Plaza Real Apartments

we have just returned after two weeks at the Plaza. It was totally awsome. We arrived at reception to be booked in immediatly. we had booked a studio as it was just my husband and I we were delighted at the layout of our studio. we discovered the bulb wasn't working over mirror, i went and reported it I had just got back to our room and a man was there to replace it. The cleaners did a great job, as we were on the beach every day the sand we enevetably brought back was cleared away. the beach was only a few minuets walk away As were the restaurants of which all we tried were superb especially "Sitting Bull" can,t recommened this highly enough. only dissappointment was Portugese night main course frozen veg all very salty Yuk. We walked to Alvor also Portimao both great places. this was our first time self catering certainly wont be the last the whole stay was a super experiance.

I stayed in these apartments with my partner and our friends at the end of August this year. Although we had a great time its not a place we 'll be going back to in a hurry! We couldnt fault the apartment itself. It was clean and spacious and well equipped but the rest of the package didnt live up to this standard...definitely not 4 star! Im not a great lover of sitting round the pool all day but when we did it wasnt exactly relaxing....although thats what you get for going in the school holidays I suppose! It wasnt a very big pool either as its portrayed on the website. The bar/restaurant area was very small. Food wasnt great. The sandwiches were excellent and value for money but everything else was poor. The pizza was uncooked dough! We didnt stay around for the entertainment so I cant comment but none looked appealing. We would go down to the beach front every night as that was the only other place to eat and drink on the resort. We found some nice eating places but most of the seafront was quite tacky and none of us could honestly say we had a fantastic meal. To be honest this part of the Algarve didnt feel like Portugal at all. Not what I expected. One day my partner and I got a taxi to Alvor about a 10 minute journey from Praia de Rocha and it was lovely.....just what we expected Portugal to be. Go there instead!

Stayed at Plaza Real July/Aug Good quality 3 star accomodation however not 4 star as Thomson rated. Large clean apartment, well equipped kitchen, balcony accessed from lounge and bedroom. Small pool but not enough sun beds for the guests. Small bar - expensive not much atmosphere. Reception staff very friendly and helpful. Quiet location, quite a walk to beach/bars/ restaurants etc but this was better than being right in the centre of Praia da Rocha where it would have been very noisy at night. Overall I was pleased with apartments however bearing in mind I paid over 1,000 GBP for last minute 1 bed apartment, (flights/transfers extra) could have got good quality villa in Florida with own pool for the same cost. Therefore I would have to think very carefully before considering Plaze Real in future.

just arrived home having spent a marvelous week self catering at this aparthotel,Party consisisted of my husband, myself and our 2 grandchildren aged 16yrs and 10 yrs.We booked this just 4days before going to get away from bad british weather. Hired a car which we picked up at airport on arrival in Faro and followed directions to hotel as provided from hotel website arrived without any problems. apartment was excellent very large and very well equipped with an extremely large bacony overlooking the pool staff very friendly and helpfull from the reception to the cleaning staff hotel bar/ resteraunt open from 9am for breakfast and served meals/ drinks untill 2am even provided "take away" if required but drinks were a little more expensivethan local bars It was about 800mtrs walk and down some steep steps to the nearest beach but having own transport did not cause us a problem we just drove to the next beach which was more accessable and very clean . The Algarve is a beautiful area for a holiday and we would definatly stay here again, having our own transport was also an advantage

We (my partner and I) have just returned from a week in the Algarve, staying in a self catering apartment at Plaza Real (in Praia da Rocha). The apartment was huge, with a separate kitchen with all mod cons (fridge freezer, microwave, kettle, toaster), separate lounge/diner and bedroom and bathroom. It was very clean and the cleaners came every other day. There is a bar/restaurant next to the pool but we only used it on the first night. It was expensive! We spent the week on the beach - it is a 10 minute walk down to the beach and there is a good selection of bars (we would recommend Taffys bar for cheap drinks) and restaurants, and a supermarket. If you go out of the gates and turn left you can cut through a dirt track to the beach and the main drag, quicker than the main road. There is another big supermarket which is 15/20 mins walk the other way (not towards the beach) but it is a bit far if you are carrying stuff back. The beach and sea are beautiful (sea was a bit chilly, but still pleasant!), but there are very steep steps up and down. The thomson rep was around alot, and the hotel staff were helpful and sorted things out promply (we had a problem with our door locking when we checked in). Be warned that they take 3 euros from you when you change a 50 euro travellers cheque...they don't take anything if you use sterling travellers cheques! We went self catering as we are both vegetarian - this is the best thing to do unless you want pizza every night! Portimao is 10 mins away on the bus, or you can walk, It took us 20/30 mins. Portimao was very quiet when we went (evening) and a few things were shut. It was worth a visit though, and is a complete contrast to the resort of Praia. Overall, we had a great time, and if you are looking for a quiet relaxing holiday, this is the place to go.

these are fantastic apartments, the rooms are very spacious, very clean, nice size pool, plenty of sunbeds, the restaurant serves excellent food, the staff are great , the thompson reps are very helpful, set in a quiet location but not to far from the beach & main strip, if you cant want to walk it taxis are very cheap, excellent cant understand how some people only rated it 1 must be very sad!

