Parque Mourabel Apartments

1 reader found this review helpful

We are just back from Vilamoura in Portugal last thursday 5th August 2010. We really liked Vilamoura as a place but our hotel was awful. The thing with the Oasis Village Parque Mourabel is that it is actually 3 privately run hotels (Oasis Village, Pe de Lago, and Parque Mourabel) that have decided to hook up together. So when you book it there is no guarantee which one of the 3 hotels you will be allocated to. This explains the reviews going from one extreme to another as apparently the Pe de Lago is really good. We were given a family studio room at the Parque Mourabel which was nothing short of disgusting. We were not expecting immaculate for the money we paid but just an acceptable level of cleanliness would've been a start. We had our 1 year old daughter with us and no cot was provided despite us being told in advance one had been arranged. Also there is no kids pool at the mourabel, one of the reasons we had booked there. When we asked we were told it was in one of the other hotels up the street. The pool that is there has a cement trough around the edge of it which is a broken ankle waiting to happen and no use at all for kiddies running about. In our room when we arrived we discovered our bedding was dirty, our towels had blood and other "stains" on them, the bathroom was disgusting with a bath that had been painted with emulsion to try and hide the state of it! The paint was peeling off showing dirty black sludge. When I complained that there was no way I could wash my baby daughter in a bath in that state we were told we couldn't move because there were no other rooms and they would take care of it. While we were out the cleaner left a rubber bath mat in the bath which was as filthy as the bath. My wife tried to scrub it with disinfectant wipes which ended up black but didn't really shift much. The balcony looked like it hadn't been mopped in months and the balcony rail was covered in birds droppings. Also the wiring was loose in some of the lamps etc in the room. When we checked in I was trying to carry 2 suitcases and 2 bags while my wife carried our crying daughter. A member of staff lead us up to our room without even offering to take one of the bags and not so much as a smile. We made the most of our holiday by spending as little time as possible in our hotel and didn't even visit the cafe or the pool. It seems to be mostly portuguese living in the hotel as well. Don't book it folks, its not worth risking ending up in this one of the 3 hotels, trust me.

1 reader found this review helpful

We found the staff to be very friendly and helpful both in the resturant and bar,we was on half board and the meals although simply was well presented and filling there was enough selection without to meet most dietry needs. The pool was set in a nice enviroment and there was plenty of sun beds.It was a pleasant walk through a tree lined path way to the marina about 3km.We would go back again.

1 reader found this review helpful

We had stayed at the Parque at the Oasis block a few years ago
now we where at the Parque Mourabel block .
The first is a low rise 2 storey apartment complex without lift and a lot of green gardens around it it is more resort like.
The Mourabel block is 5 storey and has lifts and is self contained with Bar and Restaurant and lounges within the building itself so it loooks more like a hotel or apartments hotel .
The reception is shared as is the pool and tennis court as
in fact the two resorts are adjacent .
The Parque Mourabel is more suitable if you have walking difficulties as there are 4 lifts and bar ,reception ,lounges are in the same building .
If you like gardens ,low rise and quiet suroundings even if you have to walk a stair case or 2 would be nicer.
There are a lot of renovations going on outside and inside the buildings whenn we where there but it seemed to be left over refurbishing and overhaul from the winter and did not disturb us .

2 readers found this review helpful

we visited these apartments last year and would advise any one to think twice about going we were left waiting for our apartment for eight hours and then told they did not have one for us they then put my family into a bedsit which was awful myself and my husbund had to sleep on the floor as no bed we did get an apartment two days later that there was bugs in but there ws also other people on holiday there in exactly the same situation i dont think the hotel can cope it is not near a beach and about half an hour walk from villamoura i would think twice before going here

10 readers found this review helpful

Im surprised at some of the negative comments about the Mourabel!!
As a fairly basic accommodation 3 Star apartments im not really sure what some people expect!!!
Took about half an hour from Faro airport. We arrived early and we were checked in well before the check in time and the staff did everything possible to look after us and get our holiday started promptly.
Everybody within the hotel company was pleasant, friendly and helpful.
The Accomodation in PE DO LAGO (block B) was clean, tidy and comfortable on arrival.
Large living room area with tidy balcony looking over our pool which was always clean and only used by those within the PE DO LAGO block. A superb touch.
The kitchen was clean and tidy, fridge worked , kettle worked , oven worked, iron worked (although the ironing board had seen better days).
The bathroom was clean and decent. No dirt no hair in the bath. Just clean and tidy. The shower was a basic shower head attachment that worked with no problems.
Gave a very good shower clean i must say.
The maids changed towels and cleaned every day except Sunday.
The bedroom was a decent size for 2 people although no double bed only singles. The beds were made with single clean white sheets (enough because it was WAY to hot) and there were 2 pillows per bed.
the apartments were quiet, even tho it was a family centred type of accommodation. The gardens were well looked after and looked nice, the pool had plenty of space to lie by. Plenty of sun loungers. It was protected and felt very private and exclusive.
A key was required to enter the pool to ensure locals couldnt enter.

