My b'friend and I strayed in Monte Dourado in September this year. Our apartment had everything you need: washing machine, dishwasher, TV and sound system. Very clean and serviced every other day. The location is perfect - on a hill overlooking the town but close to the centre - about 5 mins walk. There were several swimming pools and the whole villa resort looked beautiful. Great value for money but maybe because we stayed in low season. Definitely worth checking out - both for couples and families!

We have just come back from our 2 week holiday. The Monte Dourado apartments are great value for money. Spacious, clean and well equiped and a super location, albeit on a steep hill. We have 3 young children and we all loved it. We met quite a few people who have come back again and again and I can see why. We had wonderful hot weather every day. The staff are kind and most helpful and there is a great 'library' at reception whereby you drop and swap your books. Carvoeiro is a great great place, we really had a fabulous time.

Recently returned from a week in Portugal and having looked at these reviews before we went thought I would add a more recent one. First thing I would have to mention is probably the only downside to the whole place in that appartments are situated right at the top of the resort up a very steep hill. We have no mobility problems and it was nearly impossible to make the hike up the hill - the pavements are very slippery and hill so steep, We had a hire car and ended up using that to go up and down to beach & restaurants etc. So avoid if walking a problem as appartments do not have any bars/restaurants on site. Resort about 40 mins from airport so hire a car in UK (travelsupermarket.com) as worked out cheaper than taxis from airport and solved problem of hills!! The appartment we stayed in had 2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms and was more like a villa for the standard of fittings and kitchen etc. There are a number of separate blocks arranged round pools - you can use any of the 11 available!! Our closest 2 were ideal - our kids (8 and 6) were never out the water! Resort very hilly but plenty of restaurants and nice beaches. The main town one is fine but if you head out further a field there are some spectacular coves down the coast to the east. Weather smashing - sunny not scorching so ideal. Pound is not going far this year but no surprise as exchange rate rubbish - Portugal is more expensive than Spain say but worth it. I got smashing deal on appartment through Style holidays so that reduced pain of more expensive eating etc. All in all great for a week break in the sun..

I went on holiday to Carvoeiro with my mum in June 2008 and now I'm pining to go back! It was my first time in Portugal and I had an amazing time, the holiday was cheap but high quality.

I think we were in apartment no.38, it was a T3 seaview apartment which I booked through the Monte Dourado website. It was actually privately owned but the owners obviously paid the complex a fee for them to hire it out on there behalf. Originally I had been looking at private owner sites, but it was actually just as cost effective to book direct. The apartments were in two storey detached blocks of two apartments - one on the bottom and one on the top and ours not only had an amazing seaview, but also overlooked the pool as well.

The thing that made my holiday was how massive the apartment was! It had two large double bedrooms, so my mum and I had a bedroom each, two bathrooms - so we also had a bathroom each, a kitchen, a large living room and a balcony. It was well equipped with an alarm system and then the usual things - a tv, fridge, built in hair-dryer etc. It was so much bigger than any apartment or hotel room I'd ever stayed in before and meant that we both had a lot of our own space, which was great!

There are something like five pools on site, all with the same layout, a larger round pool and a smaller round paddling pool with sun loungers and umbrellas surrounding it. Each section of apartments had it's own pool, so if there were annoying people at yours (not often in our case!) you could go and use a different pool. We also saw a tennis court up near the reception, which we never used but other people seemed to quite often!

The people at the reception seemed to be able to speak a wide variety of languages and were very helpful, they knew a lot about the local area and could answer any questions, book taxis, book excursions or anything you needed. They also had internet access within reception, so on the last day when we checked out I used one to do our online check-in, just so we could spend a little bit more time in Carvoeiro and not at the airport!

All the apartments are based on a hill and there are also steps that lead down onto the main street, so it depends if you'd rather walk up a steep hill or a lot of steps! We just thought of it as burning off the calories from our gorgeous dinners in Carvoeiro!

Carvoeiro itself is lovely, when I read the reviews before I went, I thought it'd be really quiet with nothing to do, but there are loads of little shops, restaurants, bars and cafes but not the wild 18-30 type, they were just full of people relaxing with a cocktail on a summer evening! We were there during the Euro 2008 football tournaments, so a few nights were a bit noisy with people celebrating, but it was just a distant noise from the town, I'm a really light sleeper and it didn't keep me awake on any occasion! The apartments are a 10 minute walk from Carvoeiro beach, you just walk down the hill and right along the street, the beach is really nice - sandy and clean, and the water was clear and turquoise. There are a few beach cafes, which are nice to go to in the evening and on a few nights there were street performers there too.

The food is generally steak and fish, neither of which I generally like, but I still found amazing food to eat every night! The prices were good too.

Overall, Carvoeiro is wonderful and the Monte Dourado apartments are the perfect place to stay, I'm just trying to think of someone to come with me again this year!