More Traveller Reviews of Dunas Do Alvor Apartments
Cactus Bar II, What A Great Night Out!
from jimmynick
We visited the cactus bar in the Dunas Do apartment complex a few times during our trip to Avor. It is on the edge of town, behind the Venue and away from the main bars around the square but it is really worth the trip. The owners mark and Ali are a really nice couple and while Ali works behind the bar, mark entertains the crowds until Midnight singing , remembering where everyone is from and making everyone laugh with his 12 rules ie; no boybands, dead singers, gingers singers..... (by the way if you see Mark tell him Del Shannon died in 1980 by shooting himself) My daughter loved it (miss Swansea) and collected all the different coloured fluffy bugs they give away with the kiddie cocktails. just go there...it's great!
Great Resort/Great Accommodation
from LITTLEMISSPRFECT
Myself and my fiance have just returned from out holiday in Alvor yesterday. We dont have a bad word to say either about the accommodation or the resort. Our apartment was very spacious and clean, the maids came 5 out of 7 days. Must mention Mark and Alison from The Cactus Bar II located in the complex who made our stay even more enjoyable by making us feel very welcome, (Mark is the greatest singer in Alvor despite his 11 rules)....The resort itself was a pleasant suprise, it's like a smaller version of San Antonio's West End but without the groups of clubbers and no lager louts. Some nice little shops and nice restaurants. We would definately go back and we would stay in the Dunas again.
excellent holiday
from harrythehornetpoole
Had a great time in Alovr , even thou the weather was not that good. The Dunnas apartments was very clean , and the one bed apartment was very large and nice , one thing thou did get woken up now and again by coaches dropping off and picking up people as apartment I had was faceing the road , however except for that everything else was great at the Dunnas, the location was good just a 5-10 min walk to the beach and same the other way to the quay. The beach was very nice , thou the sea was a bit cold but would expect in the next few weeks would be lovely to swim in, walk down to the rocks and you find some nice places to sit and chill and have a meal on the beach. Will be going back to Alvor and would stay at the Dunnas again.Ps go to zoomarine and swim with dolphins book before you go cost about 120 pounds well worth every penny
Good Value for the Money
from Mr_Tottington
Just returned from a week at Dunas apartments and our only complaint was the lack of sun - but that can't be attributed to the complex staff or tour operator! It did, however, mean that we (2 adults & 10yr old) were looking for things to do other than sunbathe and that's where these apartments and this resort are a bit lacking. Apartment was clean, large and reasonably well equipped for the price. Overlooked the road (not too busy) and had a partial (very partial on 1st floor) sea view past some smart apartment blocks. I can understand that apartments overlooking the courtyards may have been more prone to noise at night but we weren't too bad (apart from a local dog barking). Staff friendly, pool enormous and very clean - to say it was cold is an exaggeration but it was unheated and very refreshing (the wife even got wet once). All bars on complex were good, friendly and English run. Mark and Ali in Cactos II are brilliant and really welcoming to all. Let them know where you come from and they'll introduce you to everyone else - sounds intrusive but it's done in a really friendly way. Beaches were amazingly large and, on the whole, empty. We walked over to Praia de Vau (just behind the Pestana complex towards Praia de Rocha) and found some more secluded beaches and coves more suitable for snorkelling. In the middle of the Pestana (We called it the Piranha complex) there is a cliff side lift (free) to a beach bar and secluded beach just like in James Bond which is a bit different. Carried on walking to Praia de Rocha which is two more enormous empty beaches and a lovely marina. Alvor town is compact with a wide variety of restaurants, bars and gift shops. We can recommend a few we tried - Vagabondo steak house has a lovely roof top terrace with orange trees; next door the Rio a Vista also has a roof top terrace and they serve an amazing 'sizzling stone' steak; Indian Hut lower down on same side was the best Indian meal I have tasted in a while and very reasonably priced (set meal for 2). A bus trip to Lagos (pronounced La-gosh) is worthwhile 3.35 euros each single. On a previous visit we did the Zoomarine and Jeep safaris which are both worth doing if you haven't been before. In summary - Good value for money apartments in a family friendly resort.
Great Location and Cheap
from flick86
Stayed at this Hotel Beginning of may,Alvor is deffo the best place to stay as it was quiet and the beach was Lovely.Shame the weather wasent so good though:( The Aparments are cheap and good,Apartment inside was huge with a lovely balcony lookin over the pool.And only 5mins walk from the beach which was perfect and also to the Resturants. Downisde is the horrible corridors,not that well lit and looked like something from a old hospital,and also had a very annoying noise above us,like a very loud snoring,which kept us awake all week,Reception didnt seem to care or offer another apartment for us,but suppose it was the 5th day we were there,as we are not big fans of complaining.We should of done more,but we jus got merry instead. Lovely area,lots of bars and great resturants.Found the supermarket in alvor quite expensive.But we found a shopping centre 5mins bus ride away.1.40 euros single,get on the bus that says hospital on it and ask for the retail park,just look out for it and press the bell wen u see it.it was Massive and cheap and lots of lovely food in there. All in all a great holidays,also go on the jeep sarfari,great day out,and its only 37.50 from alvor travel shop:). No need to Take lots of money there,i took 300 and only spent 200.Buses are Cheap to lagos,albuferia and potimao. Dont think i will go back though as i want to go to other places in the world:)
praise
from mlacey7
loved the apts and the chillout bar on the site was excellent Lionel and Andrea were such a lovely couple who had only just taken over the premises and certainly helped to make our holiday extra special we wish them all the luck in their new venture had such a good time with them both love maureen and terry x
Great Place To Stay
from POOLIE44
This was our second stay at these apartments and can't fault them at all. The rooms and the complex itself are always very clean and the staff are very helpful .Try the extra large Toasties in the Chill Out Bar on the complex they are great value for money, Leonel & Andrea have only just taken over this bar and are a very friendly family.
