Luna Forte da Oura

1 reader found this review helpful

After reading previous reviews we were a bit unsure what the hotel was going to be like.However it was everything we wanted and it seemed looked the reviews were being written about another hotel!!The hotel reception staff were really friendly and helpful,the rooms large and spacious and everything was extremely clean.The cleaners called everyday with fresh towels.It is situated just right for accessing the beach 10min walk and the strip 10min walk.The Wednesday night barbecue was really good food and the parrot show.You have to pay 7 Euro for 1 hour for hotel tennis courts and provide your own bats which I thought was too expensive.The local bus stops outside hotel every 30mins so you can catch it into the old town,1.10 Euro each where you get off on the cliff top and hop on an escalator to take you down!to the beach.The supermarche is just around the corner and very cheap,lovely fresh baguettes baked through the day.The swimming pool was adequate in size as was sunbeds.We were told restaurants were cheaper in the old town but we didn't find that.Be careful of strengths of Piri Piri chicken some are extremely hot and it's not cheap if you have to keep buying drinks to cool down.We travelled with 3 teenagers and a 10 year old and we had a fantastic holiday and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.

This is definitely NOT a family hotel. Large young groups who don´t seem to care how much noise they make and when they make it. Seem to dominate the pool area with balls flying allover the place. The security guard runs round after them, which I must admit is the only amusing side to it.
Clean hotel and nice rooms.
When one group leaves and you think it will be better, another arrives!
Perfect for the 18-30 holiday makers out there, but definitely not for the families out there!

1 reader found this review helpful

i thought it was the best holiday i have ever been to! and we normally go every year to different places, we visited this place twice thats how much we liked it, it has a big water feature in the middle with turtles in it the man who worked behind the counter was very funny he did look abit moody at times, but i asked for my room key once and he put them all on the counter! but anyways... it has its own shop which sells all bits and bobs and its great you cans for when your by the pool, although we do go out for our meals. we normally went for a meal next door in another hotel. theres a place about 20 nseconds away called "the strip" its amazing its pretty busyt but its got everything lots of bars shops and all of that! so its great for when you want to go out. it was way too hot and im not suprised we sizzled. we were waiting for a taxi to collect us and me and my brother nearly collapsed it was so hot (im 13 by the way) we were thinking of visiting this year! they have an amazing swimming pool and for the kids too! but we did have a problem, my brother was playing football (volleyball)in the pool and it went into this water fountain which is in the pool he climbed up and had a sliut in his leg from the glass it was so deep he should of gone too the hospital u could see sll his flesh it was horrible, but it was his fault really! but around the corner if i am correct theres a slide and stuff for the little ones and i think theres a tennis court :) i really so recomend this place! oh i would also like to add, the room was aamzing we had 2 balconies! and one view was the see whichg was pretty far away but could perfectly see it and the other view was the pool so it was pretty good !!!:) x

4 readers found this review helpful

My boyfriend & I stayed in the Forte Da Oura for a week in July 2010.The hotel was great, really clean as the maids came everyday. The apartment was big and was great apart from the two single beds pushed together to make a double.. Being on the fround floor we could just see the sea & luckily we had no noisy neighbours, the balconies feel quite private. However the hotel is only a short 5 minute walk down to the beach which is lovely.There are some amazing restaurants especially Vivaldo's, which was expensive but the food was gorgeous.We didn't eat at the hotel, apart from snacks, which were good, so I don't know what the food is really like. The hotel is also 3 mins from The Strip which is very touristy but great for happy hours & ice cream :) We visited Old Town during our stay and we were a little disappointed as it was also very touristy but the square was nice to sit and have lunch in. The little train for this can be caught at the top of the strip & it cost us about 3 euros for a day pass. The swimming pool was great, very deep & its best to go later in the day or evening as it isn't very busy then. The best supermarket is the eco marche just round the corner however if you want a bigger one there is mondelo right up by the watch round about, which is a bit of a trek. We also took a tour to the quartiera market which was full of fake designer bags, sunglasses as well as clothes. The churos are amazing as well as the barbequed piri piri chicken. The tour also took us to vilamoura marina which was gorgeous and had lots of shops as well as trendy bars, sadly we only had half an hour here so we couldn't explore it fully. However we really enjoyed our holiday & the hotel was a good base for us to go off and explore from. :)

