Monica Isabel Beach Club

The location is great, however there is party going on every day until 11, which makes it impossible to rest before 11. We also found lice in the room.

Furniture antiquated AC machine loud as ever very good access to the beach

This hotel is located on the beach front and is just a 15 min stroll to old town. The staff at the hotel are mostly friendly and welcoming and always have a smile. We booked the best room they had to offer via jet 2, then I emailed the hotel to see if they could offer a sea veiw apartment due to it being a birthday treat. The hotel did not disappoint, and the room we were allocated was large, clean, and comfortable with amazing, stunning sea views. It was cleaned daily, and our maid was lovely and very thorough. The beach bar was not open at it was March, but just a 2 min stroll on the beach was another with sunbeds, good food, and nice cocktails. The main pool area had plenty of sunbeds, all with umbrellas with a good choice of snacks on offer. The pool was very cold so we did not use it. We did find this area nice when the music was ambient but without warning, on many occasions,the music was blasted up for no apparent reason (no activities were being held at these times) which spoilt our relaxation and the vibe so we left. This happened several times, which was unfortunate. The other pool area was quiet but with no bar or snack area, so this wasn't convenient. The indoor pool was tiered but very warm 29°c and this made for a nice refreshing dip. The pool areas are a little way from the main building, and the hotel is quite disjointed, but we soon navigated our way around. The food was typical 3star AI some good meals some not so good. The show cooking was also hit and miss, especially the "steak," which was overcooked and tough as old boots, but the chicken was very nice. The bar area was good typical AI drinks, and the main barman was extremely hard working and always with a smile. There was occasional live music, which we didn't bother with as it's not our thing, but looked popular. I didn't like the bar area at night. There were too many drunken, loud ****** and drunk females falling on the floor or screaming around the hotel at all hours. It was quite an intimidating experience 1 evening and not what we look for on a holiday. We didn't let this spoil things for us as we sat on our balcony with drinks and a veiw or ventured out, grabbing a night cap on the way back to our room. Would we stay again? Probably not, as without that sea view, our experience would not have been so positive, and we just don't feel this hotel or location is right for us, but we thought the staff here were very nice.

I booked this hotel for a friend’s 70th birthday. We were a group of 4 ladies and had a lovely stay at this hotel. We had a 2 bedroom apartment which was lovely and big with amazing views of the pool and the sea. Rooms are very dated but very clean. We had an awful smell in our bathroom, reported it to reception and it was sorted out instantly. Food was good and a big shout out to the staff they were all very friendly and so helpful. Pool bar was excellent with a choice of baguettes, wraps, pizza and other bits. The only thing that let this hotel down for me is that when you check out at 12 o clock they cut your wrist band off so you have to pay for everything after that. I have never experienced this in all the years that I have been going all inclusive! If it wasn’t for the fact that you have to pay for everything when you have checked out I would have given hotel 5 stars.

The hotel was ideally situated with picturesque views across the beach and Albufeira, particularly within the restaurant. We went all-inclusive so had breakfast, lunch and dinner there whilst also making use of the pool bar food. It was all varied which for an all-inclusive was nice and refreshing. The staff were very friendly and polite and kept the hotel very clean, my partner often remarking on the smell of the cleaning products too! All in all it was a great 9 days, the first time we had been to Portugal and because of the above from this hotel we will definitely be returning, probably to the same hotel too.

Me and my partner went for a week and enjoyed an all inclusive stay but did not take advantage of the package as we like to travel the area, visit different restaraunts and basically used the hotel as a base. The food was superb for the price we paid and we had a few drinks in the morning and several in the evening, so we still got our moneys worth. During our stay we had 2 breakfasts and there was nothing missing, cereals, delicious fruit, the fry up choice, cheeses ham and salamis. The lunch and 2 dinners also had something for everybody. Anyone who dares to criticise this hotel for the quality or lack of variety would have to be pretty malicious or have ridiculous expectations and really should stay at home. The entertainment was pretty poor, but I can only guess it was due to the recent opening of the hotel and acts are not yet in place because other peoples comments claim the entertaiment was excellent, so I think our experience can be ignored. However the Elvis act was good and the guy can sing and the Portuguese traditional dancers were amazing. The rest of the entertaiment was pretty cringe. The facilities were great and the staff were all very pleasant. Andre the French barman was great and very friendly and as my partner is French, it was nice for her to converse in her language. "Merci André pour un service aussi merveilleux et amical y obrigados a tudos os otros meninos e meninas que trabalhan atras del bar" They were all great as were the dining room staff. However, I do have a negative. It is difficult to find your way around the complex when you first arrive, especially at night. There does need to be better signing to help people find their way around. Secondly, despite being very friendly and always prepared to assist, they were not helpful giving information of public services like local transport, apart from giving us a pretty useless map. But Andre the barman put us straight and basically the bus services are poor but then just book an uber to Albufeira train station for about 6 Euros and you can spread your wings. We went to Faro and Lagos. Again, lack of knowledge could also be due to staff not being local to the area and again the season has just started, so again hard to be too critical. Also, no day trips for people who want to see something else and are not too adventurous. Conclusion, brilliant place to stay, great food and staff. Probably, will not go back but thats because we like to go to different places, but definitely worthwhile returning.