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Hotel clean and comfortable and in good location. Staff very friendly and helpful. Plenty of room around pool area and the idea of forming a queue for drinks was goo
d as it speeded up the waiting time. Thomas Cook reps worked tirelessly to keep all ages entertained.
Downside - quite often you had to queue for 10-15 minutes to get a table for the evening meal. The queues for snacks were also slow and tedious with some families seem to be forever in the queue - but greedy people do tend to abuse the facility....!
Evening entrtainement was rubbish to say the least.
Overall a good holiday which I would recommend to others.
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Sorry customer didn't leave a comment
Date of review:
Firstly i would like to say in my opinion The Paraiso is not a 4 star, we have stayed in better 3 stars. Before we left for our holiday i read so many holiday review
s i wondered what we had let ourselves in for. We went 26th August - 2nd September 2010.
Firstly the good points: The 1 bedroom apartments are very spacious. The maids come in and do a very thorough clean every day apart from Tuesday's. The reception staff are extremley helpful.
Bad points: The bar staff are very un helpful, you have to form a queue for about 1hr and your only allowed 1 drink every 1/2 hr (all inclusive guests). Breakfast, lunch and dinner was boring, not much taste and not much choice, one night beef medallions and salmon together was on offer! turkey and cranberry sauce advertised but it was actually pork which we found out when we tried it. The restauant where dinner is served is actually in the basement so there is no natural light. No dress code either for dinner some people dressed up whilst some came striaght from the pool into eat dinner. Breakfast: in one weeks stay we saw bacon three times, sausage twice and gammon once. Mushrooms and tomatoes once. Lifegaurd only visible 3 times and then he was standing by the bar chatting to the bar staff. Pool area very slippy and witnessed many accidents, children not being supervised and pushing each other into the pool sadly knocking unsuspecting children over or in. Pool not clean had gritty stuff on the bottom and numerous people with ear infections. We got up on our last day and we were on our balcony at 5.55am having a last look out and we witneesed in the dark someone putting towels onto sunloungers!!! The beds were very lumpy and hard, also you are only given 1 pillow per person and they are very flat. Reception started charging 0.80 to order a taxi for you whilst we were there.
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I have taken my family to Albufeira twice, once as a villa holiday and once to this property. You most definately get more time to relax here as lovely pool, large g
rass area and kid's clubs which the kid's loved. Brilliant holiday only downside was that the restaurant is in the basement so no pretty views.
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Date of review:1 Oct 2011
Booked this holiday all inclusive last minute and had a fabulous time. It was October half term - the weather was glorious but the outdoor pool was a little chilly a
t times so the advantage of an indoor pool for my two boys (13 and 9) was excellent. The hotel is of a high standard, clean and comfortable, with very helpful and friendly staff. The Thomas Cook rep was very helpful in arranging trips and giving advice for things to see locally.I strongly recommend the jeep safari - especially for older children. The hotel provides free bus transport to the old and new town or for a few Euros the tourist train was a nice treat for the children. The food was of a very good standard with a wide variety of choice each day. the all inclusive options at the bar were of a high quality and generous measures.
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Date of review:1 Oct 2011
This apartment hotel is not 4 star triple A as advertised. It is extremely shabby.
Balcony unsuitable for young children, 10 metre sheer drop under guard rail.
Beds
rock hard, toilets seats had to be replaced, high chair caked with old food and straps knotted and twisted , holes in net curtains, light fittings not working, tv smashed on one corner, burn marks on work tops, wobbly loose table legs.
We went all inclusive, with a 10month old baby.
Food is eaten in a canteen environment. Restaurants close from 3pm to 7pm. only snack food available from poolside bar. We gave up eating our evening meal in the allocated restaurants and chose to eat out twice and other nights in the Eva's Al La Carte restaurant within the hotel, there was a fight in the restaurant where 4 of the staff were hurt and police were called.
There is no security in this hotel until after 10pm.
Swimming hats must be worn in the indoor pool and have to be bought for 3.50 euros.
At Faro airport on return, the baggage handlers tried to charge us for the 10kg baggage we had paid extra for, they said we could take the baggage but not the case the baggage was in, as baby luggage has to be spread across the adults luggage.
Food poor quality and very little choice. No chance of fried egg.
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Date of review:1 Sep 2011
Spent a week at the Paraiso and it was absolutely fantastic. The location of the hotel is great, it’s just a short walk to either the old town or the strip, the hote
l was very clean, the staff were very helpful and friendly and the all inclusive is great value for money because the food and drink is fantastic. Had greats lively nights out on the trip and lovely quieter but not too quiet nights out n the old town. Would definitely go back and it actually was my partner second time at the Paraiso and he said it was just as good if not better than when he went about 8 years ago!
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Date of review:1 Sep 2011
My overall review is going to contradict the title. Our holiday on the Algarve was fantastic but this was due to the weather and local bars and eateries, not our hot
el.. The location was central between the 'Strip' and the old town which was great and was within easy walking distace to both. The old town being close to some fabulous beaches. The old town also has great bars and evening entertainment for all ages and the street entertainers were fantastic to watch. Nice shops and market stalls.
Sadly the hotel let the holiday down. The hotel is large and looked impressive when we approached. The whole place is in need of updating and appeared to be quite dirty in the public areas. The pool had lost quite a lot of tiles and had been patched up with cement which made it look less than inviting.
The food left a lot to be desired, breakfast was OK, lunch we never ate at the hotel and the evening meal was dissappointing. The choice of food was limited and for all-inclusive, the trays were very often left empty for periods of time, which meant that we had to wait for meat to accompany the then cold veg. The staff were less than friendly and always dissappeared when you approached the bar.
We paid all-inclusive prices but had to spend the same again on food outside of the hotel. There is a fantasic Chinese 100 yards down the main street on the right-hand side, going towards the strip and is well worth a visit even if the food in your hotel is good.
I would not stay in this hotel again but I would return to the Algarve.
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Date of review:1 Sep 2011
The accomodation was fine we were only self catering but listened to a few moans about the food from all inclusive customers.
