A Cerca Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Style - June 2007
Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : Paul Hanson - Burnley 49 Barbara Hanson - Burnley 48
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Perfect location for the old town, which is a picturesque tarditional part of Lagos. The accomodation was excellent with a very quite relaxed feel to it. We had no problems with the room which was of a very good standard.
The pool was clean surrounded by lemon trees with a large brick barbeque for an evening meal.
The only problem we had was that there is scheme to enhance the 15th century wall that surrounds the old town.This involved three JCBs digging up completly the car park beside the appartments. However I would imagine once complete it will enhance the vicinity.
Can highly recommend it especially if yuo want a peaceful berak away from the kids (no u 16's allowed)
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A Cerca Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Style - May / June 2006
Opinion submitted in June 2006 by : Jean Eardley - Cheshire
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We stayed at A Cerca apartments in Lagos at the end of May and early June.
Lagos is a lovely resort with lots to see and do. The town is quite compact and full of character, with little cobbled streets and excellent restaurants and pavemant cafes. The promenade leads a bridge where you can cross to the marina with it's mass of sailing boats, shops and cafes; or to the long sandy beach; or to catch a train to visit other resorts and attractions. Further along the promenade you can visit the gypsy market (1st Saturday of the month) and see the stork's nests on route or call in at the fish market. In the other direction coves with small sandy beaches are separated by beautiful rocky outcrops shaped by the weather. You can visit the grottos, further along, by boat.
The apartments are only just outside the old city walls and a few hundred yards to the nearest supermarkets, shops and small restaurants. We felt that they were in an excellent location and offered everything that we needed. Most of them are set around a central pool and all have a patio area. They were exceptionally clean and well maintained.
In all I can't fault these apartments and thought that they were excellnet value for money (yes we were happy to pay the full price).
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A Cerca Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Style Holidays - 2006
Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : Andy & Angela 26,26
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Your feelings of A Cerca all depends on your expectations and whethere you have paid full brochure price.
We never paid full brochure price so we were satisfied with what we got, however if we had paid the brochure price I dont think I would have been very happy.
The A Cerca is very basic and the furniture in the aparts is dated. On arrival into your apart you will notice a foisty smell, this seems to go or you get used to it after a day or two. The aparts are spotlessly clean, cleaned every other day, the showers are good, however it is a tight squeeze in ( i was 6 months pregnant at the time though!). The pool area is kept clean and tidy and you are limited with space, however there are only 6 apartments so its easily managable. It is a very small complex set about half a km from the cafes etc. It is lovely to sit on your outside chairs late on with a glass of wine (minus the wine for me)we were right by the pool so was lovely.
If you get it at a discounted price then I would say its a good place to go. Do not pay full brochure price as you would be disappointed.
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Aqualuz Aparthotel Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- July 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by :
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
The aqualuz aparthotel is very clean accomodation. You get clean towels nearly every day. The pool area is quite quiet but not too dull. It is a nice poolside to sit by and the pool is cool and refreshing. I would reccomend going to the BBQ's on a monday night in the apartments because they are very enjoyable. Staff are all very friendly and the barmen are all really nice and helpful. We asked one of them for advice about transport and he was a great help. We discovered that it much much cheaper to use the train service than the bus service and it is also a lot faster. The trains go to lots of places including faro and albufeira.
Lagos itself its a lovely resort witha great atmosphere. The food is brilliant.
Overall a brilliant holiday.
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Aqualuz Aparthotel Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- September 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Dawn Bedworth - Warwick (37, 34)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We stayed at Aqualuz on a self-catering basis, which I would recommend in this resort as there are over 360 cafes and restaurants to choose from!
Food is relatively cheap although a few establishments are on the pricey side. Restaurant Barros (left of the fish and vegetable market on main front - Avenida Dos Descobrimentos) is a typically Portuguese restaurant with beautifully tiled walls and excellent food - we ate fresh tuna steak and sirloin steak - neither of which could be faulted. Also large portions and fairly cheap. The chinese restaurant around the corner from the apartments was also excellent and incredibly good value for money. There is another restaurant on the corner, opposite the nearest supermarket which does a variety of fish and meat dishes. We chose to have 'mixed meat on a plank'! This turned out to be loads of juicy meat on a wooden platter. Good if you love meat! Swiss restaurant called La Vaca (I think), lots of cow print outside, was also exceptionally good food.
Evenings are quite different in Lagos from daytimes as the place really comes alive. More shops and bars are open and locals as well as tourists come out to eat and drink. The atmosphere is really great! There are always several buskers about, singing, miming, playing instruments etc, adding to the lovely atmosphere. One night all the spectators joined in dancing in one of the many squares - it was really fantastic!
We didn't go on any of the tour company excursions but we did book a 2 hour boat trip to see the many grottos around the coast. This was with a company called Bom Dia and cost 17 Euros each, which was well worth it. Their office is found on the marina complex of shops but there are also many stands along the front selling these tours.
There isn't a lot for children to do in Lagos but if you hire a car there are zoos and a fab water park not too far away. Walking along the coast from Aqualuz and into all the small coved beaches is good, although most are down fairly steep steps. Meia Praia beach is fantastic, there were many people here but it was still not crowded. An easy way to get here, rather than walking all the way around the marina, is to take a ferry called Vai Vim, which is situated along the harbour (square blue boat)which costs 50 cents.
Aqualuz studio apartments are very modern and furnished to a high standard (bathroom was beautifully mosaiced). The one bedroomed apartment which we were in was a little more used looking but really clean and spacious. The air conditioning in our bedroom was a godsend! The pool was also cleaned out every morning, although not until about 9.30am. Staff here are all really helpful and polite and the whole place is really clean.
If you want a holiday to really chill out then I would recommend coming to Lagos, the way of life is very laid-back and I will definitely be returning!
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Aqualuz Aparthotel Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
April 2004
Opinion submitted in May 2004 by : Kevin Radford- Halifax (37 and 32)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
We visited Lagos in April and although the weather was quite cloudy, dont let that one fool you as both my wife and myself arrived back at Manchester with a great tan. The Accomodation is approx a 15 minute walk in to the main town and there is a slight incline.The accomodation was clean and tidy and quite basic. If your stopping on a S/C basis make sure you take an electric kettle as the kettle provided goes on an electric ring and the rings dont get overly hot.
The resort itself is lovely. Ideal for people wishing to do plenty of walking as the streets go on forever. We visited a nice Chinese Resturant just round the corner from the hotel(Out of Hotelm main door, Turn left, to jcn go right and resturant is on the right at roundabout). Well worth a visit if you like chinese food.
Also on the walk into the town as you pass the fire station on the left you will see an Indian resturant on the right. Doesn't look much from the outside, but dont let that fool you. Apart from that most resturants in the town offer the same type of menu.n Mostly fish (well recommend the Swordfish)and meat. Their speciality is Sardines.Typical cost of a meal out for two with wine( Grandjo is their own make and absolutely fantastic) was approximately 40 euros. Beer was varied and priced around 2 euros for a small one to 3 euros for a large.
All in all the resort is fantastic and we will definately be visiting again. Have a great time.
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Beachcombers - Lagos
Operator and Date: Independently - 2007
Opinion submitted in August 2007 by : jerry pollentine
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Beachcombers is a converted country house that was once a club for green bowlers it has 5 apartments two with two bedrooms and 3 with one bedroom. We stayed in the Pool apartment which has a nice size twin bedded room off of which is a big bathroom. There is a comfortable lounge area and a fully equipped kitchen, we could have cooked but Lagos has so many excellent places to eat we never bothered. It was very quiet despite only being 3/4 minutes away from the sea by car. There was a large pool probably 18/20 metres in length with a large sun bathing area. We had regular change of linen during our two weeks and a thorough clean as well. We had 2 small patio areas where we had our breakfasts. There are lots of beaches which we found to be very clean and the main ones have a lifeguard. We did exploring and had beaches totally to ourselves. As said earlier Lagos has many restaurants and we never had a bad meal or poor service.
Overall we had a super holiday, Lagos has a nice feel to it day and night and we never saw any questionable behaviour and we will be returning to Beachcombers have no doubt.
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Bluesky Apartments - Lagos Marina
Operator and Date: CasadoBarlavento/Flybe - June 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : The Price Family - Hereford (52,42,13)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Booked this beautiful apartment on the internet with Casa do Barlavento website, which is an agency that deals in properties for sale/for rent in Portugal. We booked reasonably priced flights with Flybe from Birmingham and everything went without a hitch. Not too impressed with the hire-car company,Amoita- as we hoped to get a Renault Clio or Fiat Punto and ended up yet again with a PEUGEOT 206, which my partly-disabled hubby finds crippling to get in and out of. No one at the airport at 9am on the day of our departure to hand the car over to either.(They don't have a desk, just a lollypop sign that you stand by when you arrive.)
Our apartment was on the ground floor, which was slightly elevated giving us a fabulous view of the Marina. We had two bedrooms, a large spacious living room/ dining room, a smallish kitchen with oven, microwave, washing machine and a huge fridge freezer. The bathroom was a good size and it even had a bath, with a shower over it. The living room and both bedrooms were beautifully air-conditioned, which didn't automatically switch off as soon as the door opened. We had a huge double balcony with patio furniture and a clothes airer/line(very useful). I would have loved a couple of sunloungers on the balcony to enjoy the hot afternoon sun but you can't have it all!!
Included in the price of the rental, were four passes to give you access to the pool/gym at the beautiful Marina Club 4* Hotel just a stones throw away. You are able to top up your tan around the pool, but I don't think beach towels are included, they are probably just for the Hotel's own guests.The bar staff are extremely friendly there and bar prices are not too bad either.
