Club Amarilis Hotel

Just had to write a review to let people know how great these apartments are. We had booked to stay at Sol Flor this year ( as our travel agent didn't offer amarilis in any of their brochures) but later cancelled as the reviews of them were, let's just say "not great" on this website. So we have now booked to stay at club amarilis for the 2nd year running and we can't wait. These appartments are great value for money, they are clean tidy , the staff are more than helpful not to mention friendly. The rooms were cleaned every day except sundays and bed linen changed every other day ( even though we lay ontop of covers as it was too warm for blankets) and towels most days. The pool and pool area is clean in fact i couln't say anything bad about the whole place. The appanrments are in a perfect location for people who want the lively night life or those who want a quiet break. Beach just a few minutes walk (uphill but not terribly steep) as are all the restaurants , bars , shops you will ever want. The bus stop is just across the road. This is a very busy road but there is a pedestrian crossing 30 seconds away but be careful not all drivers stop. We got the bus to portimao for the day which cost hardly anything. Alvor is also a short taxi ride away and cost about 4euro (well worth a visit). We also went to slide and splash... it was ok, a good day out however we will probably try another one this time. There is two resturants in rocha which are simply a must, Titanic and Atlantis. I think they are under the same management or something like that but the food and service there are equally first class and not badly priced . I would have gladly paid double for the standard of food here. Well for those of you who are planning a visit to club amarillis .. you won't be disapointed..

The best holiday ever. Two couples with 2 boys (7 & 8) We all loved it. Big clean apartments, friendly staff, great pool bar, huge pool. Book excursions thro reception as it's the cheapest way. Lovely cocktail bar, immaculate grounds. Will definitely go back. NB Sort you cash out before you go as the ATM's empty quickly and can be temperamental about which cards they'll take. Slide and Splash is a waste of money, Aqualand was brllliant and Zoomarine a must, well worth the trip.

We stayed at these apartments for one week in July 2006. They are very large and have many windows that open to provide a breeze. No air conditioning is needed even though it was warm -- 30 degrees. They are fairly clean, and freshened up each day with towels and a wipe down. The bathroom could use an update as could the decor but it is central to the beach and has everything you would need for self- contained accommodation. The best beach in the area is Praia da Vau, about 5 minutes away by car. The best restaurant in Praia da Rocha is La Dolce Vita with the best pizza and inexpensive! Try Lena's cafe for the best custard tarts! (Pastel da Notte). I liked Praia da Rocha for its central location. It can get a bit noisy at night with Karioke bars and we asked to be moved after the first night to a quieter room---they moved us but you need to be persistent and clear about what you want as the service can be indifferent. They charge 3 euros for 2 sunbeds, which I just don't understand?? All in all, I would stay here at these apartments again! Barb J Langley BC Canada

stayed in Amaralis for 1 week at the end of July. It proved to be a very pleasant and friendly place in close proximity to everything you need(beach/pubs/restaurants etc). The staff at reception were very welcoming and helpful which was nice. The place is also equipped with a supermarket, gym facilities, sauna, massage room which is very handy if required. There's also a nice bar, staffed by a couple of friendly lads(who make very good cocktails), its reasonably priced and a nice place to relax with a few beers before going out. We stayed in a 1 bed apartment with pool view for the duration of our stay. The apartments were surprisingly spacious with a large bedroom/bathroom, a large living area and a nice sized kithen with balcony just off it. The only down side is that the hotel is quite close to a very busy main road which gives rise to heavy early morning traffic, so I'd advise if u can get a room at the front of the hotel do so in order to avoid the noise, the pool view isnt that great anyway so u wont be missing much! Nonetheless a lovely base for your holiday Praia da Rocha

we were happily suprised by these apartments. We had two one bedroom apartments, which were large and very clean. The complex was lovely with a newly opened indoor bar and the pool area was above average. The staff were very helpful and overall would recommend a stay here.

My husband myself, and 2 friends stayed at the Club Amaryllis in portugal and hated every moment. The staff were very unhelpful, the self catering appartment was very basic ie no kettle, microwave, iron etc. When we asked if we could have a kettle we were told to use a saucepan and 2 tea bags to make tea. The passage way to our door was dark and we likened it to Cell Block H. We were told not to go out on our own both day and night as it wasnt safe( we found this true in a foursome). We all came home with food poisoning so you can imagine this has put us off going again. We have always had wonderfull appartments wherever we have gone in other countries, our friends are with SunTerra points share, and Sun Terra have never let us down untill now. The workmen started working work at 5am each morning, drilling and banging needless to say we all ended up a wreck. I wonder if anyone else has had experiences like this. Although this email is from work, my home email will be put on screen.

