Dunas Do Alvor Apartments

5 readers found this review helpful

This is the forth time we have been back to the Dunas Apts, and can honestly say it will probably be the last. We love Alvor and everything about it. Would recommend Georgets restaurant Drakes for an excellant breakfast which is good value for money. The Pic-Nic bar for the fantastic chicken Salads The Black Stove for some Irish entertainment especially with Keith who has great craic with everyone. Not forgetting the Cactus 2 every year Mark and Ali never fail to make everyone feel welcome. Mark your Simply Red song was brilliant!!!! Unfortunately I have to agree with the last review as regards the apartments. I noticed the cleaning was not up to the usual standards especially with the changing towels and bed linen. The majority of the sunbeds were broken, and there was not enough to go round. These Apts are advertised as a 3* but if they are not careful and dont spend a little bit of money to bring it back up to a decent standard, it will fall down to a 2* which would be ashame as they are located in a prime position.

We arrived here on the crest of a heat wave (wished we'd had aircon, but hired fans)! Apartments are spacious but the room is not used to it's best (they could of been 2 bedooms, if better thoughtout). Everything you need but no oven (which would have been handy for pizza etc). Had a problem with towels didn't seem to want to change them!I think like most places they were feeling the pinch (well thats how it felt!). And I must say that is totally the moans out of the way. Well that can't be bad! We had a great holiday lovely food, plenty to see if you want to, we didn't, had had a big holiday in USA the year before and needed a rest that we got and plenty of it! Even the kids had a great time (two teenagers) walked into the wonderful harbour and ate then back to the Cactos 2 bar for a drink with Mark and Ali, lovely people (some comments made are misleading) they are a lovely couple who make EVERYBODY feel soooooooooo welcome and introduce you to everyone Oh! by where you come from! Fab, would we go again CAN'T wait gonna book as soon as even me kids want to go straight back! I've travelled to many countries I think you'd be hard pushed to find a better country

6 readers found this review helpful

Just returned from a fantastic week in Alvor, in my opinion best resort on the Algarve. We have been 4 times now and have seen quite a bit of developement in the area so it is more commercialised now than it was our first couple of visits.
We stayed at the Dunas apartments this time and were amazed, after reading the other reviews prior to our visit to the Dunas, that we had our pick of sunbeds and brollies. Apparently the owner of half of the rooms is putting them up for sale so many were empty at the time. The rep did admit that usually there would be a crowd chasing the beds.
We found the staff very friendly and helpful. The room was very spacious and cleaned daily. We overlooked the inside square and pool. We were not disturbed at all by dogs or noise from the bars (but admit we came in late most nights!) Our balcony was very small however. We had housemartins nesting over our patio doors and we enjoyed watching them flying in and out to feed their young.
The kitchen had microwave, elec. kettle, toaster and the usual pots and pans.
The only thing really needed was air conditioning as it was a very hot week. We managed to rent an electric fan which did help considerably.
I highly recommend Alvor. Loads of really nice restaurants and friendly bars.

1 reader found this review helpful

The rating is for the Cactos Bar, not Dunas. We found an apartment close by after getting few up with being given the road view/dog chorus apartment, but still go the Cactos for a pre/post dinner drink. Good fun, warm welcome and an ideal place to relax (even if he is a scouser!)
We`ll be back in Sept/Oct again.

2 readers found this review helpful

OK, so it's not perhaps the best hotel in the world. But we had a great week. If I went back to the Algarve, I would want to go back to that hotel. It was clean, tidy, recently refurbished, but otherwise nothing to write home about. Nothing to complain about either.
We had a room overlooking the road, and to be honest, it was prefereable to looking toward the pool. We used to sit out on the balcony, looking towards the lights of Lagos. Yes, the dogs barked a bit, and yes the odd car went past, and yes, sometimes, a group got a little loud in one of the local bars. But it did not spoil the holiday.
The great thing about the hotel, and the one reason why I would go back was its location. It is so close to Alvor centre that you have a great choice of snack bars and restaurants. However, you are also walking distance to the beach, and its miles of sand. The pool was too cold to use, and so there was not a lot to do with the kids at the hotel. Having the beach nearby to tire them out was just what was needed.
I think Alvor is great. I love the choice of food on offer, and would recommned Ze Morgadinho Tebarna on the habour front. Sardines are fantastic, cataplanas are wonderful (although one would do between three, not the sugested two).
We drove through Portimao, Praia da Rocha, and Albufeira, and they were not as nice as Alvor; there were so many more hotels. Alvor is not perfect, and there are some parts of the hotel zone that look, to be honest, like a bombsite. However, the UK is not much better.
I would certainly recommend the hotel, and would like to go back, not so much as for the hotel itself, but where it was. It was a great holiday.