We found a couple of different restaurants during our stay this year, to add to our favourites list. The Navigator was beautiful, however the wine which cost us about 3 euros in supermarket, was priced at 11 euros on our bill. The Italian restaurant in the square, was a lovely place to eat, but it does get extremely busy as it's so good. The Pirate Restaurant in the old part of Lagos was a lovely place too, but does get very busy. We re-visited The Paraiso(in the old part of Lagos) again a few times as the food there is spot on and so are the staff.
A new bar opened in the Marina during our first week, and it is run by Storm who is from Perth, Australia. He is also hoping to get a couple of Catamarans up and running within a few weeks to do tours. The bar is named "Bamboo Too", and well worth a visit as the staff are really lovely and they also show all the major cricket/motor sport/Rugby/Football etc on Sky tv. Don't expect Storm to be all sweetness and light though if Australia has lost!!(My hubby took great pleasure in winding him up on many occasions, especially when Bangladesh beat the Ozzies at cricket!!)It's a lovely bar to relax in and have some fun, but "Happy Hour" had yet to be clarified, on our departure.(Was it 5pm to 7pm or 4pm to 7pm??????) Get Gregg or Glenn to make you a Pina Colada after a few hours sunbathing, and maybe ask to see the cocktail list!!(they will laugh at that one as they didn't have a list when we left).
If you want to telephone home buy a MEGA MINUTOS or ONICard from the supermarkets or papershops, it will save you a fortune. 5 euros last for ages, instead of PT cards or shovelling change into the phone, which last no time at all.
We drove down to Cape St Vincent this year, which was lovely, with breath-taking views out to sea. Lots of stalls selling crafts nearby, ie ponchos, sweaters, ceramics etc.
Stopped for a drink on the way back and admired a wonderful cove, with a golden sandy beach and crystal clear sea, looked as though it could have been the carribbean!
Whilst in Lagos do try and visit Catherine, the Nail Technician. She's English and fabulous at her job. She sells lovely toiletries also. My daughter had a manicure on our second day and it lasted well over three weeks. Her shop is sign-posted from the square, as it's up quite a steep hill.
No doubt we will return to Lagos again soon, as we love it there. It's traditionally Portuguese, with lots of charm.
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Canavial 1 Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: First Choice May 2007
Opinion submitted in May 2007 by : Mary Smith
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Good Restaurants 20 minutes walk away, going towards town centre, there is also a mini-market there, location called Tulip Roundabout. The beach is about 15 minutes away, it is a beautiful bay. From there you can walk to Praia Da Luz along cliff-top, it is about 3-4 miles but is well worth the walk. There is a bus back to Lagos from Luz, we found a time-table in one of the restaurants. The train station in Lagos has trains to Portimao and Silves (the fares are cheap). Silves station is about 30 minute walk from the town centre, but well worth the visit if you are a good walker.
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Casa Kultus, Barrada do Poco - Bensafrim, Lagos
Operator and Date: self catering 2006
Opinion submitted in Mar 2006 by : sue 42, john, beryl
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
we had a top floor apartment, set in a nature reserve. there were many birds including eagles close to the apartment. we could see from the many windows in the apartment.close by is a zoo which has a resturaunt.the best steak i have ever had and a band playing.i can see why sven goran ericcson chose this town to build his hotel in.the apartment is just a short walk from the small portugeuse town.beaches and golf courses are nearby.
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Condominio Mar - Meia Praia
Operator and Date: Private Operator - Sep 2005
Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : Peter Yhang - London (44,38,8)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
The great views and the swimming pools at the bottom of the stairs was great - even kigs crazy golf. Also, 10 minutes walk to the massive Meai Praia beach, will definately be going back soon. Lagos and its marina is very picturesque and full of shops, history and nice restaurants. Hubby was let out on the Palmares golf course net door and we had a great time.
Strongly recommended to all ages.
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Hotel Costa D'Oiro - Lagos
Operator and Date: Kwik Travel - August 2004
Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : Alex Bryce - Glasgow (49 &51)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
This Hotel is mostly used by German/Nordic/Dutch and was probably the cleanest place we have stayed.
The Hotel comprises of about 6 'blocks' each with its own pool and garden area. These 'blocks' are more like grand houses. The rooms were cleaned, really cleaned, daily. Towels changed daily, bed linen 3 times a week. We stayed bed and breakfast and the food was excellent - plenty choice and plenty of it.
The only problem could be the walk to and from Lagos center. The Hotel is situated in a residential area and a good 20 minute walk into centre of town. However, a taxi ride from town only costs 4 Euros. During the day you could either lie by the pools or take a walk to one of the beaches nearby. The pool area in our block was so quiet and peaceful we rarely moved from there.
We found 2 particularly good restaurants in Lagos and must mention them. First is the Swiss Restaurant A Vaca, Rua Silva Lopes (close to the centre) the food is superb and the service first class, and not expensive. The second is a gem of a place - a bit pricey compated to some other places but worth every Euro! It is called No Patio, Rua Lancarote de Freitas, near the Police Station. A very unassuming place but the food has to be the best we have tasted for a long time.
Portugal is, in our opinion, far superior to Spain, it is cleaner is every way and the locals are beautiful people. I would have no hesitation in going back to Lagos.
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Giramar Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Budget Travel(Ireland) June 2006
Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : Mick(43),Claire(41) & Aoife(9)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
The Giramar have just twelve appartments, there are ups & downs to this.The positives are that there is never a problem with sunbeds even though the area around the pool is not very big. One of the minuses is that you tend to get to know everybody and this might not be your cup of tea.
The apartments are all two bedroomed,air-con and tv and are decently furnished. All have two balconies (ours had three due to the fact that we had an end appartment). The complex is part of a small sports centre and as such the pool is enclosed but has a retractable roof which works well,the pool is heated. The area around the pool is small but sufficent due to the small number of apartments.
Lagos is a nice resort, the centre of the resort is closed to traffic and has excellent restaurants, especially if you like fish. The ones that spring to mind are Trangula near the Giramar, Giovannis (Italian)and Venezia(fish & steak) in Lagos town but there are so many go and discover them yourselves.
We intend to go back to Lagos and would not have a problem staying at the Giramar again.
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Private booking - September 2006
Opinion submitted in February 2007 by : Singer - Stockport (55, 54)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Having read some of the other reviews of this apartment block, I would agree that, on arrival, the site is not of a modern appearance. However, our accommodation was in block B overlooking the pool and the sea and the setting could not have been more appealing. We watched the sea in all different lights - the sunrises were magnificent.
Our apartment is privately owned so we had every convenience and comfort. We were very happy with the site - routine 'patrols' (walks round) by the friendly security guards and generally quite quiet. However, we were out of the main season - September - and it was disappointing that the pool wasn't open.
A few hundred yards walk down to the lovely, sandy beach. picturesque rock formations and the coastal path.
15 minutes stroll into Lagos centre with its interesting shops and amazing range of restaurants. Try L'Artista - a little more expensive but special.
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Self- booked April 2006
Opinion submitted in February 2007 by : Mo Whittle - Glossop (53 & 54 )
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We stayed in Lagos in April 2006 and had a wonderful time. We stayed at Iberlagos and, although the entrance is not wildly attractive, our apartment in Block B was fabulous. The verandah overlooked the private swimming pool and then offered breathtaking views out over the small beach and out to sea - wonderful to wake up to each morning!!
The apartment was welcoming and met all our needs and there was lots of useful information and leaflets about the area to aid our planning of days - including info about where to go paragliding - but we decided to give that a miss on this occasion!
If we chose not to enjoy this georgeous view over breakfast from our own verandah, a short 5 minute walk brought us to a friendly little clifftop cafe where we could enjoy a light meal and watch the boats set out to sea and enjoy the fine views from this lovely spot.
In lagos town there are lots of interesting little streets to explore and a wide range of places to eat to satisfy most pockets and palettes - including we veggies who do not always get a lot of choices when holidaying in Eurpoe!! In particular we would strongly recommend the Duquesa with its female chef from Holland ,and the Mediterraneo. Both offer a good range of meat, fish & vegetarian main courses and the Duquesa do fab puddings!!
Travelling along the coast to Cape St Vincent is well worth the time and we recommend stopping off at Luz for lunch in the Fortaleza da Luz - another clifftop restaurant.
In summary we had a lovely relaxing holiday in Lagos and will certainly be looking to return again soon and, if possible, to the same apartment to soak up the wonderful atmosphere and views that we had on our first stay in Lagos - and maybe do some paragliding!! Highly Recommended!!!!
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - September 2005
Opinion submitted in Nov 2005 by : Senga Neave - Balfron (48, 50)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
This was our 17th visit to the Algarve but our first stay in Lagos. We have visited Lagos several times on day outings but thought that this time we would come to stay.
The apartments looked great in the brochure (well done to the photographer)but when the bus arrived at the apartments we thought that we were coming into cell block H. Tired and rundown were our thoughts.
The Rep basically abandoned us at reception.We were duly taken to our ground floor apartment(no sea view), which stank of damp, had no light shades on several lights, mildew/damp patches on the wall,only one dirty two seater settee, a glass dining table with rusty chrome legs, dining chairs with rusty chrome legs, damaged furniture in lounge & bedrooms. We spent our first night there as there was no Rep & reception was closed but we did attend the 'welcome meeting' next morning to air our views to the Rep.She managed to get us another apartment in another block which was better. Maid service/cleaning was almost nil and the towels were only changed once in the week.
