*This review has been removed as it was posted from Portugal. If you are posting whilst on holiday please submit your review on your return*

hotel was fantastic although not much entertainment for kids, apartments were humongous we were in a 2 bedroomed and had an upstairs an downstairs you could throw a party in the bathroom alone, long walk to the beach there is a shortcut across a bit of wasteland there is also stray dogs but they don't bother you at all, don't use the shop around the corner very expesive we used the continente or lidl both lots cheaper. pool was freezing and not heated no matter what the recepcionist says all in all very nice place just too expensive. building work only bothers you if you let it.

We have just come back from two weeks at the Plaza Real (26/6/08).

On the positive side the apartments were large, clean, well furnished and free air conditioning. All the staff and other residents were very friendly and the Kids Club reps were first rate. Pool was cleaned daily and we never had a problem getting a sun bed each. Food was competitively priced and good quality. Weather was superb and didn

This was a last minute deal booked for my mum, daughter and myself. The apartments and studios are very spacious the only down side is that if you choose to stay in a studio be aware that they have no balcony. Our studio was adequately cleaned though not sparkling, also loo rolls seemed to be in short supply! Although the complex is small there are enough sunbeds to go round and the pool is adequate. Staff working in the bar and food area were very friendly. All the reps were very nice and helpful, and the kids club looked well run. Opposite there is a building site but very little work was carried out whilst we stayed there. The area is mainly residential so is very quiet with nothing around for a 10-15 minute walk. Corner shop is very expensive mum bought a jar of jam 4 euro!, best to shop at the Continente walk there do your shop then taxi back 4 euro. We would stay again for another week but not a fortnight because of the location. We had a fab holiday overall!

The apartments are big just like the rest of the reports. The only thing that annoyed me was that our maid wasn't that good. Our towels were not changed at all she never replaced any loo roll had to buy a pack. We watched her from the pool one day and all she did was empty the bins, take the shower curtain out of the bath. The beds were not touched as was anywhere else. My son brought my hair bands and clips out of the pool after it was meant to have been cleaned. Apart from this the kitchen was well equiped. Had a T.V. with ceebies on good for when I was make lunch/breakie.

Plaza Real are lovely apartments, very spacious and have a home from home feel, as mentioned previously they have all your home comforts and are able to cook a good meal.

We had a ground floor apartment (which I recommend) as they have lovely big balconies with sunbeds and patio set.

The pool area is clean and the pool area is cleaned every day around 8am which is nice to see. The bar is ok, although not so good entertainment but make use of it as it does turn out to be laugh with the Karoke! All the staff are really friendly. The food at the hotel bar is lovely we ate there quite a few times.

There is building work going on around the apartments although they don't affect the apartments, is does tend to make the balconies very dusty.

Overall we had a good holiday, not sure I would go back as I didn't feel as though there was enough for the children but would be interested to go back in a few years to see what they have done around the apartments.

Hotel was better than expected pictures do not show just how clean and large apartment rooms are, kitchen was ideal for larger family with large fridge freezer, microwave decent hob and cooker not that it was used!!

The hotel food was good and quite cheap compared to other places to eat, although there are many places to dine big reds rib-shack was a hit although a little dearer but you did get your monies worth, this is found next to a little bar Taffy's bar which was one of the cheapest places we found to drink and so friendly this is where we met some lovely people, quizzes were a good laugh.

As the hotel is set back a little way you do have to walk there although as previously written if you turn left out of the gates it is a big short cut down the wasteland, through a short lane and then your almost there, compared to the way you are told to go taxis home at night are so cheap.

We used taxis to Alvor, lovely fishing village worth a look, portimao for the shopping, better choice of stores, and the marina pretty area to eat, on the beaches which are outstanding it didn't matter which beach you went to it was so clean.

There is maintenance work going on in the main strip to improve the walkways but this is not too much of a disruption, and will make a difference in the future.

