and cleaned and changed the towels!!!
The Staff were all lovely and we must mention Philipe In Reception) Mellisa and Sarah in the bar they were really lovely people and really helpful.
The entertainment was ok, only went in towards the end of the evening as there is so much to see in the resort. We had a brilliant last night in there as it was one of our families 50th Birthday, and everyone was so nice to him, the Bar Staff gave him a drink and some of the guests had bought him Cards, and Philipe and Mellisa sang a song in Portuguese on the Karaoke, it really was a great night.
The only negative about these Apts are that they are situated on a busy road, so you hear the traffic and the really noisy Bin Men and Street Cleaners nearly all night!!! some cotton wool in the ears might help.
The Apts are situated about a 10 mins stroll to the Strip and about 20 to 30 mins to the Old Town.
We are not sure about visiting these Apts again, but only because of the road they are on, in every other respect we would defintely think about returning.
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Terri & Ian from Great Harwood, Blackburn travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 4 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2005 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: First impressions of this hotel were very good. The reception area was very clean and fresh and the staff were very helpful upon checking in. They kept our passports for for 1 day and were very keen to remind you of them the next day. I actually forgot that they had mine and my partners passport so its a good job they did.
You could hire a Saftey Deposit box for €15.00 per week with a deposit of €15.00 which was returned at the end of your holiday.
The rooms were very clean and we could not believe the size of the room that we were given. It was very spacious. When you entered the room it was quite narrow with the bathroom and the kitchen off to the left and the wardrobe to the right (plenty of room for 2 peoples clothes) which then spread out into a big living/dining room area. The kitchen was quite small but it was enough for us to make a drink in and warm some food if needed.
The bathroom was lovely and clean, although there was a funny hole in the ceiling where the tiles had moved and I could have sworn that when I was bathing I saw little cartoon eyes there ha ha. Unfortunately there was no vanity area for the ladies in that particular room i.e dressing table or large mirror so hair was straightened in the bathroom with great care taken not to electricute ones self !!
You sleep on settees doubling as beds and these can be squeaky and a tad unconfortable. You do get a "Z bed" otherwise known as a camp bed in the bigger rooms which can be more comfortable.
You have a big patio door which leads on to an ample sized balcony. Ours overlooked the pool area and we were also supplied with a maiden and a pair of chairs and a table which was great for sitting at and eating on if thats your thing.
Overall the rooms were a great size and they were kept clean so that will do for me.
The hotel pool bar was great too and I found that the food they did was tasty and the also had a very varied menu. The chicken nuggets were lovely. Beware though, my partner ordered a Bacon Sandwich but when it came it was a BLT so be careful and specify what it is you actually want. Oh and try the "Tres Chocolate" ice cream. Delightful!!!
The Reception Bar opened around 6.00pm and was lovely. There is also karaoke on in the evenings.
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Gemma & Luke from Manchester travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 07 2005 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
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| said: We booked to go away for my 21st birthday and wanted everything to be nice so we went to portugal for a week.
When we arrived at our hotel, we had to carry our baggage across the hotel to our room and there were many flights of stairs. When we opened the door to the room it was not the room I had booked, I had booked a second floor room with a balcony but we got a ground floor apartment with a terrace.
We decided not to complain and carried on with our holiday. We went for a stroll and when we got back we began to inspect the room further and began to find more problems. There were cigarette burns in the bath & on the bathroom floor, rusty taps in the bathroom, the furniture was sticky and marker badly (ot looked very unslightly), mosquitoes suashed on the walls, burn marks on the lights where there was clearly a fire hassard when the lights were on so we could not turn the lights on and a hole in the kitchen wall.
We were told when we booked we would have a tv and although we did it did not work. We decided we would complain the next day to the rep. We pulled out the sofa beds to sleep and as we sat on them we hit the floor, the sofa beds were broken and meant we were virtually sleeping on the floor which when my partner has a bad back is most unsuitable.
When we pulled the beds out we found food, food wrappers, pens and hair bands. When we awoke the next morning and pushed the beds back under the sofa, we found several more things which had been under the bed as we pulled them out such as an empty condom wrapper, a tissue and the used condom. We decided enough was enough and went to the rep to complain. She asked why we were unhappy and when we explained she said nothing. She did not offer to change the room or clean it and so we asked for a flight home.
We arrived at the hotel at 12.30 noon on sunday 24th July and we checked out of the hotel at 1pm on Tuesday 26th July for our flight at 6pm, we couldn't even bear to stay at the hotel any longer so we sat at the airport for 4 hours.
It cost me £1048 for a 7 day holiday and it cost us a further 310 euros to get home. Not only was my 21st ruined but the staff were not even bothered that we had slept next to a used condom!