You pay a deposit for a pool pass (10 euros per week) but you have to pay an extra 5 euros (per day) if you want a sunbed with a mattress. This extra payment was not stated in the brochure and works out at quite an expensive extra. The pool & area was not kept very clean and many of the sunbeds broken. The pool bar was closed permanently but is still advertised in reception as being open. Most of the apartments are privately owned and can be very noisy with music, dogs etc.
One resident entertained us almost nightly with his loud music plus some frightening entertainment in the form of a fight with some of his guests. Staff in reception are quite surly and not at all helpful when there are problems. There is no telephone in the apartment so who do you call in times of an emergency? The stairs and landings when going to your apartment are very dark and you don't feel safe. When you are departing from the apartments there is normally a room made available for luggage & changing. No changing room is made available here. If you are fortunate the manager will allow the use of the staff toilet.
In all our years of holidaying in the Algarve we have never encountered apartments with conditions such as these and we would never recommend anyone to use them. They have the Portugese & Direct Holiday rating of 3 ticks plus but we think they do not deserve any rating at all.
Lagos itself has plenty to offer and we had a really great time away from the apartments.
We will be back to The Algarve and Lagos but we will not be back to Iberlagos Apartments.
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - May 2005
Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Mark V - Leeds (43, 41, 17, 14)
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Be aware that the Rep probably wont stay on the bus with you all the way, my guess is you will realise why when you get to the entrance (it isnt pretty).
The shop in reception does not have anything, so make sure you get some food and drink in, before you arrive.
The receptonist didnt have a clue where our room was.
The door into your block slams closed, like it is a prison cell, hmmmm.
If you want entertainment nearby - dont go
If you want a whole swimming pool to yourself for the whole of your stay then go, why you have to pay a deposit to enter the pool, i'll never know, only one other family seemed to use it regularily.
Some open electric connections on lights above our apartment door was touchable.
We had the whole Block to ourselves as they are owned by Portugese people who did not use them while we were there, maybe they dont ever use them ?
DH only own approx 20 of the rooms, I cant believe they were all in use as we only saw the same 3 British families each day.
Great atmosphere NOT.
The walk into the town gets boring after the 3rd time.
If you are unhappy, then I am certain you will find the Rep may offer a different accomodation (this will cost half of your spending money).
Finally on the negative points, if you are wanting any life, atmosphere, entertainment then go somewhere else. If your prepared to feel you are the only people on earth for your entire Hols then it is okay. Definately nothing for older teenagers.
Also bare in mind that certain travel agents are not part of ABTA ?
Just to help poor lost souls,
Nearest supermarket, go out of the complex, turn left after the dingy football ground so you go past the dingy campsite (in front of the apartments) and approx 100 metres up this road there is a decent store on the right.
Get a bus to Luz it is much prettier and has a beach wth water sports etc.
Nearest bus stop is agan out of the complex and up to the left. Do not bare left in front of the campsite, carry on up the road about half a mile.
To end, the Lagos marina is pretty,
the Town has some brilliant restaraunts which is the only amusing thing we had to do all week (choose which one we would eat in).
My advice to anyone going to this part of the Algarve is to budget for a hire car for a week to allow you to go to maybe somewhere which has more going for it, i.e Spain OR you could pay for all the expensive Travel Agent deals.
ps Make sure you get the time of departure from your Rep, dont rely on her putting it on the board in reception, we even had hastle regarding this.
I can safely say I wont be going back.
I hope this helps.
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Fairbrother (68, 44, 44, 16, 16.)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
Lagos is lovely but the Iberlagos appartments holiday is a big let down.Staff and rep. unhelpful and accomodation dirty and tired.
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - September 2004
Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : Kieran/Suzanne G (21,21)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Last year we both travelled to Lagos. The flight from Northern Ireland was comfortable & pleasant. On arrival to the apartments, we were very optimistic. Around the reception there where loads of empty units which was an eye-sore to say the least. The lady at reception was pretty rude too, but she did manage to give us correct directions to our room.
We stayed in block C.....which was pretty okay & although we hadnt a 'room with a view' the room was adequate & spacious which a good-sized balcony. For anyone travelling to these apartments-try to pre-book a room in Block A or B as they have great scenic views. The pool at Iberlagos was great & had a fantastic cliff-top view. It seems the further you go from the hotels shabby/dirty entrance the better the place gets!! Food in the Irish bar in the hotel is great & reasonably priced. At the edge of the cliff, travel down a few flights of stairs to the SUPERB picturesque beach. There is also a nice beach club where you can grab a bite to eat or a drink.
Lagos itself is comfortable & relaxing. The fort of the way down from the hotel to the town is a bargain 2euros to catch up on the local history. The mentioned by the rep, bullring is a big NO-NO!!!walked out to it (on the other side of the marina) took one look & walked away!the marina was excellent & the little scottish cake place was great. The trip out to the caves on boat was great also but **BEWARE - THE LAGOS DVD we bought at the marina shop (beside Pizza Hut) was FAULTY***
Another great thing about Lagos is the pretty water feature at the entrance to the town. The best present, in my opinion is the artwork available to buy from the local artist, who appears in a doorway near the chinese restaurant in the town. Bought 4 great little paintings....all look FAB!
All in all-would defiantely try Lagos & other towns (Alvor, Portimao etc.) if you havent been to the Algarve before but the Iberlagos Apartments are only suitable if you get a room in Blocks A-D only!!
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - August 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Jane Stachini - Elstree (41,32,5,3)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We have just come back from the beautiful Portugal and had a lovely time.
The apartments were very spacious but basic and we overlooked the camp site which we worried would cause a lot of noise but they were fine. The downside to the apartments is that bedding is only changed once a week and the towels twice a week which I think is not adequate. Whilst we stayed a lot of people were demanding to be moved as we (and myself) were not aware the majority of the apartments were Portugese holiday homes and they were very noisy til the early hours with children, teenagers and dogs. On the whole if the bedding and towels were changed more regularly I would have been very happy. Another downside was having to pay 4eu each for the beds to sit around the pool and extra for a brolley. If you calculated this over a two week stay it is very expensive and I think very cheeky as we were staying at the apartments.
I would no way book with Direct Holidays again as the Rep was the most unhelpful person I have ever met when I complained to him regarding the towels and bedding.
We had a lovely holdiay though and would definately go back to Portugal but with a different tour operator.
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (First Choice Discounts) First Choice - July 2004
Opinion submitted in Nov 2004 by : Glasgow - 44, 43, 16, 16
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
Lagos is a charming town with plenty of good restaurants and lovely sandy beaches. We had visited the town on previous trips to the Algarve.
However, the Iberlagos Apartments were awful. They are situated on a beautiful spot close to one of the nicest beaches in the Algarve but block J is an ugly breeze block building overlooking a camp site. To be fair the camp site wasn't that noisy but the other inhabitants of the apartments were! We were situated on the 2nd floor beside the dark dingy stairwell and lift and were kept awake evey night with people returnig to their apartments at all hours - even over two 16 year old boys complained about the noise!
The apartment was also dark & dreary and was poorly equipped. We complained immediately to the management and the First choice rep and asked to be moved on a daily basis - with no success. On the 4th day of our holiday, when voicing our concerns that the apartment had a gas boiler in a cupboard, we were informed by the rep that First Choice did not put guests in apartments with gas boilers. We thought - now they'll have to move us -but no, they just fitted a new electric boiler which didn't work and added to our misery!
Upon our return we complained to First Choice and were told that it was an due to an administrative error that we were put in the apartment. We have received some compensation but we will never, ever return to the Iberlagos Apartments and I would advise anyone booking these apartments to check if their apartment is going to be in block J or go somewhere else!
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - July 2004
Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : Marie Coyne - Clayton-le-Woods (50, 50, 13)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We have just spent two great weeks in Lagos. The appartment was brilliant very clean with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms for 3 of us, and because it was a late booking no extra to pay.
We never saw the rep which suited us fine, but if you are into lots of entertainment, bingo and daytime activities this will not be for you. Also there was nothing for young children apart for a great pool and a pool table also inflatables are not allowed in the pool, again this all suited us fine.
The pool bar had just reopened as an Irish bar running karoke every night. (We gave that a miss) also a nice restaurant on the beach.
Facilities at the appartments are limited, there is a small shop selling basics, we walked to the nearest intermarche and stocked up on beer, wine and basics and got a taxi back at 4e.
The beach below the pool area is sandy, watch out for the rocks when swimming at low tide.
Lagos is fabulous and comes alive at night with street entertainers. The restaurants are great, chicken piri-piri is a must. We recomend the Millenium Jardin for a great meal and friendly staff.
A great holiday for the adults a bit boring for our 13 yr old.
Our next hol is in Cyprus in Feb it will have a lot to live up to.
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: July 2004
Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : Lincolnshire Party, 59, 57, 40, 35, 6, 8
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
We have been to these appartments before and got into the front blocks, but First Choice have only access to the back appartments, and these are not good.
They overlook a campsite at the back and the noise is horrendous. However, Direct Holidays seemed to get a better deal on appartments.
The resort is excellent and the beaches are too. I would return to Lagos but unfortunately not to the Iberlagos unless with Direct holidays. The street entertaining is brilliant for the kids and Lagos still retains its appeal. Restaurants are good, better that the odd English ones.
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (First Choice Discounts) First Choice - June 2004
Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : Tim & Yvonne (45) - Wolverhampton
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Poor
My/Our Holiday Review:
This was the third time we'd been to these apartments. It will also be our last.