I didn't think it fair that we had to p
ay for cushions for the sunbeds. Free for A.I. customers.I
It was quite a trek to the beach but it was a nice walk from the Old Town to the New Town along the beach.
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Date of review:1 Sep 2011
I wouldn't rate the hotel as a 4 star. Its badly needing to be redecorated. Every morning around 6.30am its would be like a removal company coming and started moving
furniture around the room we stayed in. The food was basic and was never hot to eat.
The staff at the hotel always very friendly and helpful. There was certain clients very abusive towards the staff and there was need to be - if only they would read>>>> I stayed at the hotel 10 years ago and it would had class it 4 star and classy to stay at but now 2/3 star.
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Date of review:1 Sep 2011
We stayed in the above apartments in september 2011, the weather was great, location of the hotel was good, you was just a 15 min walk to the old town and 15 min wal
k the other way to the strip. The old town apealed more to us and familys, where as the strip was great for the night life.
Although as we had a buggy the pavements were all cobled and very hilly which made it difficult to walk too far.
The beach was a 20 min walk from our hotel which was quite dificult to get too as the return journy was a very steep hill, which is tireing in the heat and pushing the buggy.
Accomadation - was adequte although it didn't live up to a 4 star rating the rooms were very spacious but dated, and the beds were just not comfy, the free air con was a bonus although it was very cold air. The rooms were cleaned daily and fresh towels giving every 2 days.
Our room was great for aving a little one as we were on the first floor and we could walk out of our room stright on to the grass to sunbath or just a little walk to the pool.
The baby pool is quite small and gets full quick.
Food - As we were self catering we never ate at the hotel and found the food in the resort to be very expensive, although there were several supermarkets very close to us that did cooked chickens yum yum and the food prices are very similer to home.
Beer prices ranged from 1.50 euro to 6 euro so be carefull where you decide to drink.
Overall review of the holiday the only downside was the price of the food in the restaurants.
If you are self catering just make sure you shop around, on average a steak and chips or piri piri chix and chips cost 15 euro each.
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Date of review:1 Sep 2011
We returned to Paraiso for the first time in ten years, and were not disappointed.
The facilities at the hotel are first class as are the staff.
We were all inclusiv
e and the variety of food was amazing.
Would go back again.
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Date of review:1 Aug 2011
This was our first holiday abroad in August and our first visit to Portugal, all inclusive. On arrival the hotel was bigger than we are usually used to but is very w
ell situated for the old and new town areas.Perhaps the rating for the Hotel Paraiso is a bit high at 4stars but does this vary depending on country? We had to wait 3 hours before our room was ready at 2pm. This was slightly disappointing as we just wanted to get settled in, change into something cooler and the children wanted to swim! Maybe this is to be expected at peak season?
The reception staff were very obliging but unfortunately the same could not be said for the bar staff who always appeared to have something better to do than serve the customers, so queues started to develop very quickly. Oh and if you ask for a cup of tea or other hot drink during the day, expect them to look at you in amazement. Soft drinks expect lots and lots of ice.
The welcome meeting gave you lots of information although a map of the old and new town areas would have been appreciated within the pack rather than on a board to view at the meeting only. However I must praise the reps who put on the evening entertainment it was all very professional with some great singing voices not the usual cringeworthy stuff at all. Also if the drag show is still on do make the effort to see it, my children aged 11, 13 and 15 thought it was hilarious.
Now the food...if you don't get to breakfast before 9.15am then you will be queueing and the food gets a bit boring after a few days. Lunch is fine with more variety and the evening meal once you've located the restaurant is very good, hot food is hot and the meat was always tender. The usual pizza, chicken nuggets, chips etc for those who wanted it. Outdoors the snack bar served the best food that we've ever had at an all inclusive but expect to queue.
Trying to get a sunbed or mattress or parasol is a bit of a nightmare, they just don't have enough to accommodate all their guests, we found ourselves on the large grasssed area for the entire holiday! Because of this our youngest didn't use the outdoor pool as much as she would have liked as we weren't closeby. The indoor pool requires guests to use swimming caps so either bring yours from home or be prepared to pay 3euros each! The kids clubs looked great for little ones.
I don't think the room we had was ideal for the 5 of us as my husband ended up on the fold up bed. The other single beds were really uncomfortable and the bathroom a bit shabby with no hairdryer, but there was a tv that you didn't have to pay extra for in the lounge/bedroom which suited our middle child when he'd had enough of the heat.
Overall we had great weather and liked the old town and the hotel is very well situated with a few extra tweeks this hotel would be great but at the moment not quite 4star.
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Date of review:1 Aug 2011
overall this holidays was a disapportment. rooms need updating badly. the beds unconfortable, handles coming off doors, tiles loose on bottom of childrens pool, food
sometimes only luke warm, entertainment ok, if you have small children or are 60 plus and like do the waltz otherwise entertainment boring, wont go back to this hotel but would return to portugal.
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Date of review:1 Aug 2011
Overall we had an amazing holiday, especially as the facilities and entertainment for children were excellent. Our 4 year old girl had the time of her life; taking p
art in activities with other children, enjoying the mini disco and evening entertainment etc. The children's reps were fantastic! However, the hotel did not quite live up to our expectations overall. It has obviously been an impressive hotel at some point, but most of the decor and equipment is now a little shabby around the edges. The room itself was quite dated and we were not impressed to find large cockroaches on more than one occassion! Most worryingly though is the lack of attention to basic health and safety issues such as the parasols that did not fit the bases and therefore flew off in all directions with a little bit of wind! On one breezy day, I was worried that somebody (adult or child) could be seriously hurt!
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Date of review:1 Aug 2011
Although billed as 4* - Quite simply it's not. Think of it as a good family 3* and you will not be disappointed. PLUS points - the apartment style rooms are large, c
lean and well appointed. Although all inclusive, we had a kitchen and dining area. We found the staff to be on the whole nice but very busy.
To control the consumption of all inclusive food and drinks, bar and counter staff appear to be deliberately limited and queuing is the norm, all day, every day for the bar and snacks. If you are not 'all inclusive', it will be very annoying for you, as you too have to join the long queue of all inclusive guests (ave 10/15 min wait in our experience).
