Awfull people are company went bust so they charged us more than we originally paid, another £500 nothing good to say about this hotel, no room cleaning, crap pool, crap staff, crap lifts, nasty unhelpfull horrible staff. liked portugal and loved the terrace bar nearby who were very friendly, but would never stay in that hotel!!!

according to star ratings these apartments are a 3*,i dont think so. more like basic 2*. beds were never made up, only got clean towels twice, the shower did not have a spray cover so you only got water in one direction. the only good thing was the position of the apartments, only a short walk to the start of the strip. thankfulle we were only there for a week.

Stayed at the mirachoro apt for a week with friends, the apartment was clean and spacious.bed linen changed during our stay, maids came every day to make beds clean empty rubbish.

We didn't try hotel food except for a toasty the the first day we arrived. Staff were very friendly and helpful.

Hotel is ideally situated five minutes to strip. The pool is only small and beds are packed too close together, but we went over the road 5 euros aday for bed and umbrella and use of the huge pool, it was fantastic sun all day till nearly eight pm.

Didn't stay in on evenings so cant say whether there was entertainment.

I would recommend these apartments.

We would go back again.

The Mirachoro 1 Apartments are really lovely! We have just returned from a week at the apartments, and they had obviously recently been painted because the walls and balcony were spotless.

There was a television, microwave, 2 ring cooker and large fridge in the apartment which itself was a good size for four people.

There was also a large screen TV in the lounge area downstairs. The beds and sofas in lounge area were comfortable and spotless.

The sheets were changed once during our stay and the towels every other day. The maid did come in daily to clean, make the beds, remove rubbish and we had an abundant supply of loo rolls!!

I didn't find the apartments that out of date - they were quite basic really but ideal in every way that matters on holiday.

It's not the Ritz, but it's as good as any three star apartment I have stayed in on holidays around Europe. The bathroom tiles were all clean and the shower curtain new.

The loo, bidet and sink were spotless and there were no nasty smells. The staff were all lovely, helpful and friendly.

There is no air conditioning, but even though it was hot outside (around 33 degrees) the apartment was always cool at night. There wasn't any entertainment at the apartments, but the cocktail bar was open every night until about 2 a.m. I believe.

The snack bar was ideal for a toastie, drink, breakfast or coffee during the day. If you didn't feel like walking in the evening to the 'strip' Father Ed's just across the road from the apartments was really good fun - great entertainment every night and reasonable prices for drinks.

We were on the fourth floor and never experienced any noise at all, although we usually did end up at Father Ed's ourselves most nights!

There is also a really lovely Italian restaurant called Puccini next to Father Ed's where you can get an excellent meal and also a take away if you prefer.

There are a couple of other restaurants in the same area including an Indian restaurant and a Chinese takeaway. All excellent.

Needless to say there are masses of restaurants and bars down the 'strip' (the top of which is just a five minute walk away) The only thing that might be a problem for some is that there are a lot of steep steps and hills to climb if you are out and about, particularly from the beach and the steps from the old town beach area to the top are a killer!!

The Mirachoro does have a minibus that runs to the old town and beach several times a day, but if you walk down to the old town beach area, try to avoid the steps getting back up to where the minibus picks you up unless you are fit and healthy.

I would recommend the Mirachoro Apartments to anyone who wants to have a fun holiday far enough away from the madness that is the 'strip' but close enough to get to it if you want to.

The pool area is very clean as is the pool itself. The sunbeds don't seem to be snapped up very early, and if you do get up too late to get one, the pool over the road at the park (by Father Ed's) is fantastic.

You have to pay 10 euros for a two sunbeds and an umbrella, but it's worth it -there is non stop sunshine there all day until about seven at night.

We Stayed here for two weeks and found our apartment very clean and spacious. The only problem we had was the amount of space at the pool and there were never enough beds.

Most days we would take the courtesy bus to the beach or use the beds at the Montochoro Fun Park which cost 5euro and another 5euro if you use the pool, a little expensive.

I also think they should have some entertainment nightly especially for families and maybe something to keep the children amused during the day.

