Unfortunately you need a car, however the taxis were cheap enough.
Each taxi driver had a different rate though! Watch for that. The staff were really nice.
The only downside was the gardener decided to cut the hedge at 8.00 am in the morning and proceeded to strimm weeds etc for three solid days. I should have complained in the beginning my own fault as I just assumed it was a once off. my advice is complain the staff dealt with it and apologised.
Food was excellent and much cheaper that the Marina area especially for snacks. I would have liked a hairdryer and and iron in the facilities.
There was a shop close by however it has been closed I guess due to the recession. Pity as we had to take taxis into Vilamoura for shopping. We did not fancy renting a car nice not to drive for a while.
It really could do with a small shop as part of complex just for essential supplies. Internet access was not working, in the end I was glad to stay away from the real world for a while and just chill out. I will be back!!! So will my family..

Browns is about a mile and a half out of Vilamoura set in a beautiful location with some stunning villas around it. The accomodation consisted of a very large bathroom, a kitchen with table, microwave, cooker and fridge freezer and a bedroom with two very comfy single beds and plenty of wardrobe space. There was a tv and dvd in the room but the channels were either sports which was controlled at the club house or one English channel. Bit dissappointed with the tv to be honest but then again the weather made up for it and we were out and about most of the time anyway. We had our own patio with 2 sunloungers and a table and chairs. We arrived at around 11am and were allowed to check in early which was a bonus. Towels were changed daily. The club house was fairly quiet and so was the accomodation, apart from us we only saw a handful of other guests. The breakfast in the morning was continental, bread, buns, croissants, jams, oranges, choice of 3 cereal and cheeses and ham, teas and coffee. The meals in the club house were fine. Plenty of parking which was private behind electric gates. On the downside you would need a car to get to here and there were no local shops in the area as the ones that had been there were shut down. All in all an enjoyable break but 5 nights was enough.

We booked last minute having found Brown's on the web. The pictures looked good, and it seemed to have good reviews. We booked a two bedroomed chalet for 115 Euro for one night. When we arrived the whole site felt somewhat 'tired' and going into reception it gave the impression of a local leisure centre rather than a hotel. When we got to the chalet and opened the door an over-powering sickly sweet damp smell came flooding out. I immediately opened the patio doors and bedroom windows to air the room but after 2 hours the smell was as strong as ever. When I went to reception and explained the smell to staff I was met with confused looks. I was told there was no known damp issues, and we actually had one of the best chalets available so there was no point in us moving! By the following morning all our clothes and skin had taken on the smell, and as we felt so uncomfortable we did not sleep well at all. Sleep was not helped either by the fact that the walls were very thin and we could hear the family in the next room very clearly. The chalet also felt very dated and cheaply fitted out. This was a very unpleasant experience.

Browns was set up 10 years ago as a tennis centre, and now is used mainly as a training centre for football and rugby teams as well as by holidaymakers.
There is a full sized grass pitch, A sand pitch, an outdoor pool, two gyms, two squash courts, several fitness activity rooms including spinning, an indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room. The five a side outdoor astro pitch and the tennis courts are being re-laid, theese wil be finished at the beginning (tennis) and the end (five a side) of April.
There are exclusive facilities including one of the gyms for thoe teams using the training pitches.
Use of the pools, jacuzzi,. sauna and steam room are free for residents, other facilities cost 10 euro each per day, there are also a wide choice of fitness classes available for 5 euro each.
There is also a bar with a restaurant and lots of tv's showing sports. The food is good and prices are reasonable.
We were booked to stay in a studio bungalow, the only problem was that as the weather was exceptionaly cold the combined aircon/ heater could not cope with the cold and did not heat the room well- when we complained the management moved us to a larger, better heated two bedroom villa for no extra charge.
The accomodation was excellent, spacious with comfy beds, well equipped kitchens, all with large TV and DVD player. All had a sun terrace with table & chairs and sunbeds.
It is a long way into town, not the 2.6 km stated, took about an hour to walk, we hired bikes (24 euro for 3 days) and it was about a 15 minute cycle almost all on dedicated cyclepaths. There is a shop abiout 5 minutes walk away.
The grounds are lovely, it is a nice quiet setting and all the staff are extremely helpful and friendly. A lot of english local residents seem to use the place as a gym and come to the bar to socialise and watch football on TV.