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Dawn & Matthew from South Wales travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
first Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 3 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2005 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We stayed at this hotel with our three children aged 14, 10 and 15months. We had a fantastic time. The room was cleaned 6 times a week, towels changed twice a week. Rooms were very large and well maintained.
Didn't use cooking facilities or hotel entertainment program so can't really coment, but hotel snack bar served up nice food, although a bit expensive ( but hey we were on holiday)!!
Hotel in good location - about 5-10 minute walk to 'the strip' where we spent every night! coconuts family bar is exellent for the children - even our 14 year old enjoyed herself there. Bananas bar was also very good, the kids were able to sing on the kareokae. a fabulouse holiday was had by us all but would not have been complete without a visit to the zoomarine and a day at the slide and splash waterpark ( absolutely fabulous).
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hatton from west auckland travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
first choise
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 09 2004 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: This must be the noisiest hotel in the world.
A disco runs from 2100 till any time the next morning at such volume it disturbs the sleep of every apartment on the complex.
Would only recommend to those who like to club all night.
Every time people moved out of the quieter rooms the hotel moved those from noisiest rooms into them. Despite repeated complaints to reps it took six days for us to be moved.
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Stace and Wes from England travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
Direct Holidays
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2004 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We are in our early 20's and have just returned from these apartments, we went away with another couple and had an absolutely fantastic holiday. We had separate apartments and we found these to be extremely spacious, in which you have all the facilities you need, fridge, electric hob, oven, and toaster, the only down side was a lack of kitchen utensils.
The apartments were clean and nicely decorated, however it would have been nice to have had the towels changed more frequently!
The beach was about 20 minutes away, and you could walk to ablufeira old town along it, the sea was a little cold but that was refreshing as the sand did get very hot!
The pool area was very spacious and there were plenty of free sunbeds and a very large grass area.
Tania's bar (the hotel bar) was fab, happy hour between 3-5 pint of beer 1 euro! the usual price of a Vodka with lemonade and a Brandy with Coke would cost 4.50 euros for the 2 drinks, for the same 2 drinks on the strip this cost 10 euros+!!!!
Full English breakfast 4 euros, however Charlies bar (behind the Oura Hotel) did a fab breakfast for 4.50 euro!The nightlife is a short stroll away, including many bars and restaurants.
the reception at the apartmetns was a little hit and miss we were at the V2 apartments and there was no 24 hour reception and the opening times were very random!
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glen from glasgow travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
first choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 06 2004 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: All in all i found this hotel to be really good for what we paid. It could have been doing with a bit more entertainment though. Rooms are very large but very noisey as you can hear everything for the guests next door and above didnt get a decent sleep in a week. It also has a large games room which kept my kids happy. Happy hour is from 6pm / 8pm. GOOD VALUE.
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Mrs Fuller from Birmingham travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
First Choice
on a couples holiday.
There were 2 adults and 0 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 02 2004 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: I think I'm being unfair on the hotel as it wasn't bad for the price we paid. However, the whole feeling of the place and of The Algarve wasn't very good.
We're 2 young adults and found it rather boring on the whole. These apartments are great for people with children but besides that their too dark and basic.
The real reason I'm writing this is because we had a bad experience out there. We went with First Choice Holidays and upon arrival at their welcome meeting, they told us about their excursions and a new free excursion, that they were running a trial on. They said it was going to Quinta Da Lago and this was an exclusive place where the likes of Madonna and Bill Gates have houses there.
We went along for the day. Initially it was a nice tour until they started what we were really there for....yes you guessed it. It was time share. Well it was a moving time share. You joined up and had holidays in lots of countries. However we calculated they wanted £11,000 on the day and after that they committed you for 50 years and the basic cost was £30,000.
It was very hard sell and they held us there from 1100am till 600pm. We were going ballistic. Anyway we managed to get out. Upon arrival we informed our rep and the other people what happened. But the next morning at their next welcome meeting they were signing people up to again!!!!
We've been really disappointed with First Choice.
Also a few other tips if you're travelling in a car or with an excursion always carry your passports and tickets, not many people will tell you this. But the police over there are really bad and they will randomly stop you and if you can't prove who you are and what you're doing there they'll fine you on the stop.
Another warning stay away from people with scratchcards especially on the beaches. A couple we were staying with were given a scratchcard, they were then told that they had won something and told to get into a car. When they refused the lady was dragged into the car and so the man followed in and they were taken somewhere and held hostage for 3 hours and were forced to buy a timeshare. We did check out the credibility of this story and its a common thing over there.
