Monica Isabel Beach Club

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.