Stayed self catering only because we have the choice to try different restaurants, but I must say the food in the complex restaurants was top quality but a little over priced compared to places around town, still if you fancied a night in the complex it has all you want.

The location was easily the best, and after seeing the town were glad we were not halfway up the 'strip' or better still right at the top as this would be a nightmare to get to the beach each day.

The staff were most helpfull, we only needed directions for places to visit and communication wasn't a problem.

The apartment was very clean and had good quality furniture and was in a good position, but would hate to be on the road side with no sea view or sun to sit in.

Went to a couple of shows and was quite impressed with the 'acts' - something for everyone.

Didn

We spent two weeks in Aug 04.

In the two weeks we were there two mobile phones, walkman, a pair of jeans, tops, bra, bags were stolen when we were out of the room, no sign of a break in. Reported to hotel staff nothing done, still no word from hotel.

Direct holiday insurance will only cover phones, but want me to see if phones were covered when bought.

Never any room at pool, reported seen a rat outside room to hotel staff never heard any thing back. We will never be returning to this poor hotel and would not recommend this place to anyone. The police were rude and unhelpful.

The location of the hotel is excellant, next to the beach and a short walk from 'the strip'....As I said on the resort report page everything is brilliant, cleanliness is super, maids clean every other day, the food was really nice (i recommend the chesseburger and chips!!) All the hotel people were really nice, i didnt really speak to reception that much, i was round the pool making friends and playing water basketball, which is ran by the hotel entertainers, its a lot of fun, any ages can play! The nightly entertainment was as good as you could expect and I would definately go there again

Hotel studio apartment was clean with large sea view balcony - even sun beds on balcony + table chairs and parasol.
Bed was pull ot style and required making everyday - bit of a pain. Maim problem was no air con -- fan fixed to wall but too high to reach without chair! All equipment in room excellent clean and newish . towels only changed 3 times in seven days. Beds were not touched.

Food and pool area good and much to entertain children in the evenings. Beer prices similar to Strip and botted beer better than draught.

RECEPTION QUICK AND EFFICIENT.
Taxis 5 euros to any where in Albuerfria and arrrived almost immediately.

Beach and sea practically on door step - excellent.

Having read all reports before going, we were really looking forward to going, and we did have a great time.

Just a few things, our room was a 10-15 min walk to the pool because of stairs and we couldn't get the buggy down them so we had to walk the long way. After arriving at the pool at around 9:30am we could not get a sunbed due to the amount of beds covered with towels!!

Our room was clean enough, just we didn't have much of a view, we looked onto the shop!

Staff were great!!

Can't really comment of the entertainment because we never used it. We were always out!

I would definitely go back to Algarve!!

When you get to the airport it

I have just returned from a week at CPO along with my two teenage children, there is some building work going on at the rear of K block but Direct holidays are not placing any of their customers there. We were in block J which is near the supermarket, about three minutes walk through the complex to the pool and about 10 minutes to the beach.

We never managed to get a sunbed by the pool but there was plenty of lawn to stretch out on. The whole complex was very well kept, the apartment we had was one of the older ones and though the furniture was a little shabby and the bathroom could do with a refit it was spotlessly clean, the maids changed the towels and cleaned every other day. The kitchen had recently been refurbished though we only used the kettle and fridge.

To avoid "cardiac hill" it is easier to head through the grounds towards the hotel and then turn left towards The Strip, you then have to pass the Sizzling Stone which has to be one of the best restaurants in the area.

The hotel has it's own bus which runs to the old town of Albufeira unfortunatly the last return jouney is at 8.30pm but as there is a set taxi fare of 5 euros it is quite easy to get back.

I cannot make any comment on the entertainment as we didn't go to any of the shows. We were not bothered by any time share people though we did witness people being shown round. We are already talking about going back next year.

Couple with one small child. - 1st 2 weeks in August 2003

Building work -
Building work is directly behind Oura Praia & one side of Block K. While we were there very little work was being carried out. This I believe was due to the fact that the first 2 weeks in August are like a national holiday in Portugal.More on this later

We stayed in Club Praia da Oura.
To be honest we only ever went to Oura Praia to take a short cut to the supermarket.

Oura Praia -
Interior extremely well kept.
When you book a room I would recommend that you only book a room with view of the pool, (Front facade could do with a wash.)as the front faces a main road & the rear backs on to the building site & a small road which should become busier when completed.

Club Praia da Oura
Is well managed & very well maintained. Porter brings your bags to your room.

The k block is detached from the main complex & is a little isolated (No pool view,no sea view) & backs on to the small road mentioned above. Blocks A,B & C have pool views & some could have sea views. Block D,E & F all have sea views, with F block fronting directly towards the sea.