Great holiday
from xxhayley_hxx
The rooms were spointless and clean, cleaner came in nearly every day made our beds changed towels etc. Room includes a fridge, stove, pots, glasses/knives&forks/plates. We had a view of a bar outside the hotel from our balcony which was not that bad. Balcony was reasonable size. You could leave your key in reception in a box, saved you carrying it around with you everywhere and ask for it back when you wanted it. We went on several trips, one to the waterpark splash'n'slide. very amazing place! and one to the zoomarine where we swam with the dolphins, also a lovely day. Went to a nearby harbour with some nice fish resturant. The beach is about 5/10 minute walk, very windy at times! very hot in august though so we had to buy an umbrella. sand was smooth, no stones, water was SOOOOOOOO cold though because it is the atlantic sea, not really any waves either. If you walk up to the left of the beach right up the end is a little cove, which shelters you from the wind and does have some very big waves! a lovely place to lay down with your own litttle private beach. Nightlife is good over there, not so much any clubs, but loads and loads of bars and resuarant which were about 5/10 minutes away. Lots of enterainment, tribute acts were alot. No entertainment at the hotel itself though, the pool was ok and i found it ok to get a sunbed. weather was really good it didnt rain once. food everywhere was nice, we were not all inclusive so i do not know about the food and drink there! shops very close, everything you need basicly. All in all a good holiday :-)
Great location. Clean and basic
from sugarplum32
Myself & my boyfriend stayed at the Dunas for 2 weeks in September and we loved it. The apartments were basic but clean. The apartment is actually bigger than the flat we live in at home! The beds were quite comfortable. The sheets were a bit thin but they were clean. The kitchen was well laid out and had everything we needed. If you like a mug of coffee in the morning I would recommend taking your own mug or buying one as the cups supplied were tiny. It was also nice to have a TV in the apartment. Think we had 40 channels. The safety deposit box cost 10 Euros a week and 15 Euros returnable deposit. There are at least 3 separate blocks at the Dunas. We stayed in block B which was above the Cactos II bar and overlooked the pool. It was a bit noisy at times but the music stopped at midnight and it tended to be people’s voices in the bar echoing round the complex that made more noise than Mark’s singing!! If we closed the windows it wasn’t bad. Mark & Ali in the Cactos II bar were really nice and friendly. Everyone was known by where they come from and Mark always said ‘hello Southampton!’ when we went into the bar or even walked past. The cleaners came round most days and just made the beds, took out the rubbish and put a brush and mop over the floor. Sometimes 3 of them turned up and they’d be in and out in about 3 mins! The pool was well maintained & quite large. Very cold though!! Only started to warm up about 5pm. There were steps into it and it sloped gradually. There were quite a lot of beds round the pool and there were beds available throughout the day but I guess in the height of summer it might be a bit of a fight to get one. The beds are free but it was 3 Euros if you wanted a mattress. The location was great. It was about 10 min walk to the beautiful sandy beach (left out of reception, right at the crossroads and then past the flats) and a 5 min walk towards town for the taxi rank & bus stop. This was also where we got picked up for our trip to Zoomarine. The supermarket on site at the Dunas is well stocked and many items are cheaper there than at the larger Alisuper supermarket (just up the road) except water which was cheaper. There is a Western Union in the supermarket where you can change money. Don’t change it at the Dunas as they charge 30 Euros to change any amount. Staff on reception was always very helpful. They sent our postcards for us and all of them arrived within a few days. The restaurant (Tertulia) opposite the supermarket was lovely. Good prices and lovely food. We arrived at Dunas about 10.30pm and checked in straight away without a problem. It took about an hour and half by coach to get to Dunas from Faro airport. We went with Thomson and our rep Claire was very helpful. It was our first trip to Portugal and all in all we had a great time (bar the rain & me twisting my ankle!) and would return to the Dunas.
Private apartment at the Dunas
from stvsms
We stayed in a private apartment within the Dunas Do Alvor complex having booked directly with the owner. The complex met all our needs, the pool area was large, clean and never too crowded with lots of sunloungers . There is a very well stocked supermarket on site with friendly and helpful staff and the site tourist office we used to book a trip to the "splash and slide" waterpark was very efficient. The centre of Alvor is a short walk away and has some decent restaurants often with roof terraces. We found that the ones near the lifeboat station were the busiest and were often turning people without reservations away, although in the places up the hill towards the centre it was much easier to find a table. The only bar we found with a childrens play area (handy if you have kids and want a quiet drink ) was The Venue which was a short walk away from the Dunas do Alvor. Though there did seem to be a fair number of kid friendly bars around town. Didn't see too many nightclub type bars in the town, though to be honest we weren't looking. The resort is family friendly and the majority of the tourists seemed to be Portuguese when we were there. The beach is a short walk away from the apartments, it is vast and clean and it is not difficult to find yourself a space. In the parts we used (close to the centre) we found that there was a bit of shelf so that the water suddenly became much deeper so it is advisable to keep a close eye on smaller children. It is worth picking up a 'Free Map' when you arive to get a feel for where everything is, though you will soon know your way around.
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Second time visitor this year, first was great we had a private apartment in the quiet area of the complex. If you go with Thomsons, you'll get a lesser room within nightly earshot of the Cactos bar. No escape EVERY NIGHT till midnight, hope you like Dire Straits and Hotel... more