Unless anything has changed over the winter months, these apartments are starting to look tired and tatty. More importantly the service has become lacklustre. Having abandoned their holiday, a young couple from the apartment next door left it in a disgusting state. The terrace was a awash with their litter, including an overturned bin and towels. Despite reporting this to the management immediately, the mess was left for nearly a week. Indeed, the manager seemed quite put out that we'd complained.
The hotplate in the apartment made for hours of fun, tripping out all power when used. Luckily we ate out most nights.
We'd also agree with the comments concerning block J at the rear of the development.
On the positive side, the pool is large and clean, and the gardens well maintained. Praia Donna Ana beach is 2 minutes walk and very pretty.
Lagos itself is well worth our fourth visit next year and we can't add much more than has already been said. What better recommendation can you give than to return so many times!
On the subject of restaurants.There are many to suit all pockets, although we'd recommend you take a look away from the main 'drag'.
If you're looking to have a nice relaxing drink with friendly service, we wholly recommend Bar53 (run by a British couple). You'll find it not far from the town centre on Rua Cadido Dos Reis.
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - June 2004
Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : David Dalziel - Glasgow
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
This was our second visit to Lagos and we enjoyed this holiday very much. The accommodation in the Iberlagos apartments was spacious and clean. The gardens around the accommodation was lovely and well managed. The staff were also very pleasant and helpful.
The pool and beach are just a few minutes walk but may not be suitable for the elderly or infirm due to the stairs to reach them.
During our stay, the poolside snack bar was closed but this was due to the fact that there were very few guests.
The restaurant at the beach, however was open for business and highly reccommended for lunch or just to give you a break from sunbathing.
The beach (Praia D.Ana) is probably the most beautiful beach in the Algarve and a great place to spend your holiday...much better than the pool!!
Lagos town is about a 15 minute walk in the evening if you are going out for a meal. There is a huge choice of restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets and we found that the quality of food and service was very good as was the prices.....very reasonable!
We found Lagos to be a very relaxing and enjoyable destination and we will certainly return again.
If you need to relax and want to 'chill' Lagos is perfect!
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (First Choice Discounts) First Choice-june 04
Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : lindsey dunwell 32,44,26,14,5
Resort Rating: Average
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
just come back from iberlagos apts pool bar was closed we couldn't eat or drink any of our own food around the pool area wasn.t even aloud lilos in the pool.if you stay here in a family room you are about a mile away from the pool and beach.
if you go into the centre of lagos you have a steep hill to climb or a taxi which is 4 euros in 2 weeks we have spent over 100 pound on taxis getting up the hill on a night.would not recommend these apts if you have got walking difficulties or loaded
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Iberlagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Direct Holidays) Direct Holidays - 2004
Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Carol Boyd - Enniskillen (42, 21, 20, 14, 9)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Apartments were really clean and quite, although on first impressions from the coach you see only grafiti and barron ground. We had a lovely appartment with a large balcony overlooking pool which had 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms also 2 fans already in rooms.
Really hot weather, pool was really massive with hardly anyone in the pool(although no rings etc allowed in pool) also no poolside bar. Beach was a few minutes walk away, beach was beautiful (Praia d ana) not many people on the beach, lovely and peaceful also a beach bar with lovely food. No noise at the appartments either.
The town has plenty of small shops and a lovely marina. It was the best holiday we ever had and we would go back next year. Also visited slide and splash which was briliant, Zoo marina was ok, but it was too long a day as the bus drops you off at 10.00am and doesnt come back till 5.00pm and the noise in the food hall was unbearable, not enough to do for 7 hours and not much places to sit away from the very hot sun.
Only one small complaint about appartments, we had to be out of our rooms at 10.00am the day we were leaving and the coach to bring us to the airport was not due till 4.00pm we had to sit outside or in the reception area for 6 hours and they had lost the key to the toilets that were situated in reception area.
Not suitable holiday for people looking for lively night life.
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Marina Club Suites - Lagos
Operator and Date: Expedia - July 2007
Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : Gwen Guy (31,37,10,7)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
We have just returned from a fantastic holiday to these apartments. We found them to be clean, spacious and very well maintained. The apartments have a very laid back atmosphere which was just what we were looking for, however if you are travelling with kids who need entertainment these are not the apartments for you as there is no kids club or mini disco etc. Our kids were quite happy with the pool and we wouldn't hesitate to go back. The apartments are a 10 minute walk to the center and maybe 15 mins to the beach, which is well worth a visit as it is one of the most beautiful we have ever seen.
The resort of Lagos has something for everyone and we found it to be better value than the Balerics or Canaries. Lazy Jacks at the Marina is great for a drink or meal and the live music and friendly staff make for a great night. If you like curry visit Shimalays, this is one of the best currys we have ever had. We didn't have a bad meal all holiday but watch out for the beggars that come round as you are eating your meal.
All in all a great holiday fantastic accomodation and a lovely laid back resort, we will definetly be back.
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Marina Club Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Sunworld - June 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : J Matt (44,40, 11, 8)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Apartments - very clean, air conditioned, cleaned regularly, spacious, classy and comfortable.
Lagos - full of resturants with good food at extremely good prices. Great if you like fish.
Around - Plenty of excursions possible - we went to Zoomarine and Slide and Splash. Slide and Splash is good fun, but if you remove the dolphin show from Zoomarine, there's not a lot else there. You can do it in a half a day.
The only complaint that I had on this holiday was the pool at the Marina Club. Most of it is six foot deep, there is a very small five foot section, and then a paddling area. It should be the other way around. Anyone who is not a strong swimmer and anyone with kids are all congregated into one very small part of the pool, while the deep section is almost completely empty.
People who design pools for holiday apartments should remember that a large portion of those around the pool probably can't swim. I can swim, by the way - this was something I noticed as my wife is not a strong swimmer and does not like being out of her depth.
I would go back to the Marina Club and Lagos.
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Marina Club Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Alpharooms.conm - June 2006
Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : M, D, O & S - Lancashire (36,34,6,3)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
The Marina Club Hotel is classy, immaculately clean and spacious. The Marina area is pleasant and sophisticated without any pretence, and is a short walk from the centre of town.
The Marina Club is ten minutes walk from the centre of Lagos town and fifteen minutes from Meia Praia Beach which must be one of the finest beaches in Europe. We had a couple of days on the beach where the surf was ideal for surfers and nothing else, but on the other days the sea was as calm as a duckpond, and great for the kids as the gentle incline of the bay means you are quite a way out before the sea is even chest deep.
The pool area is clean and well presented and the larger pool and small childens pool are again immaculately clean. There are always plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas to go round so there is no annoying early start to get your towels in the prime spots! Don't forget to get your complimentary towels from the Health Club desk. There is a pool bar and the Regatta Bar overlooking the pool serves a wide range of reasonably priced top quality food and drinks in a very well presented stylish bar area.
We didn't have a bad meal in our whole visit. We found Portugal to be cheap in comparison to Home, Spain, Canaries, Greece or France. Recommended restaurant - Os Arcos the orange and green chairs out front, also most of the restaurants on that street in the Centre of Lagos were good. On the Marina, Do Cais Bistro was nice food but overpriced compared to everywhere else. The owner/table booker was rather arrogant too!
For days out the Zoomarina park was a full fun packed day, we also had a day going up the Monchique Mountains which was well worth the drive.
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Marina Club Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Sunworld - September 2004
Opinion submitted in Nov 2004 by : Tia & Michael Horan (36,36)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
The Marina Club is an excellent property, well located right on the Marina in Lagos just a stones throw from the town centre.
The apartments are large and well furnished with modern decor. We enjoyed our large balcony with view to the pool and lovely evening sun.
The pool area is spacious with plenty of comfortable sunbeds and umbrellas. The pool was large but cold - good for the circulation!!!
The was a children's pool but I don't think the complex was very suitable for children due the proximity of the marina.
These apartments are best suited to adults.
Having been to Lagos before I was glad to see it hadn't changed - still buzzy and interesting.
There were a few new restaurants - Artista is lovely for a special meal and the Italian in the town centre is good value if you don't mind a bit of a queue.
Try the simple fish restaurants at the port - near the apartments. They look like garages but we sampled the most exquisite fish - bursting with freshness there for next to nothing!
We will be back!
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Marina Park - Lagos
Operator and Date: Thomas Cook - July 2007
Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : Amy ( 8 girls all aged 18)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
TAXI's - taxi's from the main centre of lagos to the Marina Park Apts were generally no more than 4 euros - sooooo worth it means the climbing of the hill is unnecessary!!! we also got a taxi's to Prai De Luz for the day BEWARE the taxi there is fairly cheap (10 euros tops) but trying to find taxi when you want to come home is difficult if you need more than one taxi (we convinced the one taxi we found to ring another driver so we could get home) - taxi rank is in front of the huge yellow church in Prai De Luz. it was easy to get a taxi from the apartments as the reception will ring one for you by you simply asking they were extremely helpful throughout the holiday!!!!
Lagos - we found it was usually about 15 minute walk tops to get to the main town and this was 8 girls all gossiping on the way down!!!! food here we found is great - apart from Spagetti Bolognese - give it a miss in most places!!!!we found a little pizzeria opposite the green tiled building - usually a queue but worth it - great value for money and the pizza and pasta is the best!!!