The swimming pool was like a pond and needed a good clean, the sun beds needed a wash and the cocktail bar was a greasy cafe with a constant aroma of chips. The people were rough and I refused to sit by the pool and listen to the bad language and stream of "f" words from adults to their children. Its in the middle of nowhere so you need taxis or a car, the supermarket is miles away (25 min walk each way). The holiday rep was a waste of time and the hotel reception were useless. Other than to order food & drinks the bar staff never spoke and the live entertainer needs to get back in his coffin. My advice is to stay away, if you try and get sold this as four star your being ripped off.

my wife & i have just returned from a week at these wonderful apartments.i would just like to agree with all the other positive reviews other people have posted. i would really like to reccomend umberto's excellent restaurant (on the front ) the 2 girls who served us were 1st class & the food was great..........enjoy

We returned from a week at the Plaza Real Apartments last week and we had a great time: Rooms - we were in an apartment overlooking the pool and it was lovely, all the rooms were very spacious, even the bathroom. We were also surprised to find that we had a separate kitchen, which was well equipped - there was even a big fridge freezer. Only thing missing was an electric kettle, the one on the hob took ages! Staff - staff on reception were very helpful. When we first arrived, someone came out of the bar with a tray of drinks for us all, which was a nice touch. Location - a bit of a walk to the beach and main strip, but we knew this before we went. Luckily I had read in some reviews that there was a shortcut (out of hotel, turn left and across some wasteland) and this did cut a fair bit of time off the walk (to about 10 mins), especially as we had two small children. Taxis cost about 4 euros so we usually walked there and got a taxi back. Entertainment - not very good, a couple of karaokes and the barbecue was cancelled due to lack of interest. The entertainment centres around the bar/ restaurant which is very small, and so they are limited. Food - as mentioned, the restaurant is very small and the food was very average - we ate there on our first night and didn't again, apart from the cooked breakfasts which were good. We found two good restaurants - the first one I would highly recommend and is called Jardim das Oliveiras. There are leaflets on the reception desk and you can book a taxi/minibus with reception that takes you to the restaurant for free. It takes about half an hour and is up in the mountains, and we expected it to be expensive, but our bill was cheaper than most that we had on the strip. The food is wonderful, the wine is cheap (but good), the people are friendly and the surroundings are lovely. The second restaurant was the Atlantis on the strip - excellent food and lovely decor. Childrens club - my 5 yr old only used it twice because the weather was so good, we were out all day long. But he really enjoyed it when he did go, and the two people that ran it were very nice and friendly. Beaches - Praia da Rocha beach is one of the nicest I've seen, and it has everything you could want. They have recently built decking which runs the whole length of the beach (which is quite long!). This makes it easy to walk to where you want and is also great if you want to walk along the beach in the evening. They have built restaurants all the way along and plenty of toilets in between which are clean, plus shower cubicles (small fee for these). Alvor beach is also lovely, especially if you like it a bit more quiet - cost us about 5 euros in taxi to get there. Plus there are small coves too. Places to visit - Zoomarine is worth a visit especially if you have children. We didn't find it too expensive, especially as under 5's are free. There are shows throughout the day eg dolphin, wild birds, rides for the children and the food is surprisingly good and cheap, with more than your usual burgers and chips! Would definitely go back to this resort, but although the apartments are lovely, would not use them again due to location and lack of a good restaurant.

Returned from the Plaza Real 20th Aug with my girlfriend. We did an allocated on arrival deal and we're very happy with how it turned out. The 'aparthotel', as it calls itself, is very clean and modern and comprises of 60 or so selfcatering apartments. It is officially a 3 star hotel but travel companies seem to be giving it their 4 star rating. We were in room 15 which, along with, 16&17 (i think) have no balcony or terrace as they are situated on the ground floor round the back. The rooms are cleaned, at worst, every other day, when linen and towels are changed along with a quick sweep up. The room was spacious with good kitchen facilities ie toaster, oven, hobs, big fridge/freezer and all the pots, pans, cutlery you'd ever need. All rooms had air con as well which was good. All the staff were friendly and helpful. There is a bar on site, with seating areas inside and outside where they put on BBQ's and karoke evenings, it did snack foods until 1pm and drinks until late. There are two pools, one is small, the other one is tiny! We never bothered as it was always full of kids, but they were well kept with plenty of loungers about. It is located in Praia Da Rocha which we had heard was lively, but only families and couples roamed around 'the strip' in the evening it wasnt off putting. There's plenty of restaurants there, i recommend 'Atlantis' and 'Jupiter' both have great menus and staff, a word of warning though, they bring olives/bread/butter to your table, dont think its free, you get charged unless you ask them to take it back. The beaches are first class, about 10-15min walk from the hotel. You can always find a quiet spot away from the crowds. I recommend visiting Alvor beach, the water is crystal blue and its even easier to find some space to yourself. Taxis were a cheap and quick way to get about, 4-5 euros to the beach/'strip', 7-8 euros to Alvor, the hotel will charge you 50cents for ringing a taxi. All in all a great holiday experience. I would definitely go to the algarve again. This hotel? maybe not, but its an excellent example of a three star.