Top Tip - All inclusive ends at 11PM - much to the surprise of many new guests. So if staying up late in the Bar, it will cost you which is unexpected on all inclusive.
Negative Points - For such a large hotel, seats in the bar and loungers are in very short supply. No doubt the assumption is that you'll be out at the beach or enjoying the great nightlife in the old town or the strip. However, with the majority of guests on all inclusive, lots of competition for the limited seating resources inside and out.
Bring an alarm clock! 6am is the THE time to get your sunbed - any later and you'll probably be disappointed. By the way, it's mainly Brits and yep, you'll be trying to beat the other Brits on tour for your sunbed!
We met a lot of repeat customers who loved the hotel although it's not a place we'll be revisiting.
Word of warning - The pool is cracking up (1.2m crack by 10cm wide opened up and due to me and some other active worried guests chasing daily it was filled in - Even some of the staff were very worried by this and one said this was the third such repair). HOWEVER as the pool is a raised structure (not in the ground) and it appears to have had a number of running repairs on it, it realistically needs a proper structural survey and appropriate repairs to be completed for the 2012 season.
Value For Money? Sadly, it didn't feel like it. We expected a 4* experience and got a 3* hotel, queues, 6am starts and a pool that concerned me. We felt that we overpaid by around 25% for the holiday experience that we had and after 5 years of waiting for a summer holiday, sadly let down.
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Date of review:1 Aug 2011
I wouldn't recommend this hotel, in fact if I won a holiday here I probably would bother going!!
I went on recommendation of a member of our group who had been 4 tim
es before so ignored the trip advisor reports....big mistake
The constant queuing for everything, getting out to do loungers by 6.40 and the generally miserable faces of the staff spolit it for me. This said however the children ranging from 4-15 had a great time but even they said the hotel wasn't very nice but the company more than made up for it.
The old town in Albufeira was lovely wth some really nice restaurants and a great beach
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Date of review:1 Aug 2011
In very Poor condition....in desperate need of a lick of paint, not enough sunbeds for the amount of guests....pool area very smelly and again in need of updating...
..food ok never HOT! far to many ques, when you pay to go AI you dont expect to come across stingy bar staff!!! we stayed at this hotel 8yrs ago and loved it that was why we rebooked but it seems to have been run into the ground!! make sure you go to Zoomarina excellent day out but cheaper to book through the ticket office just up the road...also go to welcome meeting because you will get lost in the hotel when trying to find resturants!!
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Date of review:1 Aug 2011
we booked on line- tickets didnt arrive ...but very easy to pick up at airport--all ok-
we were going back to this hotel as we went there about 6 years ago when the
kids were younger-its in a great location and was very clean and friendly,
we arrived at 9pm and had a good service from all at thomas cook..
however when we checked in...exhausted!!! we found the air con controll was missing- the tv and safe that had been free before you had to now pay extra for and there were no pillows in our room- we are a 5 family..after 4 calls to reception we went down 1 1/2 hours later to see where the pillows and air con control were,,,the desk were so unhelpfull couldnt care less and said no air con controls available untill someone moved out of another room and it became free.. after a lot of embarrising arguing in front of other guests we were given a control!! - 4 flat pillows arrived 30 mins later--we are a 5 family- i slept on a towel the first night-after we sorted with our rep we had great holliday- shame the hotel let it all down- its a great location and the rooms are very clean- would go again if the staff were a little mor helpful
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Date of review:1 Aug 2011
Nice hotel for the family - drinks were quite limited in that they did not let you get moer than one and it was a limited choice - but overall it was a good hotel to
go to.
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Date of review:1 Jul 2011
The staff in this hotel are lovely, they work very hard, however they are short handed and do have enough staff on hand. This results in qeues at the bar and restaur
ant. The food was quite poor only two meals in the eveining not much choice for the children. We founded we had to fill them up at the snack bar as there was not much at the eveining meal. The facities for the young children were good, however, if your children are slighlty older you may find you have to pay extra for the activites if they want to join in. The evening entertainment - the reps try very hard and it shows in their work, the other entertainment was very average. The entertainment room closes at 11pm and the room is turned into a night club, if you are unfortunate to be above it you can feel the vibrations in the floor. We would not rate this as a 4 star more like a 3 star.
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Date of review:1 Jul 2011
i went to portugal and the parasio de albuferia i read reviews on trip advisor that put me off but my family had already booked so reluctantly i did too when i got t
here my room was spacious clean and had a great view over pool i had booked a two bedroom apartment it sleeps up to five i paid a supplement for under occupancy but i didnt mind as it gave me and myfamily plenty of space all had good beds and i had great views from my double balcony the food was good and good chioce the only down side was not much for my 13 year olds. my other family got a twin room it was big in size as well but their kids slept on z beds not so good but they still enjoyed everything about hotel another thing is its quite expensive so glad i went all inclusive with the euro drinks in the strip range from £4-5 but if you go to top of strip away from the main drag you can get same drink for £2 so hpoe this helps if your looking to book the parasio de albuferia i would certainly go back
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Date of review:1 Jul 2011
Over all a disappointing holiday. Not a 4 star hotel.
Date of review:1 Jul 2011
booking with thomas cook was really good service ,we had good service at the airport and on the plane.the transfer was also good .when we arrived at the paraiso we t
hought wow it s a really lovely hotel it was clean and was very well decorated our room was ready on arrival and the reception staff were friendly and efficient.the room was lovely and catered for all of our families needs.my husband said i had made a really good choice,until we went down for our meal the restaurant was nice but the food wasn t very nice and was very limited to choice we were so disapointed .the only half descent food was at the snack bar.we were also disapointed that cocktails weren t included and drinks were only free until 11pm we ate out quite alot whilst here just to have something nice to eat.the entertainment staff were reaaly good and kept everyone amused ,i have to say i would not stay at this hotel again due to the food otherwise we had a good holiday this has got to have been the worst all inclusive holiday we have ever had
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Date of review:1 Jun 2011
Abufeira is a great location for young familys, there are two main water parks,which looked fab, unfortunatly didnt get time to go. the aqua marine in albufeira was
brilliant,my daughter really enjoyed, The only bad points were the prices for basics like robinsons squash which was four euros, and alcohol was quite expensive too. really enjoyed my stay there and would definitly stay again, bar staff always seem to be really miserable and dont speak much english, entertainment was also fab and would alwaysmake an effort to come speak to you, the weather was brill and didnt drop below 30 c, hottest day 39c, which is a little uncomfartable, if your looking for a better deal for excursions go to the travel agent by paraiso albufeira hotel, there a lot cheaper than anywhere else.
