Have just returned for novochoro appts. Got a real cheap deal on a weeks holiday so were not expecting much. On arrival were really pleasantly suprised. The apparentments are spotless. We had opted to pay a little more for superior appt, it had big kitchen, really clean and well equiped. Bit lounge/diner with sofa bed, bedroom large, bathroom very clean, nice clean towels. Downside, beds are like concrete!! sofa is like concrete!! Weather was not great for all of stay so trying to get comfy to read or watch tv was a bit of a nightmare. Appartment was cleaned every other day and if we needed anything extra, staff at reception were more than helpful. They have a bar which serves snacks which were very reasonable. The pool is small but adequate but totally freezing!!! Grounds are very well maintained and nice. Had read on here about the dogs!!! Oh the dogs. Bark all the time, reaching a crescendo evening and early morning.
The car wash place was noisy although not busy , suppose is time of year. All in all, value for money actual appartment was really nice.
Location wise, it is a bit isolated. Is a good 15 min walk to top of the strip and map appt staff give you is confusing so got lost first time. Local supermarket is really good value if dont want to buy english things. Bought lots of salad and bread from there, milk water etc. The strip in montechoro is pretty dire unless you love burgers and pizzas. Do not eat at romeros. We ended up diving in there during a downpour and regretted it. Food and service was awful. Italian restaurant mid strip not much better. Had quite a nice breakfast at a little scottist owned place which was good. It is a long walk down to the beach at prai d'oura but beach is lovely. Location not really an issue as taxis are very cheap and appartments do a bus service to strip and old town for a euro each although only 3 times a day. The beach and restaurants in the old town are much better. Taxi back to appts less than 5 euros. We found a little gem. It is a place called cabana fresco. Right by the beach. The food there is a little more pricey but so worth it. Food , atmosphere, service were really good. We left the stroppy teenager at home for a night and went there. Was 60 euros for dinner with really nice bottle of wine. Service was amazing, nothing too much for them. Our favourite place. All in all for what we paid was great. Would not go there in summer months, imagine the strip is awful place to be. Weather not perfect in oct but had some good sunshine as well as down pours. Would go back again if could get same deal, Less than 100 each for flights and appt.

Novochoro is only a small complex, about 30 appts in total spread across two blocks. The older block has approx 10, whilst the new approx 20. We stayed in the new block which was slightly more expensive, but the appartment was very spacious with a separate kitchen and bedroom (some of the apartments in the older block are "studios" with the lounge / kitchen and bedroom all in one). The new block has two floors, although there is also an underground storeroom / garage which means the ground floor apartments are actually slightly raised up.

The kitchen is very well equipped with a fridge, microwave, toaster, kettle, two ring hob and plenty of pots, pans, crockery etc. Bathroom was good although could perhaps do with better lighting over the mirror, also the shower heads seem to suffer due to the local hard water, so ours was missing at first (!), then replaced with one which sprayed in fairly random directions but did the job ok.

Bedroom is big, with two full size single beds (not the narrow ones you see in some places) and plenty of built in wardrobes / draws and a safe which unfortunately seemed to be missing part so didn't work. The lounge was comfortable, with a dining table and four chairs, sofa (bed I think), chair, couple of tables with a lamp and a flat screen TV which has a few british channels on - BBC1, CBBC / BBC3, Sky News and ITV 1. Didn't come on holiday to watch telly, but it was nice to catch up with the news.

There is a massive balcony which runs along the front of the apartment with doors into the bedroom and lounge. Out here is a decent table and four chairs (not the usual plastic rubbish), but unfortunately not too much of a view as our room (on the ground floor) overlooked the nearby car rental place. Not a massive problem as there are tree's to screen things off, but they had an automatic car wash and seemed obsessed with washing the cars everyday at around 8:30am which was quite noisy and became annoying, especially when you have to sleep with the doors open because of the heat. The balcony gets sun in the morning, so it's nice to sit out and have breakfast.

The other slight noise issue is that, due to the staggered design of the block, the balcony of the appartment next door is next to the wall of your bedroom. It meant that our neighbours on one side, normally very quiet, became very irittating at 3am when they returned from a night out and decided to sit on the balcony talking loudly about how much they had drunk (one night, 15 pints apparently and didn't feel drunk....!)

The pools is small but adequate. I would say that it soon becomes swamped if, like us, there is a family staying who have a few kids, inflatables etc. There was never a problem with sunbeds and the reception / snack bar / bar served basic food and drinks at reasonable prices. They also had a little magazine / book library left by other visitors you could make use of if you forgot yours.

There is one big issue with these apartments however, the distance from anywhere that they are. As other people have mentioned, it's about a 15 minute walk to the top of "the strip" where the bars and restaurants are, and also the nearest open supermarket. That wasn't a problem for us but I could see people with kids struggling. The isolated position means it is very quiet (apart from the carwash and chats about drinking), but they do have a minibus that will take you down the strip or old town (about a 40 minute walk) for €1 per person. It's supposed to operate as a bus service at 10:30am, 4:00pm and 6:00pm, but it seems to just be used when people ask / book.

In terms of nearby facilities, the nearest supermarket is a bit more than 10 mins walk and is small but adequate for most things. If you have a car, there is a bigger one on the main road to the old town. There are a few local bars near the appartments if you fancy a bit of local culture and three restaurants within 5 mins walk if you turn left at the end of the road, instead of the usual right to head into town. We ate at the middle of the three and it was very good, and on the Saturday night we went, all seemed busy with local people which is a always a good sign.

That said, the strip is where most of the places are and if you're after cheap drinks and food, every bar seems to be trying out do the one next to it. The average price for a large (pint) of the local beer (Super Bock or Sagres, both every good) was about €2, although some places were as low as €1. The bars at the top of the strip, nearest the apparments, seemed to be quieter and we particularly liked Faces because they had comfortable chairs and it looked a bit different from the usual "brits abroad" type of places around it.

Anyway, back to the appartments. To sum up, polite staff, very clean (apartment cleaned and towels changed every two days, bedding once a week), small, quiet, just a bit off the beaten track.

One thing to add for all you cat lovers is a little male black cat who we think was called Blackie that lives at the car rental place. He also treats the appartments as his and quite often popped in through our kitchen window and made himself at home. He even sat outside the door waiting for us to come home in the evening.

We stayed here with our 5 year old daughter, we had a great stay, staff were very pleasant, rooms cleaned, towels changed regularly. There is a courtesy bus available for 1 euro each adult. Sunbeds were always available. The only negative that we would have to say was our room did not have air conditioning and we went in July which was extremely hot and uncomfortable at night.

Service, cleanliness & value all excellent. Staff first class, towels changed every other day, bed linen weekly, no problems getting a sunbed by the smallish but adequate pool.
Can be quiet however can also be noisy - one night drunken revellers returning at 5a.m., another night a family having a loud argument at 2a.m., dogs barking all night, screaming kids, loutish youths, squawking seagulls, a van wash in the adjacent commercial premises all proved at times irritating. Car recommended as location is rather remote - 15 min walk to the end of 'The Strip' probably 30 mins to the bottom - not recommended by us as is rather run-down & tatty. Old town is worth visiting but very distant (shuttle available but don't know the details).
Our 1 bedroom superior apartment was extremely spacious with large balcony overlookiung the pool and generally very well equipped however no hairdryer or iron were provided (available on short loan from reception), also no aircon.
A good base for visiting other places by car in the Algarve. The fountains at Alte are particularly recommended - take a picnic & your swimming togs.