Another very important point is there is no facilities for wheelchair bound people, whle we where there we met one man and he could not sit by the pool unless his family carried him up but it was stressful because if he needed to go to the toilet he had to be carried back down again, so this place would not suite wheelchair bound people.

The noise from Father Ed's across the road might be a little anoying to some people as it opens until 4am and the music can be heard all over your apartment, but as we were over there most nights we didant mind.

Overall we fould this place good and would return again

We went in June 2005. The apartments are very basic and extremly old.

The bathroom was so old it actually looked dirty, but it wasn't.

Location was great, and the pool was great. You win some and loose some. You're not in the apartment that much, so you could live with it.

Gorgeous Indian just beside the Irish pubs.

We had a very enjoyable holiday at the Mirachoro I apartments. The rooms were spacious and clean with linen and towels changed regularly. The hotel definately needs a makeover but it suited our needs. The staff were very nice and the pool was cleaned daily and although there were not a huge amount of sunbeds there was never any problem getting one. We liked the location of the hotel as it was at the top of the Mirachoro strip which lead onto the main route through Albufeira. We walked every day (sometimes twice)and it was actually very pleasant and a good way to try and lose the calories! It only took about 40 mins to walk the length of the strip and that was at a slow pace with a husband worse for wear and a 9 and 10 year old!! We ate out every day and night and never went to the same restaurant twice. The food was terrific, we never had a bad meal or any tummy trouble and the variety was great, something for everyone and it's definately not chips with everything. In fact my kids never mentioned big macs and ate very healthily the whole fortnight. There was no entertainment in the hotel, and other than a TV and a pool table there is nothing to do on a night in there, however the resort is heaving with numerous bars and clubs. Father Ed's irish bar is right opposite the hotel, it stayed open till 4am but never disturbed us and was a good source of amusement watching the early morning revellers trying to negotiate the flight of steps from the bar when they were drunk. On the whole we had a very enjoyable time even in a small hotel, and the kids made lots of friends and were never bored. Check out the hotel cat (and kittens) they're lovely.

hotel was clean with regular maid service it came as a pleasant suprise as we read report wich to say the least gave us a shock as to what we had let ourselves in for.

we had a great holiday rooms were spacious with just two rings but a microwave/oven. just across the road from hotel there was chinese, italian and indian takeaway the hotel has two lifts so all in all that part of our holiday was worth every penny.

across the road was 4 star hotel montechoro my husband went and used there gym and sauna daily the hotel pool was a bit to noisy for us so we used the minichoro pool right next door which you can see from back of the hotel. our grand daughter just loved going into the bars on a night were she met lots of new friends the irish bar across the road had entertainment on nightly with plenty to do for kids the and was open till4 in the morning but caused little if any noise so sleeping was not a problem.

the strip was just full of bars shops and restraunts the further down the strip you go the busier it gets. use the train that stops half way down the strip to get into albufeira 2 euros per person this runs till quite late at night.

all in all we had a brilliant holiday and will be going back to the same plaice same hotel if we can get booked next year.

After reading a terrible report on these apartments, I was dreading our holiday. When we arrived, I realised the article was a load of rubbish.
The apartments had been newly furnished so were extremely clean and modern. A maid cleaned the room every day and all the communal areas were cleaned daily.
We went self catering and were not expecting to eat in the apartments. The facilities were very basic - just two rings. This was fine for us as we enjoy eating out. It may be too basic if you had to feed a family.
The location was fine for us in April. It may not be so good in the summer when Albufeira is very busy. The apartments are opposite an Irish Bar with karaoke until 4am. If you are a couple, this is fine as you sleep in the back of the apartments and don't hear anything. If you had children who were sleeping in the living quarters, they would have sleepless nights (at least until 4am!)
As we visited at the beginning of the season, the entertainment had not started so I cannot comment on this.
I hope those of you who read this see it as an honest account and it helps you with your holiday choice!

We stayed here the last two weeks August 2002, the apartments were very spacious and the staff very friendly. Although a little way from the main strip we found these to be a perfect location for us. We were directly opposite the Irish Karoke Bar and although the music was on until late, it never caused us or the kids any problems sleeping. Would definately go back to these apartments, tried to book for this years holdiday but they were fully booked.