7 readers found this review helpful

Having just returned we find it staggering to read the varied reviews, it seems this is a place of extremes!
Well our experience has been exceptionally positive; the apartment was exceptionally clean and very spacious benefitting from a meticulous daily service. All staff were very friendly and helpful, we were made very welcome without feeling intruded upon. The food (HB menu) was most enjoyable with a good mixture of traditional Portugese dishes and those catering for other nationalities appropriate to the hotel guest catchment.
The only complaint is that we were unable to check in until 4p.m which we didn't realise unitl arrival at 12noon, however we were able to appropriatly store our luggage and return later. Also had we have read these reviews prior to departure we may have known.
We see from previous comments that persons have noted that the sunbeds didn't have parasols - We'd agree with this, however all sunbeds are in a well maintained garden with various trees and shrubs which offer natural shade, all it takes is the ability to move the sunbed. Should you want the Hilton where Parasols festoon the environment or you need someone to move your sunbed then pay for the Hilton!
We have a three year old child, who was made very welcome and catered for well with a good childrens menu as well as having the option to have anything off the HB menu, nothing was too much trouble, including providing us with a selection of rolls, jams etc to take for breakfast when our flight departure time was pre breakfast.
Having a child, Minibus travel to and from the beach or marina was extremly useful however it was only a 30min walk to either (including child carrying time)
We have no hesitation in reccommending this hotel complex, hoping you have as an enjoyable holiday as us.

3 readers found this review helpful

Having just returned from Parque Mourabel my husband and I feel very relaxed and chilled out after an 11 night stay at this accomodation.On our arrival we were informed we would be at the complex just around the corner (Pe de lago) we were not expecting this but went to see apartment which left a lot to be desired ,toilet not secure enough on wall, kitchen and bathroom VERY dated (although kitchen did have good sized decent fridge/freezer) .Although the pool area was very nice this did not compensate for the apartment.We spoke to the reception who informed us we would have to stay there the first night and would let us view an apartment at the Parque Mourabel the following day which we did .The apartment we were shown was on the 4th floor overlooking the pool which had sufficient sunbeds but no parasols which was a bit unfortunate as the weather was fabulous and apartment also had stunning views.It had a new kitchen with good sized fridge/freezer and also a new bathroom (what a contrast).We did accept this apartment. Noise was not an issue at any time of day or night. 2 supermarkets close by made eating in a good option but the restaurants at the Marina were brilliant with such a lot of different choices of cuisine to decide between (most with lovely views over looking the Marina) and not that expensive even with a bottle of wine.

2 readers found this review helpful

well after reading the reviews i cant believe no one has mentioned the pigeons and there poo!
they were everywhere a few years back when we went! there was even a pigeon nest with eggs in on our balcony, and the apartment next door which we over looked seemed derelict and you couldnt see the balcony floor for pigeon poo.
the cleaners came in swept the apartment and the balcony but to our horror no-one moved the nest.
the pool didnt get cleaned and in the corner was like a dirty oily scum floating on the top.
beware of the door locks to the front doors of the apartments, ours jammed a few times. twice the lock jammed and we couldnt open it. another few times it jammed and we couldnt lock our door. we had to get assistance from reception.
they sent a lad who looked very young with a hammer
and he just proceeded to bash the lock. until it free,d.
i,d advise no1 to leave valuables in there rooms un attended. and while we were there an elderly gent at a near by apartment we bumped into had been burgled while he was asleep, in the night.
so the area is a little rough in my opinion also graffiti tags were dotted around the area near to the hotel,
the food at the hotel was average but reasonably priced.
there was no entertainment,
all in all i,d say the place needs knocking down, its old and way past its best.
had literally.
also on our last day we put our bags in the hands of the reception desk staff while we spent our last hours in town.
on returning home there were several items missing from our bags.
i cannot blame the hotel staff as many people handled our bags inbetween.
but the items were 400 cigarettes 1 bottle of local liquor and 1 packet of cookies.
(strange)
my advice is avoid this place like the plague, unless your mega skint and they offer you a holiday for 10p

2 readers found this review helpful

Please don't waste your money!! My partner & I have just come back from Vilamoura, staying at Parque Mourabel,how glad we are to be home! Both of us have spent much less and got so much more from a holiday. The accomodation is so so old fashioned, the bed so tiny, the bath was filthy, big cracks in the bathroom tiles, generally in need of a good spruce up. This I think they are beginning to do, as on arrival having been told we couldnt check in till 12pm,.....4pm, still waiting we were told we could have an alternative room, so we did, we heard it before we saw it, circular saws, drills, the dust and smoke alone, our room was between 2 apartments being refurbished, we took one look in the door, took a few photo's to take home & laugh about, & back to reception we went, to wait for our original room, it was honestly that bad! We got the impression many of the apartments are privatly owned, as the one we stayed in was up for sale, they had obviously tried to have a go at tidying things up, painting the floor terracotta... we know this as we still have orange feet & socks.
Overall, we were sorely dissapointed with the accomodation, my recommendation, stay away, I think perhaps somewhere a little closer to the marina would suit a lot of people but I don't think we will be returning there again!

5 readers found this review helpful

We stayed in the Oasis Village part of the complex. The resort was very nice. apartments OK, Nice pool, good restaurant, local shops, restaurants, 4 euro taxi ride to the marina. The only down side which put a bit of a dampener on the holiday was having a mobile phone and digital camera stolen from our apartment. Both items were well hidden and to find them someone would have had to rummage through all our belongings. We were on the 2nd floor and the only way into the room was through the front door via key. We reported it to the receptionist as soon as we discovered it and he called in the local police straight away.The police arrived within minutes and they confirmed no sign of forced entry. So, we assume it had to be someone with a key. We assumed that someone from their management team would have paid us a visit the following morning to check on our well being but we ended up going to see them to complain. We had the usual response that it could not be any of their workforce as they have been with them for many years,etc,etc. However a very helpful lady responsible for PR activities at the resort looked after us and took us to the local police station and acted as interpreter whilst we had the relevant paperwork filled in, our thanks to this young lady for explaining the proceedure and looking after us. So I would suggest to anybody holidaying in this resort, do not leave any valuables in the apartment unattended. There are safety deposit boxes behind the reception desk for money and passports etc but are not deep enough for items like cameras.