Having stayed here and read the reviews, many of them miss the seasonal nature of the business, higher occupancy and prices in summer, lower occupancy and prices in winter; plus in any apartment block some units are in a better state than others, in winter you will get a good one because it is almost empty but in summer you might be unlucky. It is the same place but the value for money can change a lot with the season. If Self Catering is going to restaurants or bars every night then the location is not ideal, it is about a 20 minute walk either NE to Portimau or SE to Praia da Rocha for a decent selection of either but if you want to cook it is a 10 minute walk N to the largest Shopping Centre in Portimao with a Continente supermarket inside plus Lidl and Aldi across the road and a 20 minute walk N to the Municipal Market good for fruit, veg and fish. It is a 15 minute walk S to the nearest beach (3 Castles) but beaches in Praia da Rocha all have steps from the cliff-top, if you need flat access to the beach go to Alvor. It is a 15 minute walk NE to the public library with free internet and some English books. We found our apartment very large and very nice, there is a 10 euro deposit on the control for the A/C heat pump, the TV is just Portuguese. There are no payphones in the block to call a taxi but there are at the Shopping Centre which also has a taxi rank, although the whole of Portimau and Praia da Rocha is small enough to walk everywhere. To save on transfers, bus 16 runs regularly from Faro Airport into Faro where you can get a train (75 minutes) or bus (105 minutes) to Portimao for just over 5 euros each way.

We Stayed from mid September to early October. We had an apartment on 1st floor overlooking the pool. the apartment was spotlessly clean and really spacious. The balcony was also very big. We had a Microwave, kettle, toaster and 2 ring burner, plenty of pans and utensils all clean> The only drawback really was no oven but then again not many places have. The staff were extremely pleasant and helpful. A shuttle bus runs 3 times a day to Portimao and Prai da Rocha and there are plenty of local buses to take you to such places as Alvor and Lagos.
Having read the review "should be bulldozed" I honestly think they have reviewed the wrong apartments ! We enjoyed staying there so much that we've booked again for November !

We stayed in middle of september, and after reading one review was not sure what to expect, put was very pleased to find, a nice place with friendly staffs,kept clean and nice to stay in, our place was cleaned each day, and our towels were changed most days as well,the bus ran all the arranged time, and was very useful to get to arranged points to go on trips at a set time.We would return.

Just back from our first trip to Portugal and, having read one of the one-star reviews of this hotel the night before we flew, I was a bit worried about the Mirachoro! But, I needn't have been - it was perfectly fine for what we wanted, which was a clean tidy base for our week. We arrived well before check in time, but the manager was great, settled us in the bar and had our room ready within 30 mins.The hotel is made up of two separate buildings and we were placed in a 2nd floor room in the building away from the main reception area. The room was nice and spacious, with a twin bedroom and 2 sofa beds in the living room. The kitchen was OK, although the units could do with updating, and we seem to have been one of the lucky ones, as we did get a kettle! We also had air-con (10€ deposit for the remote, but you get it back when you leave) and we found that leaving it on low whilst we went out for the night meant the whole apartment was at an OK temperature to come back to (sometimes too cold, if the wind picked up!)
We got a good size double balcony, although there were only 2 chairs. Admittedly the view wasn't great - across to another apartment building and a piece of wasteground used as a car park, and yes, we were facing the main road. However, whilst there was some road noise, it wasn't enough to affect our sleeping. The bathroom was also OK, although the shower head did take on a life of its own at times! The room was cleaned every day, with towel change on request, like most hotels. All of the staff were very pleasant, with a particular mention to the Night Desk guy (didn't get his name!) who was really helpful trying to sort out our transfer back to Faro
The pool is a decent size, with plenty of sunbeds (some of which are a bit saggy, it has to be said) and it never felt over-crowded
It is a 15-20 minute hike to Praia da Rocha, which is perfectly do-able but if you want, there is a courtesy bus service that can get you there in 5 minutes - it only runs 3 times a day, and can be popular, especially on the first run of the day around 10. We made the walk every night, there and back with no problems and there are bars you can stop at on the way if you want to break the journey down!.
As some reviews have said, there is no entertainment at the hotel, but to be honest, we probably wouldn't have gone to it even if there had been any, the telly in the room only shows Portuguese channels, but I don't go on holiday to watch telly and, yes the hotel snacks are expensive, but all hotel food is (and their chips were great!)
Maybe, having previously stayed in privately rented apartments, my expectations were lower than some others on here, but we found the Mirachoro more than adequate