Nightlife - not what you expect!!!! head up the cobbled streets and wait for people to give you flyers - this way they show you where the bars are - believe me its hard to find them at first!!!!! there are loads of little bars - i emphasise little they are small but crammed with people!!! there are usually deals on drinks in most!!!! we liked 'Red Eye' (an Aussi Bar), 'whytes' and we loved the Regae Bar ( right near Grand Cafe) the longer you spend in there the more you feel like family and the better deal you get on drinks!!!! was ok and you'll find the rest !!! as for dancing - not the best place for it but if you want to like we did - we always headed to 'Grand Cafe' - gets busy and good about 2am and there is usually decent music on here too!!!!!! another thing you'll notice is the huge amount of Australian people - actaully think there maybe more of them than there is portugese!!!! all travelling europe usually!!!
NOTE TO YOUNG GIRLS - just be careful in placeslike grand cafe - we found some guys to be lets say very forward - just make sure you give them a stern NO and they usually back away!!!!!
Have to say all in all we loved the holiday and are talking of maybe going back next year!!!!!!! the hill maybe little steep - but is fine for walking down and its cheap to get taxi's up it!!!!!!
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Marina Park - Lagos
Operator and Date: Self - Aug 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Kevin - Doncaster (42,42,8)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Having read the reports from this site we thought we couldn't go wrong, and generally that proved to be the case.
There are many apartments on the site and noise levels are reasonable. However one note of caution, due to the concrete/tiled floors you can clearly hear the noise and activity from neighbouring apartments and it can become frustrating. The complex is on a steep hill and a car is useful, although parking it in the town is another matter.
The pool area is very nice, clean and spacious with plenty of free sun beds. The pool side bar has reasonable prices and provides basic snacks that are fine. At the gates of the complex is a mini market that provides the essentials although a little costly.Best to walk to a large supermarket called Pino Doce - down the hill, right at the roundabout walk for a couple of hundred yards and you will see it towards your left - good prices, massive choice.
Eating out is great, loads of choice & best to try for yourself. We were recommended "O'Alberto's" by some Portuguese, this was excellent, fresh hot food that you can see being prepared in the kitchen - try the red housewine too!Location is a little off the busy area, you will find it further behind the bus station (rear of Hotel Tivoli). Definitely avoid "Portal do Infante" on the marina, poor food but with service that was even worse. Pizza Hut best avoided too - very busy with slow service-our order was lost!
Numerous trips out, dolphin trip well worth it (if you see them). We booked with Seafari on the marina, cheaper and friendlier than their neighbours (adults ?30 children ?20). Beach fantastic and sea generally safe for children although it can be choppy some days. Beach bars fine, Linda's do good sandwiches. A fun day can be had at slide n splash although the queues for rides can be long. You can get 15% off admission prices if you buy tickets in advance, there is an agent on the marina front who supplies them.
All in all a great resort with reasonable accommodation, hope this report helps.
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Marina Park - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook - July 2006
Opinion submitted in August 2006 by : Robb Family - Stirling (47, 45, 18, 15)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We had a great holiday. The beach is a good 15min walk from the apartments but it is worth the walk. The apartments are cleaned twice a week with clean linen and towels.The apartments blocks are set out well the only thing at the monent is the there is building work going on so if you are in blocks (6 to 10) it could be a bit noisy it did not bother us to much as we where out most of the day.
They now have a mini market on site which has the basic to get started open 8am to 8pm.
The restaurants we liked to eat at where Adhega de Marina good food and cheap. Italiano fab pizza and pastas to many to choose from.
On the walk back to apartments at night stop off at Lazy Jacks situated in the marina nice young people behind bar very friendly.
Dolphin and caves trips are a must.
We hired a car and went to Silves, Luz, Carvoeiro, Portimao and Alvor, all worth a visit. We hired the car on the internet before we left much cheaper.
Good time had by all will be back.
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Marina Park - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook - May 2006
Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : Caroline Nall - Kettering (45, 33)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
FANTASTIC!!
We couldn't fault anything if we tried. Even though we normally go for small (maximum of 20 apartments) accommodation we stayed at the Marina Park and we are SO glad that we did. Spacious apartments, full kitchen (with oven, washing machine, toaster etc), beautiful balcony overlooking the marina, landscaped grounds, clean beyond believe and the quietest accommodation we have ever had anywhere in the world. For such a large place, all you could hear on your balcony was the birds singing. Just incase you need anything at all during your stay there is an exceedingly helpful reception open from 8am till 8pm and a night porter/security guard from 8pm to 8am.
Resort was superb. Don't listebn to all the hype about the Portugese being bad drivers and the roads being dangerous, we did about 3oo miles and never encountered anything but polite road users. Unlike the Greek islands, it is cheaper to book your car this end rather than getting it when you get to the resort. Do take out the extra insurance policy when you hire a vehicle as the excess amounts can be huge. Worth checking.
Wouldn't recommend the Marina Park for anybody who doesn't intend to hire a car and doesn't like hill walking, as the hill to the apartments from the town is quite steep.
I wouldn't recommend the O'Charcoal Restaurant we didn't have a good meal there, but discovered the 'Infante' Restaurant next door and ate there every night for the rest of the holiday. Excellent local cuisine, friendly helpful staff, middle of the road prices. Try the Monkfish in mild curry sauce, absolutely amazing..
Couldn't recommend this accommodation or resort more if I tried. We loved it.
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Marina Park - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) JMC September 2005
Opinion submitted in Jan 2006 by : Debbie & Duncan (33,37) Bedford
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
These were the best apartments we've stayed in. Virtually brand new and no sign of wear'n'tear. Air-con in bedroom and living area, no extra charge, never had that before. Washing machine, 4 ring hob, oven, iron, TV with afew English speaking channels eg Sky24, MTV BBC. The beds were good and firm with no dip in the middle that you can't roll out of! Hot water seemed no problem.
The pool area was alright, though I can image at peak times you could be fighting for sunbeds. The bar was clean, the food was limited but it did do toasties. sandwiches and burgers but remember the apartments are self-catering! The worst thing about the complex I would say was that it was on top of a hill, if you went anywhere you had to go down it, that means you had to come up it. So after a hard day at the beach, having detoured to the supermarket carrying 5ltr water it knackered you. We walked it at lest twice a day but I've got to admit its the first hol I've not put on wieght, so go for it! Though the people going in 2006 might have it easier, we noticed amoung the empty parade of shops outside the entrance one was being done up looking like it might a mini-mart.
The marina is nice, Do Cais resturant lovely meal, pricey but good. the bar at the other end was alright too. We used it as a rest stop coming home from the old town (the hill)! The beach was good, plenty of room, looked like miles of it, Linda's Beach bar was friendly and excellent food.
Over all not bad holiday, alot of walking or hire a car and take something to wrap up in, in the evening gets chilly because of the winds!
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Marina Park - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) JMC August 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Mandy and Pete 43,55,16,13
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We arrived at Marina Park 8.45pm on Saturday evening. Reception stayed open to book us in, There were no safety deposit boxes on site at all which meant us carrying passports, money etc around all the time. ~The appartments were excellent and very clean with lovely views from the balcony. However, there was one pool to accommodate 27 blocks of appartments and one pool side bar with limited food availability. There was no entertainment on the complex at all, no phone box and a ten minute walk into the Marina down a steep hill. It was very hot so coming back up the hill proved a pain. There was no drinking water available in the appartment and at that time of night the nearest supplier we found was a garage in the centre of the resort, approximately 15 mins walk away. The beach was excellent and Lindas bar on the beach supplied lovely food, again though it was a good half hour walk from the appts.
The highlight of our week was a trip on the Tornado boat to see the Dolphins, that was fantastic.
Lagos is a lovely resort and the appts great, I would suggest car hire though for ease of carrying water etc back to the complex. Or a shop near to the top of the hill as it is obviously an up and coming area.
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Marina Park - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook - 2005
Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Walker (familiy of six)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
The holiday was lovely. From beginning to end. The apartment had everything for the us, it was like home from home. We used reception staff to book excursions like Zoo Marine, etc.
We ate out locally, most of the time, and didn't hire a car as the beach was about a 20 minute walk from the apartment. Just a word of advice. The supermarket is 20 minute walk also. The worst part was the transportation from the airport to the apartment as Marina Park is the furthest therefore, last drop off and it took 2 hours.
Lagos is a lovely town, good mix of old and new. the marina is gorgeous, people are friendly, food is great. Definately worth a visit.
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Marina Park - Lagos
Operator and Date: (JMC Discounts) JMC-aug 2004
Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : D Dawkes-(39,39,10,7,4)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
These apartments are new and everything about them was brilliant.Huge bedrooms and nice equipment,even an ironing board and iron,tog with washing machine and dishwasher.
We had fresh linen and towels twice weekly and maid service cleaned the apartment every day apart from weekends!!!
It was a 10 minute walk downhill to the main resort of Lagos and the marina and all the restaurants.Wonderful resort ,very clean and pretty.
The nicest resort we've stayed in in years.
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Marina Park - Lagos
Operator and Date: marinaparklagos.com - May 2004
Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Pauline Walker - Coventry
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
I booked this holiday direct through the apartment owners. I organised cheap flights and picked up a car at the airport. A much nicer way to travel than sitting on a coach for hours visiting all the other resorts along the way! Arrived at the apartment and was met and shown the apartment. The apartment was fairly new and furnished to a high standard. Had all the equipment we needed including a hairdryer, iron, ironing board, microwave, dvd player and cd player, even jigsaw puzzles!
First time I have visited Lagos, and will definately be returning next year.
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Marina Rio - Lagos
Operator and Date: (First Choice Discounts) First Choice- July 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Traci - Leeds (34,35)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Great location opposite the marina however it is also in front of the bus station. The hotel was very spacious and clean, friendly staff, roof terrace for sunbathing and a small pool at the other side on the roof! B&B continental style breakfast. Rooms good size with balcony either overlooking the marina or the bus station. We got the bus station so didn't sit out on the balcony as it was very busy and everyone could see you.