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Date of review:1 Jun 2011
A glorious week of weather, temperature 30-34 degrees. Our first visit to Portugal, The hotel was excellent, very well laid out, especially the pool area and surroun
ding area to the rear of the hotel. Food was first class and a wide variety of choice. We went all inclusive, as we have to several countries over the last few years and this only comes second to Mexico. By far the best all inclusive hotel that we've stayed in Europe. Rooms were clean and spacious and cleaned daily. If I could find a fault, our room was at the front of the hotel and road noise throughout the night was irritating. Would recommend this hotel to anyone, families, couples, groups. We went with our two adult children and they enjoyed it enormously.
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Date of review:1 Jun 2011
I cannot fault Thomas Cooks check-in desk at Manchester Airport, we were treated very efficiently and friendly. Travelling were 2 grandparents, daughter and 2 grand
children. We stayed all-inclusive and although the food wasn't brilliant we were all able to find something to eat every meal and enjoyed what we did have. We had two bedroom accommodation and it was so spacious, really good for families. The hotel staff and both the Hotel and Thomas Cook enterntainment teams were brilliant during the day, esepcially Raimunda, she was so friendly. We didn't see much of the evening entertainment as the children (7 and 5) were so tired after packing everything into their day we were all in bed quite early. The hotel itself could do with a bit of up-dating but please don't be put off going here on holiday, we read some reviews before we went and were a bit put off, but having been I think some people just like to moan about anything. We will definitely be going back.
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Date of review:1 Jun 2011
This is a really big hotel with large grounds. This meant that it never felt too busy. The entertainment team were fantastic. They provided quality activities for di
fferent ages and tastes, they were also happy to leave people sitting quietly reading their book. The hotel is in walking distance of both the old and new towns. There is also a bus stop directly outside the hotel which makes travelling around the Algarve region easy.
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Date of review:1 Jun 2011
The childrens pool area is not ideal for families with young children. The childrens pool is proberbly suitable for around 6 children and then its full. You have to
put your towels out at around 4 am and then someone will proberbly beat you to it (I really thought these days had gone). The childrens pool has only enough room for around 4 or 5 families to get sun loungers around. The food is certainly not 4 star and the main resteraunt drips from the roof as your eating. (Either air con or drains). On a positive note the rooms were spacious and clean with a maid service everyday. The kids club and staff were also excellent. (Good job as you couldn't get around the kids pool). I would rate this as a 3 star plus.
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Date of review:1 Jun 2011
I travelled to albuferia with my sister & 2 year old nephew, overall we had a great weeks holiday & got what we paid for. The hotel was average, definitely would onl
y rate it as a 3 star, not a 4. Some of the reviews on here are a bit harsh, for a cheap week in the sun with a family it's not bad at all. The only negatives really are the lack of sunbeds & parasols by the pool, people got up as early as 6am to reserve theirs with towels, which I didn't want to do as was on holiday!! There was lots of space to sunbathe, if not by the pool then on the grass in the gardens. There was great entertainment all day & evening for children although not particularly quiet if you just want to lay by the pool as the entertainment team spoke on the microphone a lot asking people to join in with games & quizzes, which is fine if you enjoy this.
Food was ok, lots of choice but a bit repetitive, was a bit bland and mass produced! Fine if you like chips, rice or pasta.
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Date of review:1 Jun 2011
Overall an excellent holiday resort and location. The facilities at the hotel Paraiso were very good. The entertainment team worked very hard to provide a variety of
activities to suit all ages. The welcome meeting provides a good opportunity to ask questions and the holiday representatives were very helpful. The weather was also fabulous throughout. The main disappointment about the holiday was the quality and variety of the food at the hotel. There is a need to improve the food to reflect the hotel's allocated 4 star status. The information pack provided by the hotel on arrival should also be more detailed. The flights were very comfortable. Overall a great opportunity to recharge your batteries.
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Date of review:1 Jun 2011
had the worst two weeks staying at the paraiso,
expensive holiday all inclusive package,
the food was horrendous cafe butlins style breakfast room & a depressing dun
geon of a restaurant that all inclusive customers had to use accessable only through the hotels nightclub that was dark & dingy had no windows
staff were rude and unhelpful
pool cramped & hazardous with the same big hole that i seen a review for back in october 2010
kids pool tiny & slippery accidents all over the place
not up to the standard that any other 4 star hotel ive ever stayed at before,
more like a 2 star
avoid at all costs
ps,our family is well travelled and arent nit picky moaners but this has got to be the worst hotel ever !!!!!
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Date of review:1 Jun 2011
Sorry customer didn't leave a comment
Date of review:1 Jun 2011
Absolutely fantastic holiday. One of the best - mainly down to the entertainment and kids club teams. We didn't see our kids (10 & 7) a lot of the time as they were
off having fun. The 10 year old even asked about going back to the kids club time and time again. The entertainment was great both poolside and in the evenings and the team gave maximum effort start to finish.
The hotel was great and the amenities all good. We had a go at everything - tennis, mini golf, pool, table tennis etc.
We went All Inlcusive which was money well spent although it does encourage you to stay in the resort more and not go out! Everything was free including 1 hr in the games room each day.
Very relaxing.
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Date of review:1 Jun 2011
Impressive hotel upon arrival - much larger than anticipated. Speedy checkin, room decor a bit dated, however all in working order, very very clean. Reception staff
and maids always helpful and friendly.
Old town aprrox 10-15 walk away, liked it here a lot. Bed in room a bit uncomfortable but bearable. Found it a bit expensive, having said that came home with some euros!! Fair few beggars about on the streets, same as you would expect back home but they didnt really bother you if you said no!!