So please be careful. Hope I've not been too negative. But I wouldn't ever go back, I'd go to Cyprus instead!!!
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Mrs Lorimer from Peterborough travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
First Choice
on a family holiday.
There were 2 adults and 2 child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2003 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: We have visited the Algarve before and although this wasn't my favourite resort the holiday was good value for money. My 8 year old daughter had plenty to keep her busy (the kids reps were lovely)and daily activities were orgainised by hotel staff around the pool which me and my husband participated in relucantly at 1st(and turned out to be good fun)however my 16 year old daughter was bored.
The appartment was very noisy as we were on the 1st floor above the disco/nightly entertainment so if booking I would recommend that you avoid this floor as it is impossible to get to sleep before 2.00am
We went on a few excusions water parks/jeep safari/casinos/zoo marina which were excellent. We also went on a free trip to see celebrity houses which was a time share in disguise so avoid this if you don't want the hard sell.
This complex is just off the main strip which is very lively with lots to do as nightly entertainment in the complex was limited - although we preffered the old town which was only 5 mins by taxi.
To sum up a good holiday for a good price.
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spook from UK travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
First Choice
on a Unknown holiday.
There were Unknown adults and Unknown child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 08 2002 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness |  | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: Having never been to Portugal, we went with an open mind.
The apartments were super, a good size with plenty of room for our children to spread out without feeling too squashed. We were in Valmangude 1 - the apartments are actually split into 3 blocks, all next to each other, but this was definitely the best one.
V2 was OK, just next door, but V3 was across the road, no amenities, and the pool backed onto the road. Bedroom was very noisy at night though, due to mad Portuguese drivers boy racing outside the window.
Reception area was fine, with a good little cocktail bar. The pool was just the right size, and next to the V1 pool was the pool bar, where the 'entertainment' took place. I use the term loosely - for a Family Plus property, it was a little disappointing. It was OK, but that was all. The entertainmnet programme was run by a couple employed by the hotel, who had little charisma. To echo another comment on this site, they went home for a week in our holiday, and one of the Reps took over - extra and unpaid work, I should add - and things improved no end. It was still fairly basic, but Belinda's enthusiasm made up for that.
Belinda, (and also Carly, the other Rep), was absolutely excellent. Always smiling, friendly, FULL of energy, totally natural and down to earth. Nothing was too much trouble, and she always stopped to see how things were going, even when busy. Probably the best Rep we've ever encountered.
Kids Club - mine (5 and 8) used it for the first time ever this year. They loved it, but some of the things in the brochure were not in evidence - Gameboy rental, DK books.
Apartments are within easy walking distance of the Strip. Yes, it is bright, noisy and gaudy, but hunt around and there are a good selection of really good, varied restaurants. We tried to get there by about 7pm, by 8.30pm it was very busy and there were some queues at the best eateries.The clubs are largely at one end (didnt get that far - too old!!), and we were usually back at Valmangude by about 10pm, so didn't see what it was like at late night. I feel it might have got too busy.
The old town is about 25 mins walk away. Our 5 year old walked it (with a bit of moaning). Taxis are available , but the queues were huge, and we just prefered to walk. Got taxis back, this wasn't as bad, 4 Euros only. The old town is lovely, although still very commercial whatever the guide books say. Again, a good selection of restaurants.
Managed to totally avoid timeshare touts, although did get offered cannabis, and there were a lot of beggars, particularly in old town.
Had a wonderful day out when we hired a car. Drove to Lagos, then to Ponte da Piedade (the place you see on all the postcards), where we went on a small fishing boat around the coves and grottos. Breathtaking. Finished the day by watching the sun set at 'the end of the world', Cape St Vincent. Also breathtaking.
Zoomarine and Slide and Splash were good days out.
We had a super holiday in Albufeira, and would certainly recommend it, and go back. Valmangude is a very nice complex, could do with a little more lively and varied entertainment, but otherwise lovely. There's so much to do out and about it's not a problem. Children are still depressed about coming home!
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samsmfkelly from UK travelled to Valmangude Jardim Apartments with
Unknown
on a Unknown holiday.
There were Unknown adults and Unknown child(ren) in the party. The travel date was 05 2002 |
rated the Valmangude Jardim Apartments as follows:| Cleanliness | | | Location | | | Staff | | | Food | | |
| Entertainment | |
| said: My husband and I along with our 2 year old thoroughly enjoyed it here. The pool area and snack bar are ideal but it lacks night time entertainment.
Don't forget to visit the patisserie/bakery behind the hotel as it sells the most wonderful pastries ever!!
One last piece of advice is don't spend every evening on the 'Strip', the old town (just £2 in a taxi) is so much nicer for eating and entertainment.
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