My only complaint was the noise on a night from the reception and around the hotel in general, it has an open staircase which amplifies the slightest sound so we were woken every night by arrivals, departures and friends and family of the staff on reception. We stayed on the first floor right at the top of the stairs but I think if you had the second or third floor or you were a heavy sleeper you would be ok. A couple of times we were woken by dogs barking and bus alarms but we met two couples who had a marina view and said the road was noisy aswell.
Only a short walk to the centre I won't waffle on about it as all the other reviews say the same things about Lagos. Lovley beaches our favourite was Donna Anna with lots of coves the others were very windy and you got covered in sand. Go on the dolphin seafari if you get chance we saw about 40 dolphins and you get to go on a very fast lifeboat for 1 & 1/2 hours for about £23. One good thing about staying next to the bus station is you can go to other resorts for the day, we went to Portimao, lots of shoe shops and a shopping mall but looks like a lot of tower blocks, not very nice!
Try some of the restaurants on the road behind the bus station O Artista served good food and the staff were friendly. These were cheaper and nicer than the centre. Don't expect many quiet relaxing bars all the ones in the centre are small dark disco bars a lot like spain, suprising really when the average age of visitors to Lagos seemed to be 40-65, We liked stevie Rays Bar, expensive but good coctails and nice and relaxing.
Overall a nice resort with good beaches and plenty of good restaurants, just not for you if you want a cheap peaceful holiday.
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Marina Sao Roque - Lagos
Operator and Date: Travel Counsellors - May 2005
Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : Kerry Fenton - Rotherham (34, 36)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Just back from Lagos - Again !! This is the first time we've booked these aptms but we will def be back the same time next year ! Fantastic location, food and staff. The only down side was the room we had did'nt have a balcony, although in May its not warm enough to sit out late at night but in the summer it would be a bind, no where to dry swimwear and towels. The place is spotless. Linen and towels changed regularly. Pool area clean and quiet, and the breakfast room beautiful. 5 minute walk to the marina and not much further to the beach.
Would highly recommend this accom to anyone !!
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Marina Sao Roque - Lagos
Operator and Date: jet2.com - 2004 / 5
Opinion submitted in May 2005 by : karenwaller45 paul batson 47 -grimsby
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
very friendly hotel 33 rooms in all own pool so no sharing only ones in pool so great, breakfast excellent lots of choice cereal, continental coffoe tea lots of choice to set you up for the day in the algarve. rooms comfortable overlooking pool would recommend to friends
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Monte D'oiro Refugio Design Hotel
Operator and Date: No Tour Operator - Oct 2006
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : Sue Brazier - 41, 45
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Good points:
We found the Hotel interior stunning, spotlessly clean at all times & of high quality, and the rooms are large and minimalist.Impressively modern!. We just loved the quietness of the area, definately a hide-away place for couples! Not a child in sight...and no banging hotel doors to wake you up, it seems that residents just know not to make a load of noise at night...so you'll get a good nights sleep! And the beds are comfortable.
Good location, but you will definately need a car/moped to get around as you are about 30mins walk into Lagos, 80min walk to Dona Ana beach (best beach in Lagos, gorgeous!).It will take just minutes in a car so the location of the hotel is not a problem, it's a benefit being away from the tourist areas. Failing getting a car, taxi into Lagos was only 4 euros, Dona Ana beach 7 euros.
Not so good points:
The Hotel was advertised on the website as having 24hr Room service..that did not happen! If you want something, you are told to come & get it! No hardship but false advertising...hmm. We did dispute this but were met with a definate NO !
Breakfast was lovely, but the fruit was not fresh/changed in the week that we were there,so best to leave that alone.
Although there are electricity cables above the pool area, we did not use the pool so it wasn't an issue for us, but I can understand it causing some concern.
There is a jacuzzi but we didn't use it as it was not heated.
All in all, a great holiday in a beautiful hotel. Would definatley go back.
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Monter DÓiro - Nr lagos
Operator and Date: Privater booking - 2004
Opinion submitted in Dec 2004 by : Neil Hamilton ( 45 / 47 )
Resort Rating: Poor
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
We booked the Apartments Monte DÓiro direct with the Portuguse Owners. What we did not know was that it was a 25 minute walk to town, the pool is under high ternsion electric cabvles that crackled all day and night especially if there is some static in the air.
How on earth they got a licnese to build a Hotel under High tension Power lines I will never know, that is assuming they got a licese to build..
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Porta Da Villa Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Style - July 2007
Opinion submitted in August 2007 by : Chris Dobson - Sheffield (51,49,18,15)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
The apartment was very spacious and generally comfortable and security was good as we were given our own key to the outside door, which was locked at all times. The swimming pool was a reasonable size and very clean with plenty of spare sunbeds at all times.
On the negative side though, our shower tray was an old enamel one which was badly stained and had rusty patches that had been unsucessfully touched up with paint - not very pleasant to stand in! On our arrival, there were hairs in the soap dish and shampoo bottle tops on the window ledge from the previous occupants. The towels were rarely changed - I think we had three sets in 14 days.
The apartments are convenient for shops and restaurants but would not be suitable for people with walking difficulties as the area is very hilly and the nearby coves are accessed down very steep steps.
This was our first trip to the Algarve and we would highly recommend it. We'd expected meals to be quite pricey but they were much cheaper than Britain and the food was consistently freshly prepared. Lagos has the best of both worlds as it has a number of tiny rocky coves but also a long sandy beach. The end of Lagos nearest the apartments is quite quaint and unspoilt with narrow cobbled streets but the far end of Lagos has a large marina and modern buildings giving it a more affluent feel. Boat trips to the grottos are inexpensive and worth doing. You can take boat trips to see the dolphins which are good but a little pricey(don't pay the first price quoted as we managed to get them to come down by 30 euros just by hesitating)
We'll definately be returning to the Algarve and would recommend Lagos.
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Porta Da Villa Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Style Holidays - September 2006
Opinion submitted in Aug 2006 by :
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
Just returned from Porta da Vila - apartments quite dirty, room was not ready on arrival had to wait over 2 hours then it still wasnt very clean! Pool was also dirty - but we soon realised why. Major building works in three separate buildings next to the apartments - dust, dirt and debris was coming from these building sites. Our balcony and roof top terrace were totally out of bounds for the whole week because of the noise and dirt. Pnematic drills and other heavy tools being used from 7.30am to 6.30pm every day. One of the building sites is directly next to the apartments and the noise is unbearable. Heavy lorries take away debris every 15 minutes from the building sites so no chance of any peace.
Lagos itself is a lovely resort and would definitely vist again but not the Porta da Vila. Our first and last holiday with Style - rep was no help whatsoever - told us to take matters us with our travel agent on return home if we were not happy.
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Porta Da Villa Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: Skytours, August 2005
Opinion submitted in June 2006 by : Jenni Long, Lesley and Marc Poulaud, 2 kids age 10 ,2 kids age 6, 1 year old
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
The picture in the Skytours brochure looked fantastic and as the holiday cost £4000 for the 2 families we were expecting top notch accommodation. We were disappointed. The apartments are right at the top of a steep hill which was murder with a pushchair and young children. The apartments were in need of updating - peeling paint and quite grubby (pubic hairs left in bidet!)inside. The views were spectacular but there were no balconies!! My airconditioning didn't work properly. The pool was very small and impossible to get a sunbed which remained in the sun all day.
The resort was o.k, the beach was nice but required a little boat to get to it. Once there there was only one retaurant nearby. The resort was very busy at night so it was difficult to get a table for such a big group.
Overall I didn't rate the resort as highly as Alvor or Luz and wouldn't go back.
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Porta Da Villa Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: STYLE - Date Not Specified
Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : CHRIS AND NICOLA 32,33
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
This was a second visit, and just as good as the first. The rooms vary in layout, and we were lucky enough to have a room with a roof terrace, and could look out over the sea, and could see how far the Meia Praia beach streched (2.5kms)approx. Accomodation cleaned every day but fresh towels no so frequent. Staff very helpful and friendly. Lovely snacks at poolside cafe. Streets are steep and cobbled, and the Porta da Vila is situated within the historic town walls and is set amoung the locals houses.
Lagos town is about a 10 minute stroll away, not at all built up and still very traditional looking, not spoilt by tourism. Loads of cafes and restaurants to choose from both night and day, completely spoilt for choice. Trains are very comfortable, clean and easy to use, we went to Portimao a few times, nice to get back to Lagos though. There are 2 good supermarkets in town also little convenience style shops very close to Porta da Vila.
The main beach is Meia Praia, you get a little boat over for 50 cents each. Very long and not too busy. Other small beaches odd ones are a bit tricky to get to though. Hired a car from a company in town as this was cheaper than booking with the rep. Roads don't seem over busy when you get out of town so it wasn't too nailbiting.
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Solar De Mos Hotel - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thompson Fly October 2006
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : Ralph 54 & Bev 45
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
we arrived at Faro airport 12noon by 12.45 we had collect our luggage and sorted out our hire car, and hey presto at 2pm sat by the wonderful pool bar drinking beers. Solar de Mos is a wondeful relaxing Hotel we were made very welcome by Lina & Carlos. The baguettes are fantastic.
