Prainha Club Aparthotel

I first stayed at Prainha when I was little with my family, since then we have been going back each year! (9 years) I love everything about this place, its a perfect location, lovely clean rooms and friendly service. They have 2 fabulous swimming pools and really close to the beach, you can walk to the next cove also where there is miles of sandy beach with little cafes.

We stayed in the new duplex houses , I believe they were only opened in 2008 so everything was new ,kitchen well fitted out , TV had lots of English channels should you require this . Pool and kiddies pool were perfect and right in front. the grounds are great , quite a large complex - Cliff top pool is about 5 minutes walk and well worth it, main hotel is also about 5 minutes walk .the beach is very close again about 5 minutes walk .There are a couple of restaurants on site which are quite good and not expensive , they also do take out , but I am sure you will eat in Alvor or Portimao at some stage during your stay ,they are just a short Taxi ride away . The only issue we had were the wide spaces between the railings on the Staircase in the house , we have a two year old boy and had to be extra careful.

Great hotel. We booked a 1 bed apartment which was much bigger than expected. The Atlantic pool is fantastic & the location for the beaches cannot be beaten. Not usually a fan of eating on-site, but the restaraunt with the beach elevator is up there with the best in the area. It's a 25 minute walk into Alvor, but well worth it when you get there. Only down points are being charged for the sunloungers & that the on-site supermarket sells out of croissants by 9:15am!

We stayed at the Prainha Clube for a week in October and were very impressed. The rooms were clean and large with air-con. The pools (both saltwater) were clean and the setting was beautiful, especially the pool on top of the hillside. The only downside about the complex was the supermarket. It was about 50% more expensive than the larger supermarket in the town. And the sun beds by the pool on the cliff were €7.00 for a sunbed - this was too expensive - so most people used their towels on the grass which was absolutely fine. The bar was also expensive with the food being just about average. The beach is a five min walk away, with loads of sea front cafe's where you could have sardines and other good food very cheaply - the beaches were beautiful and clean and the sea although it was Oct. was so pleasant to swim in. Alvor village was great, so many lovely restaurants, we'd recommend - Bourganvilla , for traditional 'Steak on a Stone' and the lamb and fish stews - people were going back a second time if they missed these the first. Also a great bar called Mourisco for the best cocktails and music in the town, lovely looking bar with very happy helpful staff and killer cocktails. Another great Restaurant nearer the complex was Atlantida what great food, great service and a great view - highly recommended - we had to book a day in advance so bear that in mind. Buses are plentiful and they stop outside the complex - we got a bus to the supermarket and a taxi back and both are very cheap. The best value for booze is also in these supermarkets - Continental is a great Supermarket - The booze shops in town are cheap but the best value is at the local Supermarket and that includes the airport. Spend some days by the pool but spend more at the beach - they're just so beautiful. I'd have no problem going back to the Prainha Clube or to Portugal

Stayed in a two bedroom standard apartment in the Prainha Village. Apartment was big and spacious but was in need of updating. All but one light was working towards the end of the trip in the main seating area. The cliff top pool was nice and had fantastic views of the atlantic ocean but you had to pay for sunbeds which was annoying although you could always sit on the grass for free. Needless to say we did most of the time. Pool bar was okay, the food was average. The beach was nicely situated in a little cove accessible by a lift through the cliff. There was some nice restaurant within the village. My favourite was Miss Pasta, Buzio was good but expensive, Canico was a seafood restaurant which had little non fish meals and was small and cramped when busy. The main town of Alvor was a 20 minute walk from the complex so we got taxis into the town.

Had a lovely week in Prainha. Stayed there 4 years ago in the Club and this time took a Superior Apartment in the Village. It was just as good as last time. While it's not 5 star, that's nearly the nice thing about it. It's laid back and relaxed. The apartment was big, clean and airy with 2 balconies. The only thing is it didn't have Air Conditioning, only the apartments in the Club have airconditioning so be aware of that for high summer. That said there was a nice breeze so we didn't really need it. The clifftop pool is lovely, the pool cafe is good. The highlight is the Canico restaurant which, if you like your barbecued fish is just lovely, and accessable via a really cool lift through the cliff. The beach is amazing. It is a good 20 minute walk to town but taxis are cheap and plentiful. The great thing about Prainha is the way it is secluded and so well kept and you're not living on top of people. We will definitely be back as it was a lovely relaxing break. Good restaurants: Canico (in Prainha), O Luis (on the main beach below, walking distance), Lusitania (in Alvor village) OK restaurants: Buzio (more old fashioned formal dining, not our thing really and the food wasn't great), Really poor restaurant: Ababuja - down on the seafront in Alvor. Poor steak, people smoking their cigarretts over your dinner and bad value fish.

