We stayed there at the end of sept 2007, on the whole we had a good time. The hotel is situated right in the middle of old town and The Strip and takes 15mins walk to get there or you can pay 3 euros to ride on the train for the full day but i wouldn't like to go on it during peak season because you are crammed like sardines on it!!

The staff at the hotel was nice especially the maids who did a good job with the room everyday. The carpets could have done with changing throughout the hotel as they were stained and crubby and the games room flooring was quite dangerous as it was coming up with it being very close to the swimming pool on the higher level.

The daytime entertainment was better than the evening and always had you joining in but the night-time entertainment was pretty poor to other standards i have seen.

If going AI which we did the cushions for the sunloungers WERE included, i am saying this because i have seen a few other reports saying they had to pay, RUBBISH!!!! They were free, just give them your room number and bobs your uncle.

The food was lovely apart from the breakfast which was nearly always cold, that was the only downside of the food, the evening food had a good variety and make sure you ask for a large jug of wine instead of just a glass as it saves you going back every two minutes and make sure you go for opening time (7pm) so you get it nice and fresh.

We did 2 excursions, one was the jeep safari which was good but not as good as the other safari's we have been on and a boat trip called the Black Runner, this was a trip to the caves where you went in them and seen the dolphins, well worth the 3 hour trip.

If you are a non smoker then this hotel is definatly NOT for you, i hate smoking but you can smoke everywhere expect in the restaurants, the entertainment time i could hardly see with all the smoke around me and i was in the front row!!

We have been told it is having a refurb at christmas. We wouldn't go back again as there wasn't much to do and the entertainment being not that good. If you want a really good AI hotel then i would only recommend Flamingo Oasis in Benidorm, we go there every year and it is the best hotel we have been in, you won't be disappointed. Any questions please PM me

We booked this 4* hotel for our honeymoon with my husband and daughter and some close family.We were disapointed with our room as there were only 2 single beds and a small campbed, Even though it said a sofa bed in broucher. The campbed itself was only good enough for a small child as my daughter was lying on it the first night she was asleep and it just calloapsed it could not hold any weight. Secondly was the food it felt like you were eating in a school canteen as you could not eat in dining resturant for breakfast.The food itself was poor alone never mind it was cold and who would eat fatty bacon and chips for breakfast? this was not 4* food.Poor selection of food and not much english food. Soup was ok but it was always vegetable. Deserts were ok. all in all would never come back to this hotel.

Hotel on first arriving was impressive, rooms basic but clean we paid a lot of money for this so called 4* hotel, which was okay but not 4* the food was terrible cold with no selection breakfast was mushy scrambled egg fatty bacon and hard boiled eggs which you ate in a seperate dinning room to the restaurant and was near a smelly clorine pool. Some of our party also had three to a room who where all full paying adults and one had to sleep on a folding bed which collapsed on several occations, our complaints went unheard, myself and husband ate out most evenings as we could not stomach the food, all in all a very disapointing stay

After arriving at hotel first impressions where well it looks nice i have stayed in plenty of four star hotels to know after a few hrs of been there this was not 4 star criteria i have been in better 2/3 star when we arrived for our evening meal in a resturant that was in the basement of the building which was very awarkerd to get to as only 1 lift took you there i wish i had not bothered the food was cold with no selection and this was the same every evening the breakfast was even worse cold scrambled egg fatty bacon. On the day i was leaving my wife took a banana as we had early morning flight only to be approched and asked to pay for it i think after paying over

First impressions when you arrive at the hotel are very good,staff were helpful and quickly got us checked in.Room was very clean, small but big enough for the three of us.Pool area wasnt the safest,the white water grid that surrounds the pool kept falling apart and many people had lucky escapes with there ankles.Better restrictions are needed on sunloungers as they were all taken by about 8.00am (first towels were going out at 5.45!!!)Breakfast wasnt the best,bacon a bit greasy and the scrambled egg wasnt very nice but there was always something to eat even if it was a sausage sandwich or toast.Food in snack bar was fine,the usual, burgers, hot and cold baguettes and chips.evening meals were really nice which never repeated dishes during the two weeks stay,there was always two kinds of soup every night, one was vegetable and the other changed every night.The food selection was great and warm,lamb curry,chicken breast,beef stroganoff etc and most nights there was a carvery. (no idea where the previous people who have posted a comment were eating).Drinks in the bar were fine although if a child asked for 2 drinks they were only allowed one which was a pain when i then had to wait for my own drink.Entertainment was great for the kids with games daytime and disco on an evening.The entertainment reps were really good with the kids. overall this hotel should really be rated as a three star but all in all we had a great time. recommended for families with kids between 7 and 14.

We stayed at the Paraiso from the 16-30th of Aug 07

We were a group of 6 families 3 all inclusive and 3 self catering.

I was self catering and was very pleased with this choice as the resturants in the old town and the strip were great.

The hotel itself was fine, very big in size which I think i would not go to one as big again as the amount of Sunbeds around the pool was just not enough therefore I was up at 7 am every day to try and reserve some :-)

Even then it was a job in itself.
Some people I noticed were wrapped in blankets and must have been up at the crack of dawn :-)

I personally did not have too much to do with the Hotel staff but what I did I found then fine.

