What a nice place to say! It’s on the edge of the old town so in a nice quiet location. Its clean, safe and modern with a massive pool, plenty of sun beds and a nice little café - what more could you want.

The complex itself appears to be a mix of residential, holiday homes and holiday apartments. The apartment we had was on the ground floor and when we walked in we were amazed by the size of the place! It was a 1 bed apartment which had a queen sized bed with air con in the bedroom; the kitchen had a big fridge freezer, a washing machine, dishwasher, kettle, coffee making machine, microwave, toaster oven and hob plus all utensils. The lounge/diner had a big 6 seater table, an L shaped sofa, coffee table, large TV with a mixture of channels (BBC 1, 2, Channel 4, ITV3) depending on the time of day some of the English channels had a poor reception, and it also had air con in the lounge as well. The bathroom had everything you’d expect plus clean towels and toilet roll. The Balcony was very nice, it had a small washing line to hang towels etc and a patio table with 2 chairs. The balcony opened up onto grass and gardens and the next block of apartments were a good 50m away so not on top of you.

The towels were changed twice a week and the cleaners seemed to come 2 – 3 times a week to mop up and tidy up etc.

The complex isn’t massive so you’re never more than a couple of minutes walk to the pool which for us was the highlight of the complex!

The pool area is large with a huge circular pool at the centre and has two smaller pools branching off it that you could dip you feet into; there was also a baby pool.

The area around the edge of the pool was large enough to accommodate lots and lots of sun beds not on top of each other, some with umbrellas and others didn’t have any but not to worry you could ask at reception and they would get you one. You’d always get a sunbed no matter what time of day it was, I think due to the fact the complex was a mix of residential and holiday ownerships it meant the pool was never packed.

There was a lifeguard on duty most of the week and the pool area and pool itself was spotlessly clean and tidy. Infact the whole complex including our apartment was spotlessly clean and tidy.

The café next to the pool was very nice, it did hot and cold snacks and drinks along with alcoholic drinks perfect for a lunchtime break.

The whole complex is part of the new marina which is just a stones throw away and has some nice restaurants and shops to enjoy. There is also a mini mart (which can be expensive as it’s the only one near by) and a Barclays bank a stones throw away.

Taxi from the old town back to the complex was no more than 5 Euros and if you wanted a big shop in a big supermarket the closet place to go was Lidl which was on the outskirts of town but only between 5-10 euro cab fare away. We walked there one day to get our bearings and it was about a 45 min walk through the old town.

Albufeira old town is a nice place to go in the evening as its buzzing with lots of shops, stalls, places to eat, drink and just watch the world go by. We didn’t venture into the new town so cannot comment on what that’s like nor did we go to the beach but from what we could see the beach looked very nice. And the best part about it all was that it’s just a 15mins walk from the Orada.

We would definitely go back to the same place again as we got the holiday we wanted which was to sit around a pool, read a book, go for a swim and watch the world go by in the evening.

We stayed here in June 2011 for a fortnight, having previously been here for a week in September 2010. I have to say we have never before returned to the same destination and accommodation for a holiday, but things have changed a bit now that we have a 5 year old and 2 year old to consider! They were the reason we came back. The complex is made up of low rise apartment blocks and has a main pool and small, shallow children's pool. The complex is really clean and there are a lot of well-tended to gardens. The layout gives a sense of space and doesn't feel at all overcrowded or claustrophobic. There was always plenty of room at the poolside, however bear in mind that we were there just off-season on both occasions, so I don't know whether this would be the case in high season. The location of the apartments is great for kids too - a short walk takes you to the marina, where there are restaurants, ice cream parlours, a children's playground, bouncy castles and bike hire. I would recommend care hire as the local shops are very expensive so a trip to the local LIDL to stock up will go a long way. We also found it a bit far to walk into Albufeira with the kids. Also, a short drive to the west will take you to some of the most stunningly beautiful beaches I have ever seen, many of them blue flag, with great, well-kept facilities. Overall, the kids were well entertained, safe and very much welcomed by the lovely Portuguese people - all of which makes for a very relaxing holiday for the parents!!

I went with my boyfriend and 5 other friends. We had a 3 bed apartment with 4 bathrooms. It was very spacious and very well equiped with lots of utensils, a microwave and a washing machine.

