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Our apartment was halfway down the hill and we had to negotiate numerous steps to reach it and these were poorly lit at night. The apartment had no kettle to it was a long uphill walk to get a coffee in the mornings.  The furniture was old and not in good repair.   
The swimming pool only had one lavatory serving sometimes 50 or 60 people. Very loud "music" playing at the pool most of the time so not very relaxing.
The night time "entertainment" was poor.  One night there was a magician but the stage area was so dark you couldn't see what he was doing!!!
On the plus side the food was OK and plentiful.  The staff very friendly and beach was nice.   The shuttle bus was 40 minutes late to take us in to Albufeira so we had to stand in the hot sun in the street and 15 minutes late for our return journey. The driver was most unpleasant.
Our week cost a little under £2000 so I would not recommend this resort.

Ok for the under 40s, probably!

I'll start with the positive. The location is fantastic 15 minute walk to Old town even closer to the Strip which we didn't go to.
Now to start this may end up very long.
 The staff very rarely smile at you it's almost like you are a hinderance to them. 
You could drink the drinks all day and most likely not get drunk. 10am-11pm with a 2 drink per person rule which is very strict.
The food is terrible we often went to eat at Old Town even though we were all inclusive. 
The stag and hen parties are fun until your located in the middle of a group of friends and you balcony becomes the quickest way to get to each other. This happened in the early hours of the morning with music being pumped out and shouting and singing ( bare in mind you can hear a pin drop anyway in the room next door).
When it's time to check out they immediately cut your band off cutting you off from any drinks or terrible food at the hotel so if you have a late flight be prepared to go eat and drink else where you are certainly not that welcome around the hotel..
In many images it looks like they have a wonderful section of beach. They don't it's a tiny section they can use or it's time to cough up 20euros for a sumbed to have some space.( You could walk up the beach till you find a location but the restaurant don't like you in front of there sun beds unless you are using them and paying.
We didn't see any but some of the other guests complained of sizeable cockroaches in their rooms..
The animation team do there best to entertain but it seem they have a very very limited budget. 
The 2x times we stopped at the hotel for the evening the entertainment was musical chair and a football quiz on the euros. There was not a singer or show to be had.
If you are coming with pals to get hammered it's Bob on for you. If you have family spend the extra few hundred on somewhere better....

We loved the area but safe to say Hotel Isabel Monica we won't be guests again.

Hotel bad..  Location good

Amazing hotel! Definitely would recommend and were pleasantly surprised. The hotel & complex is huge! They have the main restaurant with a decent amount of variation, my friend was a veggie and managed to have something new every day, the labelling of food could be more specific for vegetarians and other dietary requirements, however all staff in the restaurant were happy to answer any questions if it had meat in ect (I’m sure if we mentioned this at our booking we could’ve made it a little easier). Reception are extremely helpful and very welcoming. The drinks are a large selection however don’t include cocktails on the all inclusive, (you can have the cocktail of the day) which is a new cocktail each day so it is a good way to try each one. They have a snack bar at the pool with toasties, baguette, pizza, and crisps which we didn’t know about! You are a 30 second walk away from the beautiful beach, and a 15 min walk away from the old town beach which is a lovely walk along the coast. Nightlife is brilliant and we mainly used the Uber or bolt apps (new town and old town was about a €4 Uber each way. They also have a free shuttle bus to the old town from the hotel and back. Entertainment is ok and pool games are ok. All staff are super lovely. There is also another little restaurant which was an Italian, it is another buffet though which was a shame as apposed to a sit down and order. There is a shop on site which was really reasonably priced. All in all I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this place. We are 21 and it is full of young people which was great for the social aspect. Room was super clean and was cleaned with new sheets every day. Room was also huge. I felt extremely safe in the hotel and will definitely return if I come back to albuferia. The only thing I would say which was a shame was bands were cut off at 12pm which is understandable but we then didn’t have a flight till late, they did however give us a lunch voucher it was more for drinks in the day as we also got here late at night the first evening but obviously did pay for this but this is our flights rather than the hotel fault so definitely try arrive early and leave early on your departure date.