Seemed to be more variety of food when you wandered round restaurants/pubs in the old town than directly around where we were staying. Sardines and piri piri chicken main dishes
Really like Portugal and this hotel. Ideal place for a family holiday - safe and welcoming. Would consider coming back here for another holiday
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Date of review:1 May 2011
I would like to start by saying the thomas ccok reps were excellent and made a great holiday especially TOM. The hotel was lovley it is in need of a few touch ups bu
t overall we couldn't fault the hotel, it is in an excellent position right in the middle of the resort, lots to do for everybody and anybody. i will be hopefully going back very soon.
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Date of review:1 May 2011
we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the paraiso. we had a 2 bed apartment which was huge. the maids came ever day and did a fantastic job. the furniture is a little da
ted and the tv is small but they are only minor complaints and did not spoil our stay in any way. As we had a 4 year old with us we made use of the kids club. The kids club reps and the entertainment team as a whole were fantastic and went out of their way to be friendly and were brilliant with the kids. our daughter went to kids club everyday as she enjoyed it so much. the hotel itself is in a brilliant location for both old town and new, and for the supermarkets. just two complaints which would be good if they could be sorted out - disco night at the Eden club - noise of the bass is irritating and could be be heard until 6am. also not enough sun umbrellas so if you leave your unattended someone comes along and nicks it and its not there when you go back - please buy somemore to stop this problem! despite these little niggles we will definately come back again as its great for kids and adults alike
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Date of review:1 May 2011
After visiting this hotel 8 times since 2003 we were all really looking forward to our week at paraiso, how disappointed we were!! This hotel has a beautiful recepti
on area, but the rooms are in desperate need of redecorating and updating. The outside pool area is great with plenty of space and a lovely grass area. The food could only be described as average, nowhere near as good as it used to be, the drinks are still the same i.e. local brand alcohol which is fine, plenty of non alcoholic cold and hot drinks. The entertainment team might work hard but are awful, what happened to crazy Kazza, jonny etc who always seemed to be there year after year and made your holiday complete, i know things have to change but please this is beyond awful,Thomas Cook what have you done with your standards? Finally, the staff at paraiso (except for a couple at the outside snack bar) are so miserable it is unreal,they don't even look at you when serving you let alone speak to you or give a smile, but this is nothing new they have always been the same and it has never stooped us returning year after year. All things considered we will not be returning to paraiso which is really sad because this hotel had been our favourite for years but standards of accomodation and the entertainment needs to improve drastically before we will be back!!
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Date of review:1 May 2011
not too bad, food was good and hotel was good, would have been better if weather was better more rain than expected, a lot some days, the beds were awful would imagi
ne they were supplied by the same company that supply funeral homes,!!! week was about right would be struggling if for two weeks!
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Date of review:1 May 2011
vERY GOOD, BUT LACKING IN PRESENTATION OF FOOD OTHER THAN A LA CARTE DINING WHICH WAS FIRST CLASS. MINOR COMPLAINT ,RED WINE WAS OF THE POOREST QUALITY. STAFF VERY G
OOD.GREAT ENTERTAINMENT FOR KIDS. BUT UNLESS YOU ARE INTO ETHNIC FOLK MUSIC GIVE THE PORTUGUESE NIGHT A BYE. A SEPARATE LOUNGE BAR, OTHER THAN THE MAIN FOYER WOULD BE HELPFUL TO ESCAPE THE ENTERTAINMENT WHICH WAS REALLY ONLY FOR TODDLERS.O/A HOTEL GETTING A LITTLE BIT TIRED AFTER 11 YEARS BUT VERY GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY
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Date of review:1 Apr 2011
hotel abit dated beds and furniture in room all needs renewed.food quality not the best due to not being hot enough,never thought i would be served the equvillant of
a christmas dinner in april and a poor attempt at that.putting that aside the clean liness of the hotel can not be faulted SPOTLESS.Pool area the same excellent condition could not fault it.Darren the rep brilliant we had need to find a doctor and all the stops were pulled out, cost us 50 euros because we did not have eurocard. walked down street withhim followiong day and had a great conversation with him,this guy has to be destined for greater things.. Hotel good for old town idid it easily in 15 minutes.overall we had a great time ,we were all inclussive but allowed to have extra cash to eat out,hotel rated 4 star but i would put it top end 3 star room for improvment..
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Date of review:1 Apr 2011
biutyfully place, perfect location, helpful people, good food, nice country
Date of review:1 Apr 2011
Enjoyable holiday despite the rain.Room was spacious but view was poor and had very little sun onto the balcony.3 football mad grandsons enjoyed the small football p
itch and loved the all inclusive freedom.Hotel was extremely clean and staff were generally friendly.
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Date of review:1 Apr 2011
HOTEL MASSIVE.VERY CLEAN.ROOMS VERY TIDY AND PLENTY OF STORAGE FOR CLOTHES.NICE POOL AREA AND PLENTY OF SPACE FOR SUNBATHING.DINING ROOM LONG WAY DOWN TWO FLOORS BEL
OW RECEPTION.FOOD SO SO NOT A GREAT DEAL OF CHOICE.GOOD POOL BAR FOR DRINKS AND SNACKS.MAKE SURE YOU GO ALL INCLUSIVE.SUPPOSE TO BE DAILY ACTIVITIES BUT THESE WERE NOW AND THEN.ENTERTAINMENT AT NIGHT WAS VERY POOR.NEVER ENOUGH BAR STAFF ON.HAS A SHUTTLE BUS THAT GOES DAILY INTO OLD TOWN AND BEACH.
