we booked a 3 bed villa with private pool through Travel Republic, as a result we didn't know which villa we'd be staying in 'til we arrived. It was the Casa Carina (Villa 12). The villa was enormous, 3 large bedrooms, 3 large bathrooms, massive open plan lounge/ dining area & a reasonable sized kitchen. The garden was also huge, you could easily have fitted a further 2 villas in. In general, the whole 'quinta' area was very open and spacious - it would take in the region of 25-30mins to walk from one end to the other.

The communal pool area was very clean and also very spacious. We ate in the pool snack bar a couple of times and the food was typical snack bar stuff and a reasonable quality. we went to some of the evening entertainment and the staff worked hard to get everyone involved but I think it was just too early in the season as it was fairly quiet and most guests had young familes and left by maybe 9pm.

Our 5yo went to the kids club a few times and loved it. Nearly all the children were german when we were there but I guess this changes depending on who's holidaying that week.

We hired a car for the holiday and found that between the saving from not taking the resort transfer and the savings from being able to shop at the large supermarkets it more than paid for itself. We thought we'd hardly use the car other than this but found we used it pretty much every day. Laziness maybe but everything's a fair trek when you've got two young children.

The main resort is within walking distance but it's a fair old climb home. We took a taxi if we were out on the evening & I think it was something like 5euros to get home.

The Monte Carvoeiro complex is about a 5min walk away and has a really nice courtyard with lots of really nice restaurants and bars and much closer than the main resort. It's also very child friendly as there's a large area in the middle where they can run around with their friends and be seen from every bar/restaurant and no traffic.

we really enjoyed the privacy and space of the villa but it was nice to have communal areas too for socialising and would happily return here again

Although I would agree that our appartment was not the most modern, it was clean and tidy and had everything we needed to make a quick pasta dinner, although no oven.
The pools were clean, and rarely busy and the beach was quite a short stroll away. By the beach were several nice places to eat or have a drink. We also found the onsight italian above adequate, with delicious pizzas. The cocktails at the bar were nice, as were the bar snacks.
Generally the staff were very helpful.
The only thing I would say is that, without a car, it is hard to get to any of the other towns/ attractions in the algarve. We didnt attempt to get a bus but without any success. The reception are happy to help arrange trips and so forth, but most required you to pay extra for transport.

Service is excellent. Pool area is fun. Enough room for small children to play.
But... ask to see your room, appartment, villa first. There are big differences. Some appartments are very modern with everything you could wish for and some are very basic and run down. We switched from a superior appartment to a regular bungalow because the appartment was simply too small and miles away from the main pool area. There was a pool right in front of the apparment, but the poolbar didn't open until July. The bungalow was sort of run down and had a musty smell, no AC. But there was nothing else available. I've heard that the villa's are perfect... but they are also the most expensive.
A couple of nice beaches in the area, but you need a car to get there. Carvoeiro is small, but there are some nice restaurants. Especially beachfront Onze!

Though I have to admit that the park is on the verge of getting outdated (staff; be aware of this), I can honestly say that we have had a terrific time here. We stayed in a 2 bedroom bungalow which was spacious and clean and with all the utensils present. We also had room service.

The swimming pool is nice (but beware of people draping their towels on the deckchairs as some kind of reservation; staff does not do anything about this), the restaurants provide a cosy atmosphere and there is plenty of animation to keep children occupied.

Beaches are a 15 minute walk from the park as well as Carvoeiro (a romantic and pleasant sea side village). People sometimes complain about the walk as you go downhill to Carvoeiro but you have to walk uphill back to the park. We did not care as it is a lovely walk past the coastline, restaurants and Portuguese houses. Also, in the evening the temperature cools down to about 17 degrees C (July/August).

Staff provide service with a smile. We will stay here again.