There is 1 massive swimming pool, a small kids pool and the rest are water features and you cannot swim in them but the pool is so big, it is more than enough. The hotel was fairly quiet which was great for us. We got a sun lounger every day, even when we went to the pool at 4pm. The pool is open from 10am to 7pm. The maid service was good and beds were made every day and we had a towel change twice a week.

The girls at the reception desk were very helpful and booked us taxis etc which arrived in about 2 mins. The reception is open until 12pm. There is a free taxi/bus which the hotel runs to the old town/beach at 10pm, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm. It does get full so you need to book in advance. If it is full, reception can order you a taxi which costs about 4-5 euros which is really good.

The marina is very close (about 5 min walk) and there are bars and restaurants along there. There is a nice bar called Sharkys which is open until 3am. Sharkys does a lovely special sangria, in a jug for 12 euros which is champagne instead of wine. I would definitely recommend trying this. I would also recommend the Italian restaurant at the marina. Downstairs in that restaurant, they do ice cream all night for about 2 euros for 1 scoop and there are so many flavours!

The beach and old town is about a 25 minute walk but I would recommend a taxi as they are so cheap and quick. The old town is lovely and the beach is amazing. The old town becomes lively at night and there are lots of places to eat and drink. Most beers are under 2 euros for a large one.

There is a little supermarket near the marina which does essentials such as water, butter, squash, crisps etc. It is a bit pricey but there are lots more supermarkets in the old town which are better.

The new town is 15-20 minutes away from the old town. We never went so I cannot comment but we were advised by locals that is the liveliest part as it has a few clubs which open at about 3am and it is renound for hen do's and stag parties. It also has lots of bars.

We went on a a few trips which I would recommend. Firstly, we went on an all day boat trip on a boat called the Amorita. This can be booked at the Marina. It is 39 euros but we haggled and got it for 35 euros. It was an amazing trip. We sailed for a couple of hours and then stopped at a private beach and had a BBQ which consisted of salad, pork, sardines and fruit. This is included in the price. I am a vegetarian so not great for me but my meat eating friends said the food was very nice. You also get a trip to see the caves before you BBQ. You get chance for a swim around and then you sail back for 2 hours. The whole trip was 6 hours. Be careful about the prices of drinks on the boat, as a can of coke was 2.50 euros. When we stopped on the beach, they provided wine and soft drinks for free.

We also went to Slide and Splash waterpark. We were advised that this was the best waterpark. We thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it for all ages. It was 29 euros including transport. This can be booked at the hotel.

Myself and one other went to Zoo Marine which is nice day out. It has a few rides such as water rapids, wet slides and you get to see a dolphin show, a sealion show and some very good divers. It also has an aquarium and you can touch starfish and the stingrays. This was 30 euros including transport. You can swim with the dolphins there but I think it was about 145 euros. The boys in our group didn't fancy this trip so they hired a car for the day. This cost 38 euros for the day.

In terms of food, my friends really enjoyed the peri peri chicken. As a main meal with chips, this ranged between 5-8 euros which is not bad at all. We had a lovely curry in the Old Town at a place called the Minar. It was very nice and reasonably priced. It is hidden away and is next to a Mexican restaurant. It was one of the only restaurants where people were not harrassing you to come and eat in their restaurant. In addition, there was no-one playing music there and then asking for money.

It was very hot so make sure you put lots of suntan lotion on. It was between 30oc and 36oc all week!

I hope the review is helpful. I wanted to write it as we were a bit worried when we read some reviews saying it was miles away from anything and you need a car etc. I would disagree with this as you can walk or get taxis which are so quick and cheap.

We all had a lovely holiday and would definitely go back.

Apartments were great lots of space, good kitchen with lots of utensils. Rooms were cleaned every day and it was overlooking the pool .
The resort was too quiet only about 10 other guests, only a small ice cream shop that sold ice cream, pasta beer and drinks. No other restaraunt on the complex. The Marina was close but there were 6 flights of stairs to get there, not good with buggy! The marina was also dead only few pubs that did food and one small shop. Had to go to Old town for decent food and to see other people, nothing for kids to do at Orada , no entertainment at all. Taxis were hard to get for 5, also cost extra, approx 7 euro each way.Would be suitable for peace and quiet, not for couples with kids.