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Date of review:1 Jan 2011
FIRSTLY THE FLIGHT WAS A VERY BAD TIME. IT WAS EARLY MORNING AND NOTHING WAS OPEN AT THE AIRPORT. WE ARRIVED AND WERE TIRED TO BE GIVEN A ROOM WITH A BRICK WALL AS O
UR VIEW. THE HOLIDAY WAS BOOKED OVER A YEAR AGO. I REQUESTED A POOL VIEW AND DIDN'T GET ANY VIEW. THEY FOUND ANOTHER ROOM AFTER ABOUT 3 VISITS TO THE RECEPTION AFTER ABOUT 3 HOURS AND SOME COMPLAINING. WE WENT TO THE BAR WHILE WE WAITED AND FOUND THAT THEY HAD RUN OUT OF BEER. WE WERE NOT IMPRESSED. THOMAS COOK TELL PEOPLE HOW GOOD THEY ARE AND CHARGE HIGH PRICES, BUT DON'T FOLLOW IT UP. I WOULDN''T TRAVEL WITH THEM AGAIN.THE PLANES WERE SCRUFFY WITH NO TV AND THE AIR HOSTESS UNIFORMS LOOKED LIKE THEY WE TIRED.WHEN BEING PICKED UP FROM THE AIRPORT THE REP WAS LOOKING AFTER TWO BUSES, SO WE LEFT LATE AND COMING BACK THERE WAS NO REP ON THE BUS.WE JUST HAD A VERY RUDE BUS DRIVER WHO NEVER SPOKE A WORD. HE WAS ALSO LATE, NOBODY SAID SORRY.WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO MISS OUR FLIGHT AND NOBODY TOLD US A THING.THE SERVICE WAS RUBBISH.THE FOOD WAS GOOD, BUT THE QUEUE FOR THE POOL BAR WAS A JOKE. SOME DAYS WE WAITED ABOUT 20 MINUTES FOR A BURGER. WEATHER WAS LOVELY WHICH MADE THINGS BETTER. NEXT TIME WOULD GO WITH ANOTHER TOUR COMPANY.THOMAS COOK NEED TO IMPROVE A FEW THINGS.
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Date of review:1 Jan 2011
Really had a wonderful holiday. We had a one bedroomed apartment, which was extremely spacious. Perhaps a little dated but very very clean. The kitchen was very well
kitted out. We were all inclusive but usually go self catering and I can honestly say you would have all you need to cook any sort of meal. The food in all the restaurants was excellent and the bar staff were very efficient.
Although a huge hotel it did not feel too busy at mealtimes and you were not queuing for long (the longest we queued was for about 5 minutes.
Overall wonderful holiday and would definitely go back!
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Date of review:1 Oct 2010
Booked very late self catering studio with inland view. Was allocated studio on second floor with no view. Queried with reception and was immediately allocated room
on eighth floor with brill inland view over the other side of the busy noisy road. Beach about ten minutes walk with differernt restaurants on most corners. Old town 20 minutes walk with good restaurants and lovely atmosphere around the square. Lovely walk round past old town to the harbour, with good views of beaches. Would definitely book again.
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Date of review:1 Sep 2010
could not fault much about tyhe holiday as I went on my own for the first due to freind was taken ill but thought hotel was nice and clean food was very good tidiene
ss of hotel was good reception area very helpfull.
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Date of review:1 Sep 2010
Arrived in the Algarve on a wet grey day, apparently the first wet day in the last few months. Fortunatley followed by 6 glourious days of sunshine. The Paraiso de A
lbufiera is a hugh sprawling hotel with all the facilities that you would expect of a 4 star hotel. We travelled as a couple 50+. All inclusive option. With the current state of the euro this was well worth the money. Soft drinks and Coffee,s through the day can soon eat into your budget. No problem with Sunbeds as they are plenty all inclusive get padded mats and towells for the sun bed at no extra charge. If you were travelling on a tight budget you could manage by taking a minimal amount of money as there is also a free bus service 5 times a day to the heart of the old town. If you want to walk this will take you about 20 minutes. We walked to the strip on a few nights which is out of the hotel turn right and about 10 minutes walk. Full of various bars for all ages. Food at the Paraiso was ok basic breakfast and Lunch but a reasonable choice each evening. Even my wife who is a fussy eater found something to eat and even though she does not eat puddings managed on cheese and biscuits each night.
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Date of review:1 Sep 2010
I have never been to Portugal before and was pleasantly suprised. The hotel is very nice, a little in need of a cheer up in some places but that didn't detract from
the overall comfort. Food was very good, catering for everyone's taste and the drinks were very generous (!). Thomas Cook animation team were very good and worked hard. Many all-inclusives are away from the main towns but this hotel is pretty central. The local strip wasn't our cup of tea but the old town was brilliant. Slow walk there after dinner and a cheap cab back.
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Date of review:1 Aug 2010
Went back again and met up with families we met last year.Had another great time,Aparthotel looking a bit tired but all in all had a fantastic holiday.
Date of review:1 Aug 2010
We had a fabulous time in Albufeira. We stayed at Paraiso hotel, which the kids really enjoyed because of all the different facilities there and the entertainment wh
ich was held every night. The food was good, but could have had more of a variety of vegetarians. Also the food was mostly the same each day, (pizza, pasta, chips). The location of the hotel was excellent as everything was nearby, and the beach was only a 15 minute walk away.
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Date of review:1 Aug 2010
Great hotel and location. Staff very helpful and polite. Thomas cook reps very good. Only complaint was that although the food was good and snack were good on some d
ays it was a real bun fight to get into the A.I. restaraunt
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Date of review:1 Aug 2010
Hotel extremely good for families with children, THomas Cook staff absolutely fabulous with the children.
Slightly out of the way from main area of main centre.
Defi
nitely worth going all inclusive as food and drinks at the hotel fairly pricey
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Date of review:1 Jul 2010
Family of 4 - 2 adults 2 kids aged 2 and 12.
Lovely clean hotel, We had a 1 bedroom apt, that was very spacious with lots of cupboard space to hang clothes! Room was
cleaned 6 out of the 7 days.
Good selection of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were all inclusive, there was always something to eat. Snack bar food was also nice.
Staff very polite and helpful.
Pool and grounds very clean and well kept.
Although my youngest is 2 they could still play with toys at Hotel kids club, thought I did have to stay with them, it was covered over like a huge tent. There is also a playpark with slide/climbing frame and swings that is fenced off with only 1 entrance. Lots of pool/pool side games with reps throughout the day too. Enjoyable holiday for the 4 of us!
