Marina Park Apartments

I have recently returned from a holiday at the marina park apartments where I spent 1 week with 7 other girls!!!!!! There was 8 of us in total and we had booked a 3 bedroom apartment - having gone here feeling really nervous we all had a fabulous time!!!! All of us are 18 years old and were worried about the holiday in general.
So the apartment, 3 big bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (1 en suite) and a huge living area. There’s a sofa bed in the lounge which we all had a fight over because it was the comfiest bed (the others were great too though) there was also a pull out single bed on wheels under the sofa bed - be careful slides very easily!!!
The kitchen was great - very big - all you needed - cooker, fridge, ironing board, washing machine, dishwasher, but no kettle boiling water in a pan is essential for the hang over cure coffee!
The pool here is huge and there were plenty of sun beds available for no extra charge, however when leaving we found the pool to be getting busier!!
Restaurant on site is great for snacks throughout the day!!! The mini market on site is handy but we found more expensive than other supermarkets.
Here comes the catch, the apartments are at the top of a fairly steep and when visiting 'Pingo' (the big supermarket) it can a task carrying things back up - especially water melons!!!! there was also a supermarket very close to the taxi rank in lagos itself - we tended to go here if we were in the town during the day and take the shopping home in a taxi!!!
Taxi's from the main centre of lagos to the Marina Park Apartments were generally no more than 4 euros - so worth it means the climbing of the hill is unnecessary! We also got a taxi's to Prai De Luz for the day beware the taxi there is fairly cheap (10 euros tops) but trying to find taxi when you want to come home is difficult if you need more than one taxi (we convinced the one taxi we found to ring another driver so we could get home) - taxi rank is in front of the huge yellow church in Prai De Luz.
It was easy to get a taxi from the apartments as the reception will ring one for you by you simply asking they were extremely helpful throughout the holiday!
Lagos - we found it was usually about 15 minute walk tops to get to the main town and this were 8 girls all gossiping on the way down!! Food here we found is great - apart from Spaghetti Bolognese - give it a miss in most places! We found a little pizzeria opposite the green tiled building - usually a queue but worth it - great value for money and the pizza and pasta is the best!
Nightlife - not what you expect! Head up the cobbled streets and wait for people to give you flyers - this way they show you where the bars are - believe me its hard to find them at first!
There are loads of little bars - I emphasise little they are small but crammed with people!!! There are usually deals on drinks in most! We liked 'Red Eye' (an Aussi Bar), 'whytes' and we loved the Reggae Bar ( right near Grand Cafe) the longer you spend in there the more you feel like family and the better deal you get on drinks! Was ok and you'll find the rest! As for dancing - not the best place for it but if you want to like we did - we always headed to 'Grand Cafe' - gets busy and good about 2am and there is usually decent music on here too! Another thing you'll notice is the huge amount of Australian people - actually think there maybe more of them than there is Portuguese! All travelling Europe usually.
Note to young girls - just be careful in places like grand cafe - we found some guys to be lets say very forward - just make sure you give them a stern no and they usually back away.
Have to say all in all we loved the holiday and are talking of maybe going back next year! The hill maybe little steep - but is fine for walking down and its cheap to get taxi's up it!

We booked these apartments directly on the internet and stayed for one week in October.
Frequent traveller to Portugal various resorts and have to say Lagos is our favourite so much so we are returning again 23/6/07. We did hire a car and would recommend doing so for these apartments.
However, you will not be disappointed they are extremely spacious, very clean and have everything you could possibly need for a self catering holiday.
The pool is very big and although not heated in October was very pleasant to sit round - We are looking forward to returning soon and although the it rained 6 days out of 7 in October - it was one of the best holidays we have had - Lagos is traditional Portugal - cobbled streets a marina and the Portuguese people cannot do enough to help you enjoy your stay.