Facilities :
Club Praia da Oura Bars:
We never had a drink in these the whole length of the stay. Too pricey

Club Praia da Oura Resturant(s):
Too pricey, also heard the food was only ok
One thing I did not like was that they kids entertainment & then through in a buffet & had charged of kids

THE HOTEL
Returned last night from Club Praia da Oura/ Oura Praia Hotel.

I would like to echo what fitzy has said about the major building work going on. Panorama had not informed us of it either - had they I would not have gone as the ripped up pavement and dust track road alone were a nuisance but there was quite a lot of noise from the diggers and cranes. Not to mention the heckling from the builders.

The studio we had originally was large and airy. In the kitchen there was a fridge with ice box, two halogen cooking rings and a microwave/grill combination. The instructions were in the kitchen although we never used the micro!

When we were moved (because of the building noise) the studio we had then was significantly smaller than the first we lost out on some cupboard space and drawers and a dining table with three chairs became a breakfast bar with two.

The third bed for our daughter was a fold-up variety but we left it down all week. Bed linen is only changed once a week so I'm glad we moved midweek so we got some clean! Towels are changed twice a week from what I gather.

On site there is an Alisuper supermarket which is well priced - no dearer than others around. By the Oura Praia is a Marrachino supermarket which is much bigger. These two chains seem to dominate the area and it is worth shopping round as they are cheaper on different items!

THE POOLS
The pool at the Oura Praia is ideal for families as it has a shallow and deep end which allows the bigger kids to swim and play safely. There is a splash pool there as well.

The main pool at CPO is large and deep all round - unsuitable for kids. BEWARE at the bar end there is a glass panel to allow people in the reception area bar to see swimmers although only their undersides and legs - make sure you aren't caught out adjusting your swimwear in front of an audience!!!

Nearby are two jacuzzis with a short stay policy although whilst we were there the teenagers used them constantly as a pick up bar!

The kids pool at CPO is large and shallow with a bridge over it. There are no sunbeds in this area but there are benches and lots of grass to lounge on if you take a mat or towel.

Down a flight of steps from the kids pool are two jacuzzis often free wchich are either nice and warm or freezing cold depending on the day you catch them! Next to these is a seldom used sauna which is free.

BARS
There are bars dotted around the complex although these are expensive at 2.5 Euros a pint. There is a piano bar by the CPO reception which looks really nice.

At night there is entertainment laid on but when we arrived at 10 to the Oura Praia it was almost deserted and looked awful. Other holidaymakers told us later how poor the entertainment was. The CPO entertainment appeared to be better attended judging by the drunken state of the people we saw staggering out.

OTHER FACILITIES
There is a daytime entertainment programme laid on at the CPO but you need to look and listen hard to find out what is happening and when. I didn't meet anyone who had used the facility!

There is a hut by the CPO which is used for the kids club. I didn't use the facility as the location of the hut - in a busy area by a main road and the reception did not seem ideal and there never seemed to be any kids there!

In the Oura Praia there is a gym which is free to use as long as you bring a top, trainers and a towel.

TIMESHARE
The front of the Oura Praia is where the touts live offering scratchcards to people and then pulling the winners in for a "free tour". It is quite amusing sitting anywhere in the complex seeing how many people are taken on these tours.

From what I gather after the rep meetings (I didn't go to mine) you are handed over to a CPO rep for a tour which turns out to be a timeshare pitch. There are maps everywhere and do you really need to be told "this is a pool", "here is reception".

Contrary to what we bleived would happen nobody rang our room or gave us invitations to timeshare meetings we were left alone. The only time a CPO rep spoke to us was outside the Oura reception and when I asked how he had the nerve to sell timeshare in a building site he admitted how awkward it was making his job.

Having just returned from a stay at CPO, (we last stayed there 8 years ago) we found it to be just as good as our first visit. Just one thing that potential visitors ought to be warned about, they tell you in the brochure that CPO now is part of and shares all facilities with it's sister hotel, the Oura Praia. What the brochures didnt tell us was that the Oura praia, impressive as it was, is currently a building site. A very large complex is being built directly across the very narrow road from it, and also all the pavements and kerbs around the Oura Praia are being replaced, which means each time you enter or leave the hotel, you are walking on rubble. We were allocated a room in Oura Praia, and our balcony on the first floor immediately faced the buiding work. We stayed put for that night, but we were woken at 6 a.m next morning by the steady stream of construction traffic, JCB's etc. I asked for a move to CPO, and after a bit of negotiating, we were given a lovely quiet room just by the supermarket. Moving rooms was not without trauma though, as it was very difficult getting the luggage trolley up and down Cardiac Hill, made worse by the absence of any proper pavements! The rest of the holiday was perfect, but I feel Direct holidays ought to have warned us, and there were many people complainig long and loud to their reps!