Thank you so much! 
A great shoutout to one of the entertainers (Tiago) who managed to get us involved in aqua dance and musical chairs in the evening! Who was lovely and had the biggest smile the whole time! He is a huge credit to the hotel. 
Thank you again! 

(I’ve attatched a picture of the beach that is literally on the hotel)

AMAZING HOTEL WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Me and my 3 friends arrived approx 12.45 am, we had chosen a private transfer which was great, the driver had never been to this hotel before, so when we arrived, we thought we d gone to faulty towers, turns out she had taken us around the back where the heated pool area was, finally found the main reception, was greeted to the man on the desk, took our details and gave us our bands for all inclusive, not polite or welcoming, then gave us a packed lunch and drinks, there was 4 of us and we were told you 2 here and other 2 there, it was dark and me n one of my friends got taken in a golf buggy to our room, very basic studio but clean. Next day we went for breakfast plenty of choice, but not very hot. Our room was big, but when we got showered later on,only place to put in our hairdryer was at the bedside  but the wall mirror was further along so couldn't see to do our hair, not ideal. My 2 other friends didn't even have a mirror. We were only there for 4 days so made the best of it.  We found most of the hotel staff very abrupt and felt like they did not like English people, the only nice staff were the golf buggy men. On a positive note the location is excellent you just stepped out of a gate at the main pool area and you were steps down to a beautiful  beach. There is a local hotel bus just outside every 2 hrs to the old town, which took less than 10 mins to get there, the old town is excellent, and the strip was amazing, for four 50yr plus ladies we had the best night ever, only 5 euros in a taxi, but around 10-15 euros after midnight. We had the best time  just felt let down with the staff and how they made us feel. I would only go back because of the location and beach, and definitely up grade to one of the better rooms, the place itself is massive, so be prepared to do lots of walking and lifts

The beach snd location is amazing

In the main, great holiday.

The hotel itself is in a great location. An easy stroll down to the beach and in the old town and close to the strip with all the bars and clubs.

The hotel is clean if not a little 1980s and the food is great, the staff are lovely and helpful. Olga In particularly.  Very efficient and helpful.  

Now the negatives.  This is a large hotel,  on the side of a hill.  There were 18 in our party from age 15 to 74.  We also had a heavily pregnant lady with us, two elderly people who had difficulty walking and a disabled person, a man following a stoke,  so was aided by a stick.

To get around the hotel it’s a combination of steep
hill’s and stairs.  The main issue is the lifts.  They are not fit for purpose and break regularly.  The lift got stuck when we where in it and one day the lift was out of order so 5 men had to carry a lady up 8 flights of stairs in a wheelchair to reach the restaurant on the 8th floor.

This hotel is not suitable for people who are infirm and struggle with walking.

This hotel also attracts a lot of groups,  mainly groups of teenage boys on their first holiday away. 

I would stay at Monica Isabel again purely because of the location,  more for a girls trip.  

TIP: walk to the old town via the beach.  Much quicker.

Download the Bolt app for quick cheap uber options

Try the Italian behind the main bar.  Book at reception.  Quieter than main restaurant and easy to access.

A good holiday in the main!

This centrally located club complex lies just 100 metres from pristine white sandy beaches and Faro airport is less than 25 kilometres from the hotel. Providing captivating views and endless coastline, guests will enjoy breath-taking views. Designed with bright blues and energetic greens, guests will feel a sense of rejuvenation and tranquillity. The outdoor complex contains a swimming pool with a children's pool area as well as a sun terrace where guests can relax and unwind. For guests wishing to indulge in an invigorating workout, there is an indoor pool as well as tennis courts available in the neighbouring hotel. Creating an exciting vacation experience, impressed with accommodations that are air-conditioned and boast an access to balcony, most of which overlook the Atlantic Ocean, each flat provides home appliances. Families will love to vacation at the beach club with all the amenities and attractions it provides.

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Monica Isabel Beach Club