Stayed for a 6-day vacation before leaving Portugal. The three best impressions were the tranquility of the place, beach convenience, and decent staff service. The hotel has a quick access to a very interesting beach surrounded by rocks. It was possible to find private sand spots on the beach and enjoy a day of sunshine and swimming in the ocean. The weather was not so good for two days, but as an alternative, it was possible to swim in the outdoor pool. You can take nice walks and enjoy the time at a neighboring Alvor beach - much larger. Although I did not use the gym in a health center attached to the hotel, its rates were very reasonable and the equipment looked modern. The room was the worst experience as the furniture was perhaps 15 years old and did not create an impression of being 4 stars quality at all. The restaurant in the hotel was bad. The waiter wanted to charge for some cover plates that were not touched. Miss Pasta and Buzio seemed the bestrestaurants in the complex, although we were eating out mainly in Alvor. The walk to Alvor took us ~20 minutes and we took taxis to get back. The club has a supermarket, with prices ~2 times higher than at regular stores. If you have a car, I recommend buying some food in other stores outside the Prainha Club. Overall, it was not bad, but pricey. Most suitable for an escape-type holiday in Portugal, when everything you want is just to relax under the sun.

The staff were friendly enough and the maids were very efficient. Rooms were nice and clean but could do with a lick of paint here and there.The hotel is right next to the main road so there was quite a bit of noise at night and of course all the coaches coming and going bringing/collecting new guests. The restaurant served nicely cooked food at reasonable prices although the dishes lack a bit of inspiration and there was rarely anybody else eating there so service was quick. Both the pools (salt water) were nice and cleaned regularly. Plenty of sun loungers (no foam covers so a bit hard) and food and drink available all day. Nearest beach was 15 minutes away but down several flights of stairs (tip go through the Canio beach restaurant , but don't eat there it was outrageously expensive and use the lift instead of the stairs on the way back up). Main gripe was the distance to town (40 minutes to walk to centre) and up hill on the way back. Taxi's charge €3.20-€3.90 depending on the time of day but we usually gave them €5 to keep the difference for a tip. However once in the town there were many varied restaurants .

We stayed in the apartments (there is also a hotel and villas). The complex is mature with plenty green space. Apartments were a little dated with an internal toilet (not the best of planning). The pools seemed to be salt water and were excellent. There is a cliff top pool in a suberb location with a snack bar. Staff were friendly and helpful. Things to look out for were the amount of families with teenagers (this location is not suitable for couples or people wanting a quiet holiday). Also the complex is about 3 km outside Alvor - just a little far for kiddies to walk. A taxi has to be ordered from reception and this got to be a chore. Taxi drivers were a mixed bunch - some friendly, some grumpy. Overall, good complex

The Prainha Club aparthotel is set within the Prainha Touristic village. There is the main apartment building which we stayed in with Airtours then there is the village itself which is a collection of villas and small apartment blocks set within beautiful mature gardens. There are within this complex a supermarket, 3 restaurants and 2 snack bars, as well as a children's playground and sports court. There are also 2 pools. The main one is at the main aparthotel. We preferred the other one which is set on the cliff edge and was much quieter. The complex is set above a lovely beach which at certain times of the day feels private because it gets cut off from the main Alvor beach. The apartments in the main building are a little dated but have fantastic sea views and are quiet and are also clean and have frequent towel and linen changes. We found the staff to be extremely helpful - they found a cot on a sunday night at 8 o'clock because the request hadn't reached them within an hour of us arriving! There was only 1 miserable member of staff and he worked on reception. The only potential problem is that our brochure did not give the distance out of Alvor. It is about 30-45 minutes walk which we found Ok because we walked up an appetite but if you have walking difficulties it wouldn't be suitable. Though taxis were easy to get and cost around 3.90 euros 1 way. The best restaurants were Goodville on the main street, A Caravela on the street above the main street and Al Dente - but service not particularly friendly. The coffee shop at the top of the main street is nice to people watch and get nice coffees and cakes. The worst restaurants were Vagabondo where we waited 2 hours for a meal and we weren't the only ones, other people while we were away said they had the same experience! Pipas on the street above the main street wasn't very good either. We were ripped off and the meal was rubbish.