Will travel back again, hope you enjoy your holiday as much as we did!!!!

Hotel is fantastic very clean, excellent apartments. We had a one bedroom ground floor apartment as we have a young baby and it suited our needs perfectly. We had a large sun terrace which was great.

The food at the hotel was great never had a bad meal and reasonably priced!

The resort was coming to the end of the season so fairly quiet but very clean, Beach is fantastic with plenty of little taverners along the way and plenty of places to eat.

Overall excellent holiday we would definitely recommend it.

We returned from a week at the Plaza Real Apartments last week and we had a great time:

Rooms - we were in an apartment overlooking the pool and it was lovely, all the rooms were very spacious, even the bathroom. We were also surprised to find that we had a separate kitchen, which was well equipped - there was even a big fridge freezer. Only thing missing was an electric kettle, the one on the hob took ages!

Staff - staff on reception were very helpful. When we first arrived, someone came out of the bar with a tray of drinks for us all, which was a nice touch.

Location - a bit of a walk to the beach and main strip, but we knew this before we went. Luckily I had read in some reviews that there was a shortcut (out of hotel, turn left and across some wasteland) and this did cut a fair bit of time off the walk (to about 10 mins), especially as we had two small children. Taxis cost about 4 euros so we usually walked there and got a taxi back.

Entertainment - not very good, a couple of karaokes and the barbecue was cancelled due to lack of interest. The entertainment centres around the bar/ restaurant which is very small, and so they are limited.

Food - as mentioned, the restaurant is very small and the food was very average - we ate there on our first night and didn't again, apart from the cooked breakfasts which were good. We found two good restaurants - the first one I would highly recommend and is called Jardim das Oliveiras. There are leaflets on the reception desk and you can book a taxi/minibus with reception that takes you to the restaurant for free. It takes about half an hour and is up in the mountains, and we expected it to be expensive, but our bill was cheaper than most that we had on the strip. The food is wonderful, the wine is cheap (but good), the people are friendly and the surroundings are lovely.
The second restaurant was the Atlantis on the strip - excellent food and lovely decor.

Childrens club - my 5 yr old only used it twice because the weather was so good, we were out all day long. But he really enjoyed it when he did go, and the two people that ran it were very nice and friendly.

Beaches - Praia da Rocha beach is one of the nicest I've seen, and it has everything you could want. They have recently built decking which runs the whole length of the beach (which is quite long!). This makes it easy to walk to where you want and is also great if you want to walk along the beach in the evening. They have built restaurants all the way along and plenty of toilets in between which are clean, plus shower cubicles.

Places to visit - Zoomarine is worth a visit especially if you have children. We didn't find it too expensive, especially as under 5's are free. There are shows throughout the day eg dolphin, wild birds, rides for the children and the food is surprisingly good and cheap, with more than your usual burgers and chips!

Would definitely go back to this resort, but although the apartments are lovely, would not use them again due to location and lack of a good restaurant.

We stayed here last year and were a bit worried about the previous reviews as this was our first holiday abroad with our children aged 7 and 4.

The prospect of accessing the beach and resort centre with steep climbs were a bit daunting. We should not of worried! It is a great place to go!

We had a ball, it was a lovely holiday and we will be going back if not this year then next.

The only complaint we had with the plaza real was the size of the swimming pool, which is not a great size and if busy feels a bit cramped. (But that says something if that is all we had to complain about!!) We had an amazing apartment, huge! Bigger kitchen than at home!

The staff were friendly and the kids club guys were brilliant. Our children cried when they couldn't go one day as we were going out! Plenty of room around the pool, you could always get a sunlounger.

The water park was excellent! We went on a bus to Villamoura to visit friends, which was also lovely (lovely marina) and we went to portimao, also nice. Other than that we were satisfied to sit around the pool and go to the beach.

We did the little train on the last night and discovered that we had not even ventured into half on praia du rocha! Will definately go back.