Clube Albufeira Garden Village

“Lovely stay, wonderful staff, nice apartment”

The four stars is for the wonderful helpful reception staff and the very clean premium apartment. If you are going out of season you need to expect that most of the services on site i.e kids clubs, bars, are closed. So this view is based on knowing that. The Apartment: Very clean premium and moder… more

The four stars is for the wonderful helpful reception staff and the very clean premium apartment. If you are going out of season you need to expect that most of the services on site i.e kids clubs, bars, are closed. So this view is based on knowing that. The Apartment: Very clean premium and modernised apartment, everything you would need. Except sunbeds on the terrace! Cleaned every two days with new towels and sheets. It was February so we were cold at night - so definitely bring some warm clothes. I was travelling with my elderly mother and the reception staff changed our apartment so we were closer to reception. This was very helpful. The Resort: Clube Albufeira is a sprawling resort of small apartments on a hill. Some apartments face a pool area or a green. The paths are not even so watch your step, and do be prepared for quite a walk to your apartment, depending on what part of the site you are on. It is more than half an hours walk (down hill) from the reception to the Old Town (that is if you walk fast). The pools look very nice (if it had been warmer). The heated pool was not working at the time. Most of the facilities were not open, but there were areas at each pool that open up when the season begins. It looked as if it could be nice during high season. Food: We went self catering. The nearest good 'mini mart' is across the road. For larger supermarkets would need to take a bus or hire a car. We ate lunch in Albuferia Old Town - the food was alright - not amazing. We were not night owls so cannot comment on evening dining. There was a food wagon (pizzas & burgers) across the road. Transport: A car would be best but you can do it through local transport. We caught the No.3 bus down to the Old Town. Sorry cannot put anymore information on this for you as Trip Advisor will not allow me to highlight the local municpal bus website or help you in this way. Also this is the third time I have tried to submit this report but Trip Advisor keeps telling me there is commercial content in it but will not tell me what that commercial content is!! A nice place, a bit out of town but in many ways that is good too. We found the staff very nice. We do suspect that maintenance was not as efficient as there were a few small errors in our apartment (dripping sink, air conditioner and dodgy lamps), but hey you find that everywhere. Could be noisy in high season.

less

“Not a Good RCI exchange or resort. Disappointed overall”

We used this facility as an RCI exchange and where do I begin. This is NO comparison to our exchange with Orange Lake very substandard quality. Cleanliness poor and dated rooms, we had to go to 3 rooms and finally had to decide. After travel and no sleep we were exhausted and had to wait until 5 f… more

We used this facility as an RCI exchange and where do I begin. This is NO comparison to our exchange with Orange Lake very substandard quality. Cleanliness poor and dated rooms, we had to go to 3 rooms and finally had to decide. After travel and no sleep we were exhausted and had to wait until 5 for check in to get settled. Minimum essentials in unit, no soap, shampoo and kitchen little cleaning products. Fully stocked kitchen but dishes have good rims and cannot use in microwave. We are cleaning the unit ourselves and dishes. Bar fridge and bar freezer, so minimum space . Resort is on a cliff so up and down hills and building. Pools are nice but only one heated. Mini putt, small market shop. Restaurant had good food and lunch was delicious. Great coffee. Great view and pool area probably beautiful in the warm months. Resort is close to 2 grocery stores but drove 10 min away. Old town close but personally would not walk there, traffic is busy. Staff at reception very friendly. We had to pay a tax for each week, so on top of your initial cost of paying your maintenance week, RCI membership, exchange rate and tax at resort, and flight, we would have been better to book an all inclusive for a few weeks Def not a good RCI value. Resort was 30 min from airport and rented a car and used gps. I purchased a SIM card for my IPhone, lots of roundabouts. Needless to say, we are no longer using RCI or traveling to USA to use our timeshare as we are Canadian. If I return to the Algarve it will be to a different resort Very disappointed

less