I've showed my son too! he can't wait, only 2 more sleeps for us... hope to see you there paulajane ....i'm sure we will have a great time

Im sure we will, hope you have a good trip over there Lizzybabe and no delays! There is 5 of us going, me and my husband, our 2 year old daughter, our friend and his 5 year old daughter. So exited we packed last night!!!

There is 9 of us going! the youngest being my two year old son. I've been packed for days but still trying to cram the last few items in the cases...

Crackerjack, noticed you are going out on 14th, same here!

Is that the crack of dawn flight from Gatwick?

No sorry Philym,got a good deal from stansted, but we might cross paths at faro airport .going at 0700 what times yours

does anyone know the name of the sender who put the photos on trip advisor.cant seem to find them

Crackerjack, ours os 06:00 out of Gatwick. We are hiring a car at the Airport as well so won't be using the transfer either. See you at the hotel. Did you say earlier you have a 6 yr old Girl. I have a 7 yr old daughter and 3 yr old hooligan I am taking with me and the wife. So cross paths in the q for the kids club

Yes 6yr old girl and 1yr old boy and the other half and seeing as you will be there first you can get the beers in getting a good feeling now about this holiday

fabat40 wrote:

does anyone know the name of the sender who put the photos on trip advisor.cant seem to find them

If you search for Alto da Colina Aparthotel, then click on the fist report, go down to Traveller Photos & Videos it's about the 7th photo along

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THE ZOOMARINE PLACE IS LIKE.I WANT TO SWIM WITH THE DOLPHINS AND I CAN SWIM BUT I CANNOT TREAD WATER.I HAVE EMAILED THEM AND ASKED IF THEY SUPPLY LIFEJACKETS.THEY SAID NO.JUST WONDERED WHAT THE PROCEDURE IS WHEN YOU SWIM WITH THEM

WE ARE GOING ON SATURDAY FOR A FORTNIGHT.wITH TWO GIRLS, 11 AND 8 WHO ARE REALLY EXCITED.DOES ANYONE KNOW IF YOU GET POOL TOWELS, AND HOW FAR IT IS FROM THE AIRPORT

fabat40

please do not use caps.. see my PM to you..
future post may be deleted

wizard

This is just an update re: concerns some of us had regarding problems with the All Inclusive food. I've just received a phone call from a very friendly girl at First Choice. She was following up on an email I'd sent to them a few weeks ago and just wanted to reassure me that a chef from the Costa del Sol had taken over at the hotel and had changed the menu and they'd seen a great improvement with the food. Her information had come direct from First Choice staff at the resort. I am grateful for her phone call as it shows that they are listening to their customers. Hope that any reviews posted here soon will back up her comments.

We went to zoomarine last year, and to my knowledge you had to be a strong swimmer to swim with the dolphins, book in advance if you can as there will be a big queue on the day to do this!
Also the transfer from the airport was about 45 minutes, you can hire pool towels, but i can't remeber what the deposit was you had to put down.(that was refunded at the end of your stay) hope the info helps , have a great time, we did we were there this time last year it was the best holiday we ever had!!

Hi, just returned home from Holiday Village Algarve. We have had a fantastic holiday despite the fact that I had loads of issues with disabled access but if you are able bodied then you will have a ball.

All the things I worried about after reading reviews were a distant memory when we got there. We never found any problems with seating at restraunt, the new way is working well, everyone seems to be going when it suits them and never have to wait. The food is acceptable and some things were actually very good.

All first choice staff are amazing, nothing was ever too much for them.

Will post a proper review when I recover but anyone who is booked to go, Have a great time, we did.

Hx

Hi Sleepyrella,been waiting in anticipation of your feedback,had a feeling you was due back soon.Glad you had a great holiday and will look forward to your review,i am so glad i booked my hols later because it seems like its going to be fantastic, considering what it might have been like 2 months ago

Thanks for your post Sleepyrella. It's so good to hear positive comments considering you were there at prob one of the busiest times of the year. Looking forward to more comments from others.

Returned yesterday from our 2 weeks at the Holiday Village - we had one of the best family holidays we have ever had!! The weather was glorious and the complex is fantasic. We stayed in a kids den - room 1012 - right near reception , this could not have been a better room for us - my son is a football fanatic and most of the time the goals used for the water polo were kept on the grass area outside our room - he was in this element and we felt happy to let him kick about if we were in the room or by the pool. The water in the pool is cold - by the end of the day it warms a little but as it is so hot and getting hotter you really are going into the water to cool off - kids loved it and spent plently of time in the water. The main pool has loads of sun beds - very busy and lots of activites quiz, head to head with rep and holiday maker have a fun competition. The new part of the hotel block 2 has a smaller quieter pool - this is where the shop is, a games room and a bar called Ricardos where you get snacks, hot dogs, pizza, burgers and lovely tuna sandwiches - kept my son happy!! There is another pool where the splash park/slides are located - another snack bar her for food and drinks. The main pool has the large bar area where you can sit in the shade, get ice cream - near to this is the main restaurant where you take breakfast, lunch and evening meal ---- so to the food .....breakfast is fine, cereal, fruit, juices tea coffee, good sausages, bacon egg selection and omlettes and pan cakes being cooked - lunch and dinner not so good - food is of a poor quality, and after 14 days I cannot lie I was sick of eating there - we ate out a few times and used the Italian and Portugese restaurants which were a welcome change from the main restaurant. I would say the food was the biggest let down but we didn't let it ruin our holiday.
The staff are friendly - the FC reps excellent and the evening entertainment good fun - bingo, kids disco, shows etc - again a bit repeatitive.
My son attended Soccer school - he loved it my eldest went to to a few Wavelength sessions which he enjoyed.
Portugal is a lovely country - we ventured the Zoomarine which has a great day out - shows, rides and pool area! Old Town and The Strip have touristy shops however I would say Portugal is expensive to eat out is not cheap!!
Anyone due to go will have a good holiday - be prepared for the food - it was not as bad as we expected just very samey!!

Hi mackmack and thanks for your post. It's great to hear from people who've just returned from this complex. Still a little concerned that the food hasn't improved to a totally acceptable standard yet. I'm only holidaying for 7 days so it shouldn't become too repetitive for me but not good if it's poor quality. You mentioned that you had a kids den so I just wondered if you could tell me more about this type of room and did it have a balcony? I wondered about getting one of these kind of rooms when I booked but plumped for a one bed with sea view instead. Thanks!