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Date of review:1 Jul 2010
Stayed at Parasio Hotel this is our 2nd time at hotel as we were there 3 years ago. We had a great time, food was excellent a lot of variety. Entertainment was ok if
you have family kids mini disco then family entertainment later. The holiday reps really put in an effort and worked really hard to make our holiday fun. Kids club was great only thing I would say is that you had to pay for some of the clubs when they had something arranged for children which I think should have been free. Overall hotel is great in a great location between old town and the strip. Will certainly be back.
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Date of review:1 Jul 2010
thomas cook were brilliant no queues at check in on way out only took 5 minutes plane left on time and plenty of leg room and spare seats transfers were good apartme
nt was very good for self catering even had a oven,room was lovely with a brilliant view,only downside was never any sunbeds people got up and put towels on them 6-30am (sad )when ur meant to be on holiday and some beds stayed like that all daywith no one using them hotel should allocate beds better. went to beach and got a bed by pool easy after 4pm.the bar should have seperate queues as we were self catering(room the all inclusive people hog all the line)we gave up and went to the basement bar much getter no queues and better fun.it was my husbands 50th birthday and the hotel put a basket of fruit and a bottle of wine in our room for us lovely surprise when we came back from a nice meal out.well worth a visit i love portugal. strip 10 minutes one way and old town 20 minutes other ,the hotel supply a free bus to old town 5 times a day.
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Date of review:1 Jul 2010
On arrival , first impressions count , well impressed .
Travelling with my wife and 14 yr old daughter & 2 yr old son , found the large room on the 5th floor , plain
ly decorated , clean , with ideal space for us all ...
We booked all inclusive , but the Self Catering Mini kitchen with fridge/freezer was perfect , and we did use. Food was really nice , good variety .
Pool area not big enough for the number of clients , Baby Pool , a joke .
Hotel itself and area , was great , loved the large grassy area , but not enough sunbeds to cater for the number of clients .
Disappointed we had to to queue for Breakfast , Sunbed mats and daytime snacks , inc Bar Service Day and Night .
Entertainment Team , best we have seen , effort was 110%
Overall , enjoyed the holiday , ideal location , even though had a few moans , great family location.
Oh how could I forget ,Lithuanian Airlines, not impressed with the Aircraft , and a bit more nervous than usual , Standards same as a UK Airline , I would question ? , but saying that the Cabin Crew were friendly & faultless .
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Date of review:1 Jun 2010
booked a year in advance to go to this hotel all inclusive, so we were looking forward to it for a long time especially with the hard winter we had,this hotel is mas
sive has plenty of grass space for little ones to play on especially if you didn't want to be near the pool area because it's all tiled and can get slippy.
pool edge did go down at a slight angle which i thought was a bit strange
location excellent between strip and old town.
snacks during the day were great, didn't make breakfast any mornings finished at 10am were never awake by then, lunch and dinner were good hotel was very clean staff pleasant the most reps i've ever seen in any hotel every day was the thomas cook reps/entertainers they entertained you during the day at the pool if you wanted to join in they didn't pressure you to do this kids club available but kids were to be 4 or over .
entertainment at night for kids then onto adults all done by the thomas cook team.
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Date of review:1 Jun 2010
the resort is lovely it has everyting you need especially on a family holiday with children great standard holiday althought i had read other reviews they were petty
issues which we did not find were a problem atal!!! 1issue which i we had as a family was staff disability awareness which can easily be corrected with a little training. however, all in all we really enjoyed ourselves as a family and would go again :-)
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Date of review:1 Jun 2010
This was our first trip to Portugal and we had a fabulous time, however on arrival and several times during the stay we were disapointed with the standard of the hot
el - would definately not rate it over 3 star. The rooms were very old fashioned and staying in a studio meant our view was a wall/grass and road. The room could have done with a toal refurb to bring it to life. However the bathroom was nice and the shower was excellent. The staff were very efficicient and very helpful - especially as one of our cases arrived about 30 hours after we did - they made calls to the airport to chase it and couldn't have been more helpful. The breakfast / lunch restaurant was very canteen like and on first glance limited in the selection of food - however the food quality was excellent and plentiful. It would have been nice to have tables already laid instead of collecting cutlery on your tray. Nearly all of the activities suggested by the reps were at a fee which I have never experienced before and I was staggered to be told that to use the indoor pool you had to pay 3.80 euros per swimming cap! The entertainment reps were very friendly and worked hard but the main 2 reps for the hotel were quite standoffish and VERY unaccepting of our views on the room - very overprotective of the hotel without being customer friendly. Craig stated he had never heard of this complaint before but we had already waved goodbye to a family who arrived on our coach and didnt stay for more than an hour and when I was talking to Craig another 2 families said they couldn't agree more. So it would have been nice if he had been a little more graceful!
Don't get me wrong, we had a fantastic holiday and we ate well (!) we just felt that the description of four star does not match the standard - We are used to Cyprus holidays so maybe we have been spoilt and all 4 star hotels are like this in Portugal.
One more thing, the pillows are so flat they are virtually non existent and I agree with others who say how cold the pool is!!!
The location was fantastic and a short walk takes you into the old town which is lovely in the day and at night. We also had a great day out at Zoomarine which we pre-booked before we left direct on their website - a really nice family day out with loads to see and do.
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Date of review:1 May 2010
The hotel was overall, good. The pool was not great for younger children as there was only a very small paddling area for the toddlers. Only ate once in the resturan
t, was nice food. Evening entertainment was brilliant! Children loved it, kidsworld and enterainment staff were fabulous!! My daughter is 5 1/2 and thoroughly enjoyed Thomas Cook Kidsworld. The reps are very very helpful and onsite most of the day. The Old Town is the place go for nice resturants on the sea front. TOP TIP: NEVER GO STRATIGHT INTO A RESTURANT, HOVER AROUND THE MENU OUTSIDE THE RESTURANT AND THE STAFF WILL THEN APPROACH YOU AND WILL OFFER SPECIAL OFFERS IE. 10% OFF OR FREE KIDS DRINKS!!! All staff are friendly in resturants and welcome children.The hotel offers free coach to the oldtown/beach throughout the day up until about 7.30pm.
