Rocha Brava Village Resort

Upon arrival at Rocha Brava we were greeted by friendly reception staff who provided us with lots of information about the resort, things to do in the local area and useful guide maps. We paid for the safety deposit box in our room which was reasonably priced. Our apartment was located directly opposite reception, handy (or so we thought) as the resort is huge. Our second floor room was a good size for a family of four, included two balcont areas and was well equipped for our stay (fridge/freezer, washing machine, dining table, hair dryer, airer, tv...). The rooms were clean enough although there were a few ants in the kitchen and towels were changed every couple of days. Both bedrooms and the living room had air conditioning.

We had been told upon arrival that the resort ran three free daily mini buses into to Carvoeiro town so after unpacking we headed down for lunch. The town was lovely, plenty of shops and restaurants although the beach is small. We had arranged for the mini bus to pick us up although the resort is walkable in about 40 minutes.

The first night there it became clear that our location opposite reception was not ideal at all - the music from the on site bar next door to reception was so loud we had to to put earphones in to block it out. This happened on about five of the seven nights we stayed unfortuantely. We did go into tha bar for a bite to eat and a drink on one night however the staff were rude and dismissive so we didn't go back. There was also a lot of noise from people being dropped off / picked up and staff coming and going in the morning.

The larger of the three pools was closest to our apartment and the only one we used during our time there. We never struggled to get loungers and there was a nice cafe bar too, the area was tidy and well kept, we didn't have any complaints about the pool at all.

There is a handy supermarket on site, although expensive it was convenient for stocking up on water and essentials. There are also tennis courts and a gym on site although we didn't use these. We ate in the restaurant once, it lacked atmosphere but the food was nice if on the expensive side. There are a couple of beautiful restaurants I would highly recommend just outside the resort - and Indian called Pashmina, and a more traditional restaurant called Jardim de Farol - people were queuing to get in here so book a table in advance (well worth a visit).

We had booked a lot of activities during out stay, many of which were in Albufeira (go here for Parasailing (highly recommend) / boat trips / water based activities) which is about 35 minutes by car -one thing I can say is that Ubers are far cheaper in Portugal - a 35 minute Uber costs about £17. An Uber to Slide N Splash £8, and Praia de Rocha (a huge beach) £11. Although there isn't a lot to do in Carvoeiro itself it is very easy and cheap to get about, everything we did was within a 30 minute drive of the resort.

Overall an enjoyable stay but would have been so much better had we had a quieter room.

Location is lovely and has a relaxed atmosphere however, the cleaning and maintenance of the accommodation is dire. Absolutely definitely not up to its star rating on cleanliness or fittings. General things like cleaning and wiping down of surfaces before letting new guests in are not even done. Cushions on bed are stained, yet kept being dumped back on to the beds by housekeeping until I shoved them into the cupboard so they couldnt find them. The curtains all have dirty marks and sofas are stained. I bought mould killer and disinfectant to clean the bathrooms, which were gross with mould, and kitchen cleaner because otherwise it wouldn't have been hygienic to use, but i draw the line at doing all their jobs for them after spending upwards of 4k for a holiday. We had multiple cockroaches and bizarrely worms in the shower that kept coming throughout our stay. Fourth time here and definitely our last, as every year its going further and further downhill and cleaning is worse and worse. Cleaners come in and clean virtually nothing just flopping a dirty mop around the middle of the floor doesn't clean anything. Toilets, shower, bath and sinks werent cleaned by them during our stay. When we arrived the kitchen was still dirty with handprints from previous guests, grease and dust. The fridge, oven and microwave still had remnants of previous guests' food in. As we didn't fancy having E coli we cleaned it ourselves on day one. Literally no attention to detail at all by the staff. Needs a complete overhaul and simple things like lighbulbs that work, toilet seats that aren't chipped and harbouring bacteria, bathroom fittings should not be left rusty and broken. Clearly nobody actually checks that maintenance and cleaning staff are doing their job properly because these things are obvious as soon as you enter the villa. Seriously disappointed to the point we will not come back after spending previous years here.