We're back a few weeks from Portugal and i'm just getting a chance to write a review on this property. I found the other reviews helpful before I booked and decided to return the compliment for others. On arrival at Faro we disembarked the plane and were brought to the terminal quite quickly. Here we had to queue up for at least 45 minutes to get through passport control as they had only TWO people checking hundreds of arrivals. The journey to Praia Da Rocha took less than an hour. On arrival at the appartments we checked in as normal and asked for a safety deposit box and were told to come back later as he was too busy. We were the only ones there so make up your own mind. The appartment itself was quite large with two balconys. Others have one balcony. The appartments have a well equiped kitchen which is seperate, with a large larder style fridge. No kettle but, with a toaster. The appartment was cleaned most days with no shortage of towells. The bathroom was adequate but needs to be upgraded. Other notable things which somene may find useful was there is no hairdryer or iron. We were there in Agust and it got very hot and an electric fan may be a good idea. The pool was quite small for the size of the complex and there is a charge of 3 euros for 2 sunbeds. There is a small grass area behind the sunbeds which can be used for free. The charge for the indoor pool, sauna etc was 6 euros, free for kids accompanied by adults. Needless to say this wasn't busy. There is a small supermarket on site for water, milk etc. It closes for siesta and early in the evening. There is one closeby on the road facing the beach with longer opening hours. Prices in the supermarkets are much cheaper than ones in other resorts ie Mallorca, but expensive compared to the ones at the Modelo shopping complex. The accomodation is made up of appartments with a frontage onto the dual carriageway, overlookong the pool or overlooking a busy sidestreet. The chances of getting one overlooking the pool is quite slim as a lot of the appartments overlooking the pool are privately owned mostly by Portuguese from the north of the country. The noise of the traffic from the dual carriageway is quite bad and it never stops. This seems to be the main highway to the west from Portimao. This same 4 lane dual carriagway has to be crossed to get to the beach. there are some zebra crossing close to the appartments and most drivers will stop to let you cross. The beach is about 400 metres away up a small incline. The beach is the best feature of the resort, though it was very busy and packed in places while we were there. Even so it was still possible to find a relatively quiet spot. There are quite a lot of hawkers on the beach selling stuff. A little Annoying yes, but none of them are in any way threatening. Two sunbeds amd a parasol costs 9 euros to rent for a day. The sea is quite cold at times and can get very rough. Attention needs to be paid to the flags on the beach to be safe. Restaurants are mostly reasonable and plentiful. For kids a good day out is Slide and Splash and buy the tickets at reception. As they are cheaper than buying them off the Rep.

The resort: As others have said, Praia da Rocha is a concrete jungle: lots of high buildings/hotels, it looks like there is hundred of them. From our balcony, we had a sea view. Indeed we could see the sea between two skyscrapers! During the coach transfer on the way there, we went through Albufeira and it looked much better. It took around 1h45 from Faro Airport to Club Amarilis. We were the last stop on the way from the airport (we stopped at around 7 other hotels first), therefore the first pick-up on the way back! You will find enough shops to buy food in Praia da Rocha i.e. Alisuper but the range is limited and it's a bit expensive. You will not find baked beans or bacon there! But you can find baked beans/English beer and everything else in Modelo shopping centre. It's about 10-minute drive from the Club Amarilis. You cannot walk there, or should I say: it's too much of a walk there, and there is no bus going to Modelo. You can ask the reception to call a cab and it cost 4 euros. On the way back, there is a taxi rank just outside Modelo. None of the shops accept foreign credit/debit cards. The city centre is quite small, it has around 8 bars and maybe twice that amount of restaurants. It's not a lot for such a big resort. I wonder how they manage when all hotel rooms or flats are full and 2,000 want to get in the bars. Luckily, it was quiet at this time of the year (End of May 2005). Some nights there were no more than 15 people in each bar. It was the same people every night. It got busier on Friday and Saturday nights. The beach is wide and clean, and only 5-minute walk from the flat. The sandy beach hasn't got trees or shade. Like most people sat on our towels and bought a parasol for 7 euros (which we left in the room when it was time to go back to England). The steps to the beach are not that bad. But the sea is horribly cold. Much colder than Spain at the same period of the year. It was sunny, around 23oC but there was a constant breeze, and in the evening it felt like 15oC so you did need a cardigan. The flat: The flat was spacious and clean. We were quite pleased with it. There were 4 lifts and we never waited too long for one to arrive. We were on the 11th floor but it didn't feel high. It was not scary to stand on the balcony. We didn't hear any noise during our whole stay. You can find the usual stuff you find in self-catering accommodation: - table and chairs on the balcony, - TV with cable (with 1 particularly good movie channel in English, and Eastenders on BBC Prime - I know, I know!! but it's nice to relax watching TV when coming back from the beach, just before diner) - Scart socket didn't work - a kind of sofa/pullout bed (2 people can sleep on it separately: one on the main frame of the sofa, one on the pullout mattress/bed kind) - a double-bed in the bedroom (ask for it before arriving) - 4 cooking hobs - a microwave - usual kitchenware - a toaster - an electric mobile heater - but NO KETTLE OR IRON There was no fan or air-conditioning (or at least we didn't notice any air-conditioning system because we didn't need to use it as it wasn't that warm). The cleaner came every day. The gym/health club was 6 euros per person for 2 hours from 9am to 5pm and then it went to 7.50 euros from 5pm for 2 hours. The supermarket on site is a mini-supermarket, just for essentials. The pool was a bit small but it didn't matter as the water was freezing! Sunbeds around the pool area are 3 euros per day for 2 of them of 2 euros per half-day for 2. You can also sit on the grass for free, especially if you only plan to stay 1 hour. Club Amarilis does NOT ask for a deposit in case you break anything, contrary to some other self-catering accommodations. But you do have to give a deposit for the safe and for the remote control, which is given back to you when you leave. The safe is big enough for all valuables you want (i.e. digital cameras, mobile phones, even a portable DVD player). It must be l:25cm x w:20cm x d:20cm. Well, that's all I can think of, I hope this will be useful to other people who are planning to stay at Amarilis.

I have been to this hotel 3 times and am going back again! Why? The staff are the best I have come across in a long time - pleasant, polite and always willing to help. The hotel rooms/apartments were maintained to the highest standards and very clean. The hotel had good outdoor and indoor facilities including tennis courts, outdoor pool and bar area, gymnasum, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room as well as a small supermarket, hairdressing and beauty salon. Just 5 minutes from the beach and main centre's facilities was the added bonus!!!

Me and my girlfriend were there 2 years ago and enjoyed our stay. the staff were friendly and kept the bar open as long as we were there drinkin . never got to see the indoor pool or gym though. But its just about 200 yards from the beach and shops resturants pub's. try the superbock beer . its good.