Our room was fantastic over looking the pool at the end wow. The rooms are a little on the small side, just manageable for 2 for a week possibly longer! Could do with more drawer space and coat hangers! but othewrwise extremely comfortable. Towels changed every day. Beach towel service available, Carlos cooks to order with Fresh fish and ingredients each night as required by the guests,the choclotae fondue and fruit is to die for. We stuck mainly to our guide books and ate at Mullins twice, an English owned, Portugese bar/eatery the Beef Mozambique is fab, the guy that owned the bar, this was his own receipe, and is recommended to eat here and try this dish. The place you must eat is at No Patio, Martin the owner is british trained in the swallow Hotel Group. The meals (which we also ate twice there) was second to none, one must not go to Lagos and not try this fantastic restaurant, beautifully presented and service cannot fault, evereything was impeccable and the food was to die for. We also ate at the piri piri, although we didnt have, the Cataplana (fish stew)it looked fantastic The town is a little quiet in the evenings, possibly as it was October and seem to wind down 10.30/11pm although there are english bars/nite clubs which remain open till late
we visted a few of the many beachs, Porto de Moss, Castelajo. Didn't like the town beach prai dona, it may be renowned for it pictue postcard, but its far too crowded even in october! give it a miss. We loved Solar de Moss and Lagos so much that as we left we booked to go back in May 07.
Would definatly recommend
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Solar De Mos Hotel - Lagos
Operator and Date: Independent - September 2006
Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : Keith Sawdon - Lincolnshire ( 55,50)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Please believe everything you have read about the Solar de Mos. It is a little gem!!
Carlos & his sister Lena prefer to think of their guests as friends, as so many people return year after year. The hotel is very inviting and homely, being decorated in authentic Portuguese style. The 15 spacious bedrooms all have balconies or terraces (2 bedrooms on ground floor) and are kept spotlessly clean every day. The hotel is marketed as a B&B, but Lena provides excellent lunchtime snacks and Carlos, being a proficient chef, provides excellent dinners, which you must pre-book before midday. There is a large sun terrace with free sun beds & parasols, and a very clean swimming pool. A very comfortable lounge with TV, and a small library created from the books left by previous guests.
The friendliness and efficiency of the staff cannot be overstated. Everyone is made to feel like one of the family. The bar is open midday to midnight, and Carlos really enjoys being barman once he has finished cooking the dinners.
A ten minute walk will take you to a small collection of restaurants ( 1 chinese) and a further 15 minutes takes you to the "Old Town". This is the centre for shopping and for bars & restaurants. Our favourite was the "Jotta 13" restaurant on the main street (Rua de Abril). Many people rave about "Sebastians" at the other end of the main street, but to be honest, we didn't think much to its small portions. Also it seemed too busy for small number of staff. The other customers appeared to be mainly affluent older men, trying to impress their ladies!!
Overall, a good enjoyable holiday. On the day we left for home, we had to leave the hotel at 7am (before breakfast), so Carlos arranged sandwiches & fruit for our journey, a very nice touch. There are two disappointing things, firstly, the uphill walk back to the hotel (known as the cardiac walk!!), and secondly, the large number of stray dogs in Lagos producing the inevitable "fouling" of the footpaths ... be careful !!
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Solar De Mos Hotel - Lagos
Operator and Date: Independent travellers - August 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : H&H families, 46,46,45,44,17,16,14,14,11,10
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
Having been helped in our choice of holiday by reading other reviews of this hotel we wondered if it really could live up to all the praise. We need not have worried. The hotel is a real find. Our rooms were spacious and spotlessly clean. The food was very good - plenty of choice for breakfast, and excellent bar snack and dinner menu. Best of all was 'barbeque'night. I didn't think I'd ever need to eat again! All the staff were so friendly and helpful -nothing was too much trouble (even for our party of 10!).The kids loved the pool area which we almost always had to ourselves. Absolutely no trouble getting a lounger in a good spot!
Lagos is a very pleasant town with fantastic beaches,(make sure you go on a trip in a small boat to visit the grottoes - well worth it), plenty of shops and a huge choice of decent restaurants.
One tip for the independent traveller - we found it much cheaper to fly to Lisbon than to Faro. Lisbon to Lagos is an easy drive, about 3 hours. We returned to Lisbon by train, reliable, cheap and a good way to see something of the country.
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Solar De Mos Hotel - Lagos
Operator and Date: December 2005
Opinion submitted in Jan 2006 by : M.Palm
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
There are no words to describe how wonderful and relaxing this small hotel is. From the minute you walk in the door you are treated as one of the family.
The hotel is run by Carlos and his sister Lina and family and the food they cook is wonderful, although this is a B & B they cook to order in the evenings and the personal touch as to be seen. The bedrooms are spacious and are immaculately cleaned every day.
The small pool area is very relaxing and often you have it all to yourselves as the nearest beach is only a short stroll away.
In the evening you can relax in the bar and lounge and mingle with the other guests.
Lagos is a beautiful town and must be one of the best places on the Algarve with a lovely marina,great beaches and some fabulous walks.
I'm sure you won't be dissapointed with Lagos or the Solar De Mos
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Solar De Mos Hotel - Lagos
Operator and Date: Independantly Booked - September 2004
Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : Ana Eisenhut (52)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
I was very pleased to spent my holiday in a such romantic and friendly place called Solar de Mos and get to know such friendly and attentive people like Carlos and his sister Lina wich are runing this hotel with a lot of love and pasion.
This hotel is very, very clean and Carlos cookes absolutely fantastic. What ever you'll want, included also very fresh fish, he will cook for you and will serve it to you personaly at the table. They have very good wines and specialitys from the conuntry to drink. The hotel is not big, it has about 16 rooms and each one is very beautiful and special. It doesn't take long to walk to all the beaches arround and Lagos its self is very nice and clean, having much romantic places with a lot of boutiques, bars and nice places to sit outside and just watch arround and relax. You can find there a theatre having performances also in english and two cinemas, galerys of Arts and also hand made things. Each friday night you can dance outside on the Piazza with life music and a lot of fun.
I just hope, that very soon, I can go again to spend my holiday in Solar de Mos the nice Villa of Carlos and Lina.
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Solar De Mos Hotel - Lagos
Operator and Date: Independantly Booked - June 2004
Opinion submitted in Dec 2004 by : Peter Hafner 53
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
It sounds may be strange, but in Switzerland we do not have a real fashion of spending holidays in Portugal and actualy nobody speaks about Lagos. I just found it by luck and since I was there I can not take this beautiful impression out of my head. And becouse of that, I spent allready 2 times my holiday there and for shure the next.
Also in the winter time you can go there becouse the place is open allmost all winter and the climate is excelent. In Solar-de-Mos I found the place wich I always was looking for. Beautiful, very clean, friendly, quite, very nice rooms, swimming-pool, palms, birds and a very good kitchen wich is managed from Carlos the main man of the place. His sister Lina and actualy the whole family is around and spoils you with super good portugies food but also other different kind of very good meals and fresh fish catched by Jose, Lina's husband. If you ask him he will take you for a boat drive wich is fascinating and cost not much. You can admire all those beautiful beaches form outside and have a unique possibility to take unforgetable pictures.
Know back to the food. You just have to order it at the lunch time and in the evening you'll have the best food on the table and a very good wine in your glass. The place is small, there are only about 16 rooms but that is exactly what makes the place very precious. I never enjoyed the big hotels where nobody lookes at you and nobody remembers you anymore. That is not the case of Solar-de-Mos. To the next beach takes you just 10' to walk and there are also other beaches arround, wich are not realy far from the hotel.
Lagos its self is a very nice and clean place and it has a lot of good bars, restaurants and all kind of amusements, small shops with special things to buy, theatre, cinemas and is built in a lovely way. And if you get drunk and cann't walk back there are a lot of taxis wich cost only 4 euro to take you back.
So, know is enough: go there and have a look by yourself. Have a nice time.
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Solar De Mos Hotel - Lagos
Operator and Date: Independantly Booked - June 2004
Opinion submitted in Nov 2004 by : Anita Nemes (53)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
I found this hotel just by luck; and I was so pleased to be in Solar-de-Mos spending my holiday in a very nice ambiance created by Carlos, his sister Lina and Mama Luiza wich are very charming persones. They are runing this hotel with love and knowledge, the place is very clean and quite. It is a real plesure to be there. They have a very good kitchen, Carlos is cooking very good and knows much about good portugies wines.
The hotel is not far away from the Atlantic Ocean wich shows one the most beautiful beaches I ever saw. Lagos offers much possibilityes for shoping, bars, dance, arts etc. and is not far away from Solar-de-Mos. I think, that I found the place where I will return with a lot of plesure next year. And I think, that every person wich once was there, will have the same statement.
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Solar De Mos Hotel - Lagos
Operator and Date: Independantly Booked - Date Not Specified
Opinion submitted in Feb 2004 by : Yvonne & Neil Halifax ( 57-58 )
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Review:
I'm not sure I should be telling everyone how great this small family run hotel is as we may find booking again difficult if others realise how superb this hotel is. We have been holidaying in Lagos for nine years but found this hotel by chance after self catering for most of that time.
The hotel is a bed and breakfast but meals can also be ordered for the evening.It is run by Carlos and is sister Lena who we feel have become friends rather than proprietors. Everything is spotless and nothing is too much trouble for them. The hotel is approx 2kilometers from the centre of Lagos and a five minute stroll from the triangular resteraunt. Carlos is an excellent cook and most of our evening meals have been eaten at the hotel where because it is only small (14 rooms) everyone gets to know each other.
Lagos itself is a beautiful town and so full of culture, how can you not enjoy the friday night dances held in the centre where all the locals turn out to dance the night away.