1 reader found this review helpful

this is the 3rd time i have visited portugal this year and staying the dunas apartments each time i love the complex it is quite and really good for families i have been with my family and also my friend and loved each holiday and the place alvor more each time i go gutted the season is coming to an end and that means i wont be going until next year. The apartmens are basic but they have got all the basic amenties that you will need the maids come in most days to clean and make your beds.
Now found that the pic-nic bar food wasn't very nice a bit greasy for my liking but i did find another little gem it's called marco's which is owned by mark and jackie and i would recommend it to anyone the food is gorgeous and the people who own marco's are so friendly nothing is too much trouble it is a gorgeous little resturant but make sure you book because they can get quite busy. especially in the high seansons
Another little bar is the cactos bar it is a lovely place next to the pic-nic bar were it has got mark singing everynight and he is very good i would recommend you visit it. It is a friendly place and they make you feel at home mark and his wife ali are lovely and make you feel welcome from the firt mintue you get there.

1 reader found this review helpful

these apartments were spacious and clean, staff pleasant, pool very good(apart from putting towels down at 09.00)bars and restraunts downstairs were great for all you need for poolside, food very good from pic-nic bar and cactus 2 bar,
mark and ali in the cactus 2 bar were great, really friendly and help you as much as they can, unfortunately we witnessed a person having a heart attack, ali was absolutely brilliant,from sprinting to alert reception, to going with the husband to hospital and being their for him, she also taxied the husband around for a couple of days after it happenned till all was confirmed she was good and well.(more medical grounds coverded i won't go into)well done ali.
mark, ali's husband was a great entertainer, he would work his shift during the day then don his guitar and vocal chord at night from 9.15ish, the songs and patter from him from the off were just what you needed on holiday, he makes all-comers into the bar part of the entertainment with hilariuous results, I must add mark is very good on vocals and guitar, very repetitive, but hey, very good entetainment, cactus 2 bar does a mean pint of super bock(in a frozen glass)aahhh.
mark recommended a few restraunts to us and all were great, one we found, mister alvor's, round the corner from the dunas, absolutely one not to miss.
will definately return to dunas and enjoy another relaxed and entertaining holiday.
Mr Stirling(drummer)

1 reader found this review helpful

my wife and myself have stayed at these apartments for the last 6 years
they are a great base to explore the area ie just a few minutes from the beach and the village.
they are cleaned every day except tuesdays no heating if it is cold but we dont worry as we only sleep there
we would not stay anywhere else we have made a lot of friends in the area.
please try them by the way the staff at reception are great nothing is to much trouble

1 reader found this review helpful

Apartments were lovely
The evening entertainment at the cactos 2 bar was fantastic, mark and ali were great and very friendly. And the bar staff were excellent, would definately recommend people to go there who are coming to portugal.
All take care from the leeds lot.