1 reader found this review helpful

I stayed at the Forte da Oura in september 2009 for two weeks, the room I had was very big, but the only thing the maids did not change the bedsheets for two weeks!! even though I complained to reception more than six times, Also when returning from the strip one night the night security guard had come and knocked on our room door and told us to shut up, even though we had been in the room for a few hours, I told him he should try the room next door, as it was a few lads in there.
The pool was very quiet for the first week of my holiday then but the end of the second week it was full of children.The pool bar was very expensive and did not eat there as there is a supermarket around the corner and it is cheaper to buy food and make your own.
The only entertainment I saw in the hotel at night was the karaoke and there was only about five people in the bar.
I wouldn't go back to this hotel only because of the service.

3 readers found this review helpful

Although this was a nice hotel - apart frrom charging 4* for a hotel not worth more than a 3* - as previous reviewers have said you will need to get up early for a sunbed at the pool side - on the first night we were made to stayt in a room with broken air conditioner, although we did get an upgrade next day, we heard round the poolside from several oither previous people who were made to stay in room 315!!! so if u are offered it check that it works.
Worst points worth noting:
The showers are awful with no pressure especially for us ladies who need to shampoo and condition!
The balconys are practically shared with next door, so embarrassing and makes everyone less likey to benefit from a balcony!
The walls are so thin if you stay next to honeymooners as we did - you will hear every sound - not our thing!!
We booked a apartment for 4 adults but dissapointingly the second room is nothing ore than a sofa bed and rool out unit in the kitchen area, whilst the main room is straught of the main walkway - so expect your friends to walk through ya bedroom at all hours to use the bathroom!!
Rather rude reception staff - unwilling to help and very abrupt!
Good points making it worth perhaps a second visit:
The cleanliness
The friendly bar and resturant staff
The close proximity to the beach, strip and resturants - and very close to the best resturant ever - you really must give the 'sizzling stone' a go - steak and other meats and fish served on a sizzling stone (if u can bear to wear the bib!) an amazing experience and great value for money and wonderful friendly staff and great atmosphere!!!
Where not to eat: any resturant on the beach front unless you just won the ottery and dont mind food that really is not worth the money!!
All in all this was a great holiday and even if i dont stay at sme hotel will def stay again in Portugal!!!!

2 readers found this review helpful

The hotel, staff and location are all spoilt by the allowance of groups to stay in what could be a wonderful family hotel. The hotel is nice an clean and located 5 mins from the main strip and 10 min walk from the quieter beach or 15 mins from lively beach. We enjoyed our stay but being a family it was awful being allocated a room next to a group of all i can describe as a group of rowdy dutch lads. They kept us awake for 4 nights in total by partying or setting off fire alarms. Hotel staff did there very best to restrain their behaviour but would do better not to allow groups in first place. The pool area is not adeqautly sized but staff do their best to stop sunbed hoggers putting towels on beds but if you try and get a bed after midday then your better going to the beach! All in all, a good holiday but spoilt by a group of idiots!!!

Not worth a 4*, maybe 3*. Very clean,spacious but basic rooms. Pool area bit small, had to be down early to get lounger. Had food at lunch, not great at all, so ate out at pub down road most of time. Reception staff not that friendly, air con not worked first night,on 3rd floor, had to move to 1st, the man didnt offer to help. Woke most nites by rowdy germans banging. Very good location, 3mins from strip, 5-10 from beach.

1 reader found this review helpful

wouldn,t say this place deserves a 4 * rating more 3*, the pool was rowdy and from the previous reviews we chose this hotel on the couple / family atmosphere, it was more 18-30 maybe due to putting bums on seats during the recession, our air con was not working for two nights, we were then moved to another room which was tatty in decor but in a much quieter location. we spoke with a couple who had a baby and said they got disturbed by various rowdy parties mainly groups to be honest a little bit of benidorm type behaviour not what you pay for, as for albuferia the old town is great and the strip wasn,t bad for food either, the parrot show at the hotel is good but drinks rather pricey,

We spent 10 nights here with our 2 children, hotel and staff lovely, Tony D and the parrot show worth a watch. Plenty of beds free around the pool and the beach only down the road, whilst the strip only a 5 minute walk up the road. Sunset on the strip a great restaurant to try.
Would we come back to this hotel, ofcourse x