Lagos to me is a little bit of heaven here on earth.
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Sol e Praia Hotel - Lagos
Operator and Date: aug 2006
Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : rachael, cheshire
Resort Rating: Below Average
Accommodation Rating: Below Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
We were not pleased with the Sol e Praia hotel.
The staff made us feel most unwelcome and did not apologise when they revealed our 'sea view' room which we had paid extra for had been double booked for our 1st night so we had to go into a different room. This room was dingy, the balcony overlooked some sort of dripping metal appliance hanging on the VERY CLOSE facing wall (room 323). Not impressed.
Hotel advertised as situated by the Praia don Ana beach. We wrongly assumed this would be the resorts main beach, but we found it to be a small sandy cove, with no sunbeds, watersports etc. The main beach is actually a 50 minite walk away, which can be reduced to 30 minutes with a 5minute ferry ride across the river!
Hotel advertised as having pool table, table tennis and air hockey facilities. Pool table and air hockey 'out of order' for duration of holiday. When I asked to use the table tennis, the receptionist replied with 'we only have one bat'. Very useful.
NO ATMOSPHERE at all in bar area. Bar man played unnecessarily loud music presumably to make up for the lack of people. Most nights he was on his own.
Did not use pool as is not inviting. Sunbeds are not next to pool and area very cramped. No holiday atmosphere again.
Next to the hotel, is a huge 500 bedroom hotel which has been left empty and was being demolished. Not a pretty sight or sound.
Only positive things were adequate breakfast with good service, and excellent service. Sheets and towels changed everyday.
RESORT
We were not happy with Lagos, We expected somewhere clean, tidy with well kept historic attractions. Instead we found a run down tired old town, full of graffiti, with most buildings needing a good paint. Lots of unkept areas. Town comes to life a lot more in the evening. Beach a long way away yet is beautiful when you get there. We would advise booking car hire with LUZ car hire (behind petrol station on main street). We got a brand new Mazda 2 for 12 days at a reasonable price and little hassle.
CAR HIRE STRONGLY ADVISED to see other resorts, attraction etc.
Hope we have helped
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Sollagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- May 2007
Opinion submitted in May 2007 by : 28,25
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
If you want an excellent location with a short walk to Lagos centre, then this is the place to stay.
The accommodation was very clean and we had everything we needed, if we chose to cook in the apartment, not that we did as there is no end of choice for restaurants in the area.
The beach is approx 800 metres from the apartments.
What did it for us though was Marcelo the owner. Nothing was too much trouble for him. We saw him every day and every day we were asked if everything was ok.
We also witnessed Marcelo offering to drive a couple to the nearest pharmacy in his own car so they could get some eye drops for hay fever.
What topped it for us though was the excellent customer service he gave us and we were really touched when he gave my wife a rose and a bottle of wine for her birthday.
You may read some reviews about the building work going on, but I can assure you that most of this appeared to be completed when we visited in May and as such we found the resort very quiet and relaxing, so much so we spent most of the time relaxing poolside with a good book.
To sum it all up, worth a visit and you will not be disappointed with the service you receive.
Only one bad point and that would be Thompson Admin! They didn't actually tell Marcelo we were arriving and as such he did not have a room ready. That said this was not Marcelo's fault and within 20 minutes or so, the room was ready. He actually called the maids back in to assist.
Marcelo is a fountain of knowledge for Lagos and the surrounding area so if you want any information ask him and if you need anything else speak to him rather than Thompson as you'll pay local prices rather than British prices.
From Courtneay & Harriett
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Sollagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
Jul 2006
Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : John & Carol - Essex
Resort Rating: Good
Accommodation Rating: Average
My/Our Holiday Review:
We stayed in the Sollagos studios last year so we thought we knew what to expect when we went back this year. Last year the studios were peaceful and we had a relaxing holiday.
About a month before we were due to leave, Thomson Holidays
s wrote to us
explaining that there was some building work going on at the adjacent
hotel. This involved the construction of another floor and some
renovation work. There would be dumper trucks, etc operating in the road
nearby (which will be closed to traffic). I phoned Thomson Holidays
s a week
before going to chack if things had changed as was told they had not.
When we arrived we discovered that not only was the road closed, the car park adjacent to Sollagos was now a storage compound and the renovation work was in fact a complete rebuild. Two 'tower' cranes were on site and a drilling machine was boring foundations. Our terrace overlooked the building work and was affected by dust and fumes from drilling compressors.
The building work went on for 6 days, usually starting around 7.30am and finishing any time between 9.30 and 11pm.
We spoke to other holiday makers there and they said that if you wanted to move another studio there would be a charge. Another couple were told if they wanted to move to alternative accomodation they would have to cancel this holiday and pay again. The rep did not even acknowledge the building work at the welcome meeting and when someone suggested they give us a discount on a trip - this was ignored.
On our return I wrote to Thomson Holidays
s and suggested they provide more
accurate information about the building works so that future holiday
makers could make an informed decision before going, but I received a
'bog standard' reply directing me to their 'A to Z' conditions regarding
building works (basically tough).
While this spoilt our holiday we hired a car and kept away from the complex during the day - there are some lovely beaches nearby and a bit further a field but within easy reach via the motorway.
Lagos itself is a nice town and well worth exploring. Near to the Sollagos there's the Triangle restaraunt that does an interesting steak that's bought out to you on a hot stone and you decide if it's rare, medium or well-done (they give you a bib to wear so you don't get splashed when you cook your meat).
In a nut shell, we were disappointed with the holiday as we went to
the Sollagos studios expecting peace and quite because of our previous
experience. We were disappointed with Thomson Holidays
as I cannot believe they
were unaware of the extent of the building works - even the rep
acknowledging them at the welocme meeting would have been something
(perhaps a free bottle of win on arrival would have been good customer
services).
Lagos itself is a nice resort, the people are friendly, lots of nice beaches nearby and many places to eat. The Sollagos studios will hopefully be a restful place to stay, once the adjacent building works are finished.
If you are travelling to Sollagos and you get a letter from Thomson Holidays
telling you about building work, take your ear plus and a dust mask.
Don't bother complaining as they will tell you it's out of their
control!
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Sollagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
October 05
Opinion submitted in Nov 2005 by : Lynda Ride (56,54)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
We chose a bad week for weather for our holiday. It had been gorgeous before we arrived but we had some sunny/cloudy days and some with torrential rain. Never mind, we still had a great time.
The apartment was clean and comfortable and we were very happy with it. The pool area is nice but we never had the weather to make the most of it. Marcelo, the manager, is charming and helpful. The apartments are not as new as they look in the brochures, they were built in the 80s. It was very quiet at night except that we were kept awake at times by a chirping cricket which went on all night.
We had some great meals in Lagos. The best was on our last night at The Navigador. You can eat on the top floor overlooking the river. Food tends to be a little old fashioned such as Sreak Diane but delicious non-the-less. We also had some great tapas in one of the beach bars, sorry can't remember the name.
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Sollagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Portland Direct) Portland Direct - August 2005
Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Emma & Andrew - N. Wales (36,34,10,1)
Resort Rating: Excellent
Accommodation Rating: Excellent
My/Our Holiday Opinion:
Just returned from our first visit to Portugal and had a brilliant time. We have done the big family hotel thing before and wanted somewhere quiet and relaxing so booked the Sollagos apartments having read the reviews on this site - we were not disappointed. We were warmly welcomed when we arrived by owner Marcelo and from that moment we knew we had made the right choice! The place is just so friendly, apartments simple but clean and practical the pool area quiet (except when my daughter and new friend were in there having a great time!)plenty of sunbeds just perfect. Because there are only 18 apartments its a lovely atmosphere, everyone gets to know each other and we made some great friends.
Lagos town is charming with narrow cobbled streets, a variety of small shops with plenty of restaurants to choose from, We ate at Millenium Jardim, Jotta 13 both lovely meals but our favourite was O Charco yummy food and cheaper than most others. We also loved the Palacio de China close to Sollagos next to the mini supermarket, the best chinese we've had and again cheap! The other worth mentioning was the Pizzolino also close by you get a big create your own pizza for 6 euros either eat in or take away. I have to say we were disappointed with O Pirata and Dom Luis average food compared with other places.
The only trip we did was to Zoomarine as we had promised our daughter her dream to swim with dolphins. We tried to book in advance on our second day as recommended because places are limited but couldn't get in even after Marcelo ringing round all his 'contacts' in the end he said to just go on the day and give in her name at the desk in case of cancellations which we did and got in! What an fantastic experience it brought a lump to the throat. If you want to do the interaction try to book either the first day or even before you go via their website (if you can do this) to avoid disappointment. Zoomarine is like a small Seaworld - fabulous dolphin, sealion and bird shows and rides for the kids (log flume, mini rollercoaster etc.)
All in all an excellent holiday and we would love to go back one day.
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Sollagos Apartments - Lagos
Operator and Date: (Thomson Holidays
Direct) Thomson Holidays
- April 2005
Opinion submitted in Apr 2005 by : Nick and Helen - Manchester (37,31)
Resort Rating: Very Good
Accommodation Rating: Very Good
My/Our Holiday Review:
Sol Lagos Apartments were very clean.
Towels and bedding changed twice during the week. Marcello (the owner) was very helpful. Sorted us out with car hire within half an hour (3 days was e70).
Lagos is a great resort as it is lively enough without having the 18-30 feel when out late.
Piri Piri, Kohi Noor (Indian), Terraco da China (Chinese), El Pirato, and Giovanni (Italian) were all resturants we ate at. All g