The Thomas Cook staff were good during the day
I did not see much of them in the evening as I was out eating and drinking.
But what I did see of them they worked hard to entertain everyone.

The size of the room was great plenty of room for a family of 4 comprising of a seperate bedroom and kitchen diner come 2nd bedroom and was in very good decorative order and very clean.

Friends of mine who were all inc were happy with the food and entertainment when they were there of an evening.

I probably would not return to this Hotel only because of the size and the amount of people - meaning the struggle to get sunbeds.

All in all no real complaints as we all enjoyed our stay at this Hotel

The weather by the way was great
We had to wait 9 days for a cloud to appear and then we had a brief storm early hours of the morning which cleared up late afternoon.

I would say that it was a bit of a rip off to buy drinks in the Hotel bar as they were much dearer than the bars and resturants outside

I.E 11 euros for a jack daniels and red bull approx

2 weeks at this hotel really is quite enough. The hotel itself was clean and we had no real complaints about our room. The 2 main let-downs were firstly the food. There is no way in the world that the food served was anything like 4 star. Breakfast and lunch were both served in what can only be described as a school canteen, the choice was very limited. Fish served with bananas!! Soup was luke warm and cheese was either processed or double gloucester. The evening meals were served in the depths of the hotel, again choice was limited and although there was the occassional decent offering, most people were keen to be in and out. The food was warm at best. The saving grace was the bread which was always fresh and the desserts which were generally good. Ice cream from the pool bar was also high quality, pity about the 15 minute queue though.
2nd let-down was evening bar area. If you didnot want to listen to the evening entertainment, there was no where else to go and have a quiet drink. Not everyone wants to sing along to Glenn Campbell songs!!

When i arrived at the hotel i thought it looked very impressive when we were allowed to access our rooms after2.00pm we were greated to 2 single beds and a fold up camp bed. When we approached the rep we told him we were led to believe 3rd bed was a sofa bed he said he would come and check we were there a full week and he never showed. when we went for our evening meal in the very awarked to get to dinning room it looked very nice till we helped ourseleves to the food. It was luke warm no selection and when trays were empty you had to stand around 10 mins for them to be filled upthought it might be better next night just got worse. Breakfast was even poorer than the evening meal fatty cold bacon,chips ,hard boiled eggs with the smell of cholrine as we ate it in a school canteen next to pool we paid a lot of money to stop at this hotel and would never recommened to my worst enemy.

I've read all the reviews on this hotel and I can't believe some of the outrageously negative comments about the experience people have had at the Paraiso.

My family were recommended this hotel by several sources and I have to say, hand on heart, it was worth every penny.

Sure, improvements could be made, but then again what areas of life would you not strive to be better?

This review is being added well after the holiday but as I have just booked up again for 2009, it's worth adding my tuppence worth.

We stayed on an all inclusive basis - with three teenage boys, this is the only holiday we consider - and I have to say it was brilliant value. There are restrictions of course, but no different from anywhere else in that respect.

I marked the food as four and not five based on variety, but we never encountered cold or fatty stuff as has been reported elsewhere. Sure it had a school canteen feel about it, but so what? The hotel caters for over 700 people.

People who book AI holidays should know what to expect.

Staff are friendly. If you don't shout at them, or treat them as though they are old or deaf (or both) and understand that Portugese is their first language and not your own English dialect, then you should have no trouble communicating. In other words, show a bit of respect. They are there to serve, not be servile.

My only real gripe is the evening entertainment. It's not geared for adults, but we discovered this early on in the holiday and decided to have dinner, get some drinks and then take a walk either into the old town or the strip to return for a further few beers before the AI time limit cut-off. Perfect. And no bother at all.

Grabbing a sunbed early is a pain, but as I was on holiday, getting up early and then relaxing all day proved no hassle. It's no different at the Paraiso than anywhere else. And it's not the Germans who are obnoxious about the scrum for a bed either. Us Brits are a disgrace.

Overall verdict? We had a brilliant time and it has all you need for a great holiday. Go for it.

Definitely a hotel geared up for families.

This was a kiddies paradise and did little for me and my husband in terms of relaxation and luxurious living. More of a 3 star than 4 in my opinion and whilst the hotel is only about five years old it already looks tatty in places and weary-worn.

Children were allowed to run riot all over the place and the reception area in an evening was taken over with teenagers, who found it highly amusing to sit and swear at the top of their voices. Youngsters were running wild in the bar late at night, and it seemed that no-one on the staff was prepared to say anything to the parents. We witnessed two occasions where a child ran into a waiter with a tray of drinks - a very near miss on both occaions !

The food - whilst tasty, was poor in choice and variety. Also, it beat the hell out of me why we were only allowed to eat in the 'proper' restuarant for dinner. Breakfast had to be taken in the underground cafe which had no atmosphere and resembled a roadside diner rather than a 4-star eatery.

The pool wasnt very big for the amount of people at the hotel and I was amazed at how they chose to blear out chart music at top volume from loud speakers around the pool all day long. No chance of a relax on a sunbed for me!

This hotel was disappointing and we wont be staying again.

I imagine its great if you are taking a young family but otherwise I would suggest you give it a wide berth.