1 reader found this review helpful

My wife, I, and friend are only just back from the Marina Park Apartments.
We decided to go to Portugal because it’s only a 2.5 hour flight from Dublin to Portugal, (rather than the 4.5 hour flight to the Canaries).
It took me 2 hours to drive to Dublin, we had to check in 2 hours before boarding, and then when we entered the plane in Dublin, we had to wait in the plane for 2 hours before liftoff because the aircraft hadn’t enough life vests for the infants (18 in total).
So all in all we had to sit in the plane for over 4.5 hours before arriving in Faro (Portugal).
After another hour from collecting our luggage and the coach leaving the airport, it took a further 2 hours to arrive in Lagos (Marina Park Apartments). So it took over 11 hours to get from my house to the Marina Park Apartments. (Yawn, very tired).
The apartments were very clean and tidy, everything you need for the holiday, including washing machine (which we didn’t use), iron, ironing board, ect. (no microwave).
We went down to the restaurant beside the pool in the complex. The nightlife in the complex was very boring, and the restaurant was very highly prised. But what the hell we were in holiday.
Next day we decided to go into the town for a nosey, By the way, there is an awful big hill up to the complex. Downhill was alright, but we took a taxi back (5 Euros).
We hired a car for 3 days (only 100 Euros), we got more than our money’s worth out of it, we travelled over 300 kms, and getting lost is exciting. The A22 motorway is nice and fast to travel on, but we mostly stayed on the N125 which took us everywhere we needed to go.
The Slide and Splash (water park) is worth every penny, there’s even a hot water jacuzzi the size of a swimming pool. Slides are good as well. Make sure to use a lot of sun cream!
My wife thought the Marine-zoo was the best part of the holiday because she got to swim with the Dolphins (only 140 Euros). I recommend it; I am kicking myself for not doing it. I have been on a lot of holidays and was never able to pay to swim with dolphins. The dolphin show, sea lion show and parrot show was brilliant.
Night life in Lagos is not very exciting, but the food and drink is fine and reasonably prised.
Our second last day we went on the Jeep Safari, I recommend it too, our guide was Carlos (sound guy). He brought use all over the mountains and other special places, a meal is included plus 4 bottles of wine (between 7 people), but only 3 of use drank it.
After the meal we asked could we get a few beers for the rest of the journey, so he stopped off at a small bar in the middle of nowhere. The bottles of beer were only 1 euro each (unbelievable), so we bought a right few Super Bock (nice beer). Carlos brought us to a lovely lake, we went in swimming, and the water was luke warm. We were sorry to have to go back to Lagos. But we had a good day.
We usually book boat trips for a day while we are on holidays, but it was windy when we first arrive in Portugal, and thought it would be a waste of time. But the weather was great after the second day. The boat trips are usually good fun, it’s a shame we missed them.
We had a good holiday, but you have to find your own fun. Marina Park Apartments are good apartments; it is very modern and kept well, but very boring at night. Plus, there is a shop as you enter the complex, it is twice expensive than any other shop in Lagos, and the girl behind the counter seems to hate holiday makers, her attitude stinks.
The barman in the complex restaurant (Ronaldo) is a nice guy very helpful, and can speak fluent English.
When we were going home our flight was delayed for an hour, then when we boarded, we had to sit for another hour because the airport had trouble with the baggage. And when the baggage did arrive, we could hear the handlers firing the luggage, we could actually feel the vibration from the bangs.
My friend had a bottle of absolts smashed in his suitcase; you can imagine the smell coming home in the car. The journey took over 12 hours from the apartments to my home.
I like holidays but the travelling really put me of this holiday.

1 reader found this review helpful

My husband and two teenage children thought these apartments were fantastic.
Immaculate and better equipped than you would ever expect from self catering. There was even a washing machine and dishwasher and the maids came in every two - three days.
The road to the town was steep but only took 10 mins to walk into the centre of Lagos.
Which meant the complex was lovely and quiet at night but all the night life you would want, was easily accessible to those prepared to stroll down a hill.
No great chore, unless you are elderly or infirm.
We would heartily recommend these lovely apartments and would not hesitate to go back.

Our stay in the Marina Park Apartments was fantastic.
The apartment itself was very clean, spacious, and had all the mod-cons:
Satellite TV/ Cooker/ Fridge-Freezer/ and even a Washing Machine!
Within the complex there was a superb outdoor swimming pool, with numerous sun-loungers (free) and a poolside cafe & bar. Tennis courts were also available.
All of the complex staff that we met were courteous, and spoke excellent English.
On-site there was also a mini-market that was ideal for buying any basic provisions.
However, the only drawback with these apartments is that they are located at the top of a steep hill which is about 5-min drive from Lagos Main Street, or a 1-min drive from Lagos Marina.
In my opinion, they would not be very suitable if you were not driving.
There is virtually nothing to do on-site in the evenings, so we drove down to the main
Drag in Lagos each night for Restaurants / Bars / Entertainment etc.

4 readers found this review helpful

Oh my god, what can I say? I have been here on holidays the past two years in a row and nothing can compare to it. Also for all the Irish, it is mainly Irish there (no English tour operators go there!!) it’s fantastic! Let’s just hope it stays that way. Apartments cleaned daily, with clean towels everyday. Kitchen is modern (we stayed in 1bed Apartment with our teenagers and we had a great time! Stay here and you won’t regret it!