3 readers found this review helpful

What can I say about the Dunas complex, when you first arrive off the coach you see a set of stairs leading up to the main front doors, there is a ramp for those of a disabled nature however its a bit steep rising from ground level to about 4ft over a length of about 23ft, if your a wheel chair user better get working those arms out your going to need it, it also gets quite slippy when wet. The reception area is nice and clean with 2 internet points charging 1 euro for 10 minutes (there is other places with better offers in the complex), the staff are quite friendly and helpful, most speak relativley good English so no worries about communications. We initially got a room overlooking the pool complex, this was a long trek from the lift and the complex has several sets of stairs and elevators, we found these a bit confusing at first, the room was a funny shape being on the corner, it featured a wall on the right as you came in that went in a diagonal down to the back of the apartment and the facing wall was straight, this gave the room a wedge of cheese type shape, the balcony was, due to the nature of the room and its shape, very small about 8ft long. The room consisted of the main room 1 bedroom (listen it has single beds not doubles despite what the tour people might say) a bathroom with Bath/Shower, sink and Bidet, the kitchen was just a 4 ring electric burner, no microwave, a toaster, and a fridge, cutlery, pans,cups etc included. the rooms are clean and have tiled floor (as most do, however a slip danger for the elderly and the young when they get wet) seats were a table and 4 chairs and a rather uncomfortable bed settee unit, there is no air conditioning however the apartment manged to stay quite cool, we spent the time in the apartment in the bedroom as this was the comfiest place to sit, a TV with channels, some english some portuguese made up the rest of the room. Plenty of space for clothes. the view from the balcony included the pool and the snack bar and was directly above the cactusII bar, on the first night we found out that the resident owner (Mark) likes the sound of his own voice and played until the early hours, however being tired from being up for over 36 hours we fell asleep and god himself wouldnt have woken us. We changed rooms on the second day due to the housemartins that resided in a nest outside on the balcony and spent the day dive bombong you whilst you tried to get a bit of fresh air on the balcony, it was novel at first until you finally got sick of ducking every 20 seconds whilst having a drink on the balcony, the new room was on the back of the complex and to be honest even though it was next to a mainroad (traffic is laid back just the odd scooter and car going past nothing to noisy we even slept with the windows open due to the heat at night) the room itself was a proper oblong shape this gave it a bigger floor space and a bigger balcony, and the view... well it was breathtakinginly beautiful, I have included some pictures of the view from room 325 and if you want a peaceful balcony with a great view this is room to go for, I would most definately have that room again should I return. The resort itself whilst clean and tidy is im sorry to say starting to look like a rundown council housing estate, the majority of the retail section based around the resort are closed down, there is in order, a supermarket (relativly cheap for some things) marco's bar and restaurant (more later about this) a snack bar,Catcus ll Bar (already mentioned that earlier but its sole entertainment is Mark singing to you, alright for some but bloomin irratating after the first time) there is a charity shop which is a veritable gold mine for the book worm, and at the front another snack bar, you are however blessed with a pharmacy just outside the complex, great for those who get ill, bitten or just sunburnt. The complex is large and tidy on the whole and very nice to the eye and is a mere 3 minute walk to the main town of Alvor, the walk to the beach however takes about 15 minutes and takes you across a couple of main roads, not great if you have kids or are movement restricted in anyway, however once there the scenery is great and the beach nice if a little shaley (shaley..small fine stones I think thats the term I may be wrong) Like all complexes the Dunas has a Pool, for some reason though they are always cold water filled, however on a hot day they are quite a relief once you get over the initial shock of the water, kids dont seem to mind though just the adults found it cold, it has a shallow end leading down to the deep end which is suitable for diving into due its depth of about 8ft, if you really want some fun go to the supermarket on the camp and buy one of the blow up boats (the owner will blow it up for you as well) and then lie in it and sunbathe on the pool, there is nothing nicer than just lying in the sun whilst floating on a pool with your feel dangling in the water (dont forget the sunlotion though !!), I spent a few days doing this and it is a great way to unwind and relax. The pool has the usual loungers made of plastic however you get charged 1 euro for a padded mat for the day, be aware of this and dont do what i did and just take one, or you get the sunlounger man being rude to you... Now onto Marco's.. the place is run by Jackie and Marco and it has to be said that they are without 2 of the nicest people you are ever going to meet whilst on holiday here, they go out of their way to make any meal with them a pleasure, we celebrated out wedding anniversary whilst away and with the help of them I planned a romantic 3 course meal for the two of us, it was without doubt one of the best meals I have ever eaten in a restaurant, everything was hand made from the mulligatawny soup to the meat and veg dinner, finished off with spotted dick and sticky jam sponge, and all for a reasonable 51 euros, we ate their several times whilst away and signed the guest book before we left. The Dunas is located as i said about 3 minutes from the main town of ALvor, the town has a lot to see and plenty of places to eat, my recommendations are this, if you want a steak dinner, try the Pyramid steak house just up the hill and to the right from the taxi rank only 10 euros for what is basically half a cow with a great sauce, avoid the Kashmere indian, its food is awful and over priced, a curry there is not like you would find in an Indian restaurant in England, the Atlantico is another great place to eat, large meals for a small price my wife had the steak special, this was a steak with fried egg a cheesy sauce with sliced round potatoes chip style around the edge, mine was a cheeseburger and chips, like I said good food and a good price. Alvor itself is a pretty town and needs time to be explored properly, the harbour is nice and the main beach is a treat for those wanting to relax, its about 2 miles or so from one end to the other and is enclosed by the harbour wall at one end and a rock outcrop at the other end, there are plenty of shops for all those last minute gifts you need to buy before returning home, pubs are plentiful as are the karaoke pubs, if this is your thing then go sing. A taxi rank is situated in the main town and costs vary from driver to driver, heres a hint, ask the driver how much to your destination this traps them into a price they cant go past, as some add a tariff charge some dont be canny with them or they take the michael slightly, towns to visit include Portimau and its harbour, Pria do Vau and Pria do rocha, each town boasts its own heritage and things to see. We ended the week with a boat ride on the Santa Barbera pirate ship, dont worry you wont be expected to hoist the main sails or scrub the decks, instead for 50 euros per person you get a full day out on the boat and a beach BBQ on a secluded private beach accessible only by boat whilst the crew cook the food and supply you with a choice of drinks from wine to soft drinks, its an unmissable experience and the boat and crew are first rate, it was the perfect end to the week. Now for the marks out of 10 Portugal/Alvor 10 out of 10 for being a beautiful place. Dunas apartments 7 out of 10 points lost for the run down appearance and its lack of entertainment. Thomas cook itself and its rep's 10 out of 10 for their helpful manner. Pictures will be uploaded shortly.