Beach in The old Town was nice, not too busy, beware for 2 loungers and a umbrella 15euros! Take extra towels and lay on beach, save money.
Rooms are nice, aircon, balcony, kitchen with toaster, fridge/freezer, oven/grill, microwave, 2 hobs, nice bathroom, tv.
Very expensive in hotel shop for food, go into a supermarket in town!
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Date of review:1 May 2010
My Family and I stayed for one week Self Catering, Local Supermarket available within 5 mins of he hotel. Excellent Facilities at the hotel including the kids club.
Childrens entertainment was outstanding both during day annd evening. Main strip approx 10 minute walk. One of the best family hotels i have been to and cannot compare to any other. Staff very friendly and would definately recommend. Well done to Thomas Cook for getting the overall experience correct.
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Date of review:1 May 2010
Being a newly married couple with no children as yet, we decided that we wanted to go somewhere neither of us had visited before, and Portugal fit the bill. We booke
d 7 nights at the Paraiso in Albufiera based on our travel agents recommendation based on her family's visit. A 4.30am start on day 1 for a 6.50am flight. Legroom on the Thomas Cook jets was impressive. Once through Portugese passport control, a Thomas Cook rep gave clear directions to the transfer coach. During a scenic 40 min transfer we met Craig, one of our Thomas Cook resort reps, who provided resort tips and the invite to our Welcome Meeting. Pulling in to the Paraiso was very impressive. A very sleek, modern and above all very clean looking hotel - Very pretty fountain in front of the reception. Arrived at noon, but our apartment was ready and we were able to check straight in. We went to explore the local area on day 1 and got a little bit lost, but most local bar staff spoke fairly good English and were able to direct us back to the hotel. The following morning we attended the welcome meeting with Craig and his colleague Jamie - both very friendly, cheerful and able to answer all of our questions throughout the holiday. We booked two trips, one to the Gypsy Market in Loulé, which was very enjoyable - even time to visit Loulé town briefly too. Then"Best of the west", which included a stop in the historic Silves, taking in the Cathedral and a large castle at the town's highest point, a stop in the mountains for some spectacular views and a lovely meal (€13 extra), then to Lagos (named after the Nigerian Capital.) Very enjoyable day. The rest of our time was spent in the hotel or visiting "The Strip" and "The Old Town". Food wise, we booked on a self catering basis and had some fantastic meals, our favourites mainly including the freshly caught fish, Sardines, Cataplana and of course the piri piri chicken - Thankfully the sauce was served "on the side" - FAR too hot for my pallet, but the chicken was delicious. The hotel reception staff were all very helpful, and the cleaning staff were very professional and non intrusive. The public areas were kept very clean. Overall, we had a lovely holiday - The Paraiso was a great base, and the Thomas Cook Reps in the resort (Craig and Jamie) just made things so much easier to navigate whilst we were there.
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Date of review:1 May 2010
The hotel itself was excellent rooms were large and very clean. The food was not very good having tried it the first night and day we got there for such a large hote
l it was a bit shocking at the lack of choice and quality,as we were all inclusive had to eat out 4 out of the 7 nights, the nights we stayed in we were drunk anyway so never ate. The entertainment was great if you were eight, after nine where every other hotel I have satyed the entertainment became on a more adult level here it continued on the child level ????
The hotel is situated in the middle of the old town & the new which are great for entertainment and the resturants
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Date of review:1 May 2010
I travelled with my husband,2 children aged 9 & 6 & my father to this hotel in May 2010.We chose All Inclusive but after reading some reviews saying the food was poo
r we were a little concerned,we shouldnt of been as it was lovely! Everything about this hotel exceeded out expectations from the ease of check in to the coach trip back.The hotel was so clean & the maids were everywhere constantly cleaning,the rooms were large with plenty of storage for a large family,the pool was great with loads of loungers so you didnt have to get up at 6am to get a spot!,Kids club was fab as was the entertainment which runs from 10am-midnight,perfect location for beach & shops or nightlife & the food was lovely & fresh with plenty of choice. The holiday was definatly made by the helpful & friendly staff.I would reccomend to any familys or couples,we are booking for next year already!!
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Date of review:1 May 2010
i could not believe how good the hotel was when we arrived and would not hesitate to return. It was not far away from the noisy area with many bars/restaurants but f
ar enough away if that makes sense. I was even close to upgrading to all inclusive at the hotel .
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Date of review:1 Oct 2009
when my family and i (husband and 2 children 10-5) arrive at the hotel we were greeted by very friendly reception staff a huge clean and airy lobby with good shops a
nd waiting areas for those who needed them!! the location of the hotel was superb as it was within walkin distance from the both the old town withitd lovely beaches ,coffee bars and maket type stalls but also in the opposite direction you ha hat they locals call the strip which is full of bars n nightclubs for those who want it allthought it does have good shopin during the day too!! we when on all inclusive basis n the food was of good variaty n im a fussy eater n i found something different every day to eat. the tc childrens entertainment was wondreful my youngest adored them and got up every night at the disco the adult entertainment was also good but was in bed early most nights as the children were tired fromall the goings off in the day! pools and outside areas were v clean as they were cleaned every morning plenty of sun beds. all in all we had 1 of the best family holidays we have ever had and even thinking of going back next year !!!
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Date of review:1 Aug 2008
We travelled in Aug 08. This is the second time we've been here. Our children were 12, 11 & 3. They all had a brilliant time and have asked to return. Great location
. Hotel has clean, basic, spacious rooms. Food good and varied in the normal restaurant, but make sure you use the A la carte restaurant too! The set menu and bottles of house wine are free, or you can have anything from the A la carte menu at half price. Delicious!!! As usual if you want a particular spot for your sunbeds, you'll need to be early! If not there's plenty of space on the grass. If you're all inclusive you are entitled to free sunbed cushions and a free towel for each adult per day. TheThomas Cook reps work very hard to keep everyone entertained all day. However, Alex from the hotel-run kids club is also excellent. We found the hotel staff extremely friendly. The nearby fishermans beach is great for children, reached by the hotel's courtesy bus. There is also a large hypermarket 5 minutes walk from the hotel.
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