We have just returned from 2 weeks at Parque Mourabel on a half board basis, with our 1 year old daughter. Her 2 sets of grandparents also stayed for a week each.

We had a large top floor apartment with a huge roof terrace - as others have posted, these are the best rooms to get for space and views but seem to be allocated to those on longer stays like us. The apartment was reasonably decorated with new bathroom and modern kitchen, and a new boiler, but some of the furnishings were a bit outdated. Our apartment only slept 2 (plus cot) which meant we got proper sofas/chairs - our relatives fared worse with very uncomfortable sofabeds in their lounges on the lower floors of the hotel.

The rooms were kept reasonably clean with regular towel changes - not the best floor cleaning though (a pain when your daughter is crawling all over the place). That said, the roof terrace was very baby-safe - not something you can say about all holiday hotels' balconies.

We found the restaurant fine - 3 choices of starter, 3 choices of main course, hardly any choice of pudding for those on half board - and the staff great. We skipped the dubious entertainment in the bar - but at least there was something on if you couldn't be bothered to go out for the evening.

It's a long walk to the beach or the marina - 20 mins at least, each - and well worth using the hotel's courtesy minibus or hiring a car to explore the rest of the Algarve, as we did.

All in all, the Parque Mourabel is an old (probably 1970s) apartment complex which has been only partially updated - there's certainly more work to do. But the staff make an effort and the restaurant food is good. I don't think you can beat it on price, but it's up to you whether that represents value for money or not.

We booked this inexpensive break not expecting too much and we were certainly right.

The apartments are reasonably clean and well equipped but in no way can they be described as comfortable. The beds and sofas were the most incomfortable we have ever experienced and the bedroom can only be described as resembling a prison cell.

On the last night of our holiday the apartment was burgled and all of our electronic equipment, including IPods, DVD player and digital camera, was stolen.

There was no sign of a forced entry and as only ourselves and the cleaners knew what was in the room or had access to the room, I will leave you to draw your own conclusions.

The hotel was not particularly interested when we reported the theft and apart from calling the local police, left us to sort it out for ourselves.

We would never stay at the Parque Mourabel or either of their subsidary sites ever again.

we stayed in a top floor one bedroom apartment the large balcony overlooking the pool . the pool area and garden was well maintained., the apartment was clean but very basic, the kitchen area and bathroom had been recently refurbished, but the outside decor was in need of a coat of paint, the small bar was not very inviting, torn and dirty upholstery, the small restaurant [which we did not use] looked very dark and dismal. a good supermaket was on site, and a 5 minute walk for a good restaurant the chez carlos. the daily bus into the marina was useful, the first 2 weeks were blissfully quiet, but our third week was school half term,ouch!!!! we have visited villamoura a few times spanning 30 years, and still find the area pleasing. the weather was good, and we enjoyed our stay, and consider the holiday was good value for money.

Having read review on this site a few months prior to booking, I was expecting basic acommodation on a par with the (relatively) cheap price. Should have known better! It was appalling - the bathroom was disgusting - the shower un-usable as it wouldn't face into the bath, just spun round to pour water all over the floor. The bath was cracked and chipped, the taps fell off whenever you touched them. The ancient water heater looked ready to collapse and there wasn't even a lock on the door.
Furnishings are stark in the bedroom, beds are tiny, and as I was there with my teenage son I slept on the sofa which stank of unmentionable things.
We had to ask three times for the oven to be fixed as the hotplates refused to heat up - it took 3 hours for the kettle to get lukewarm meaning cooking was impossible for the first two days. There were bugs of various sizes everywhere, silver fish and what could possibly be cockroaches but I can't say for sure.
The doors rattled, the traffic is LOUD and you could hear the people next door pull their curtains.
Don't be fooled by the '3 pools' or indeed the photos of them - they are pictures of the residential complex over the way, you had to ring a bell to get some one to come and let you in to the pool area, unless you ate at their restaraunt.
One pool was closed off permanently for 'repair' so everyone attempted to use one pool, given that there were about 4 blocks featuring at least 18 appartments each, that's a fair few people. Plus the flies and dead frogs that were already in there.
The main reception and bar were ok, but the one serving the Pe Do Lago block was awful, dirty and full of the manager's kid's toys and mess all the time.
Unfortunately for everyone in Portugal during half term, the weather was appalling and we managed to get approx. 10 hours of sunshine in the week we went - the rest of the time was either thick low cloud or heavy rain. Which made the hotel even worse as we couldn't escape from it (don't be fooled by the promise of satellite tv either, 5 stations of Portuguese chat shows, soaps and cartoons plus BBC world service)
Vilamoura marina itself is great, lively and full of bars and shops, but I would reccommend a car to go to other places especially if you have children. Zoomarine is the best attraction, but it is very small so if you are on an organised trip via your hotel etc. you may find yourself there for several hours - take advantage of the pools and take swimming gear and towels.
All in all, Viamoura great especially for groups of adults, but the Parque Mourabel Oasis? Don't go there!