We booked to stay here last year and were looking forward to a nice holiday, indeed we had placed another booking for August.

Upon arrival we were extremely disappointed with the apartment. It was approx 25-30 years old, and had not been modernised, therefore being in dire need of refurbishment.

A few comments:

Electrical sockets did not work.
No bathroom doors closed properly, the bathroom itself was old, taps did not work, plastic shower curtains were dirty.
No kitchen cupboards closed property, the white goods were dated.
The apartment itself was not clean to my standard with cobwebs and dust in numerous rooms.
The BBQ was old and rusty and not useable.
Bedroom furniture was very old.
Lounge furniture was disguised in a throw.
Patio furniutre was old and dirty.
Windows needed replacing, with daylight being seen through missing plaster.
The safe deposit key could not be found.
Rubbish was thrown into one inside cupboard.

The complex itself was disappointing. There are 3 pools, main and 2 small. All pool areas have been fenced off with wrought iron fencing, and a card entry system is in place, very off putting. As soon as you sit on a sunbed someone comes along to charge you for doing so. It's 1.50 Euro for the morning session and another 1.50 Euro for the afternoon. There is nowhere for kids to play, even kick a ball about. We didn't try the bars and restaurants, as we did not stay long enough.

I would only recommend this complex to people with young children wanting very basic accomodation. We found nothing pleasant about it at all. Indeed, we later found that the apartments are basically 2 Star!!!! Surprised they achieved that rating.

Only good thing I will say there was no quibble regarding the return of our money, and we promptly departed, and will certainly not return.

I will add that some of the apartments have been fully refurbished, and I'm sure they would be okay to stay in, so I would recommend you enquire before your stay

We stayed for a week at the Old Village in October, organised through Airtours.

Our apartment was a 2 bed in a quiet part of the complex, on the ground floor. Everything was clean, tidy and the apartment was well equipped with washing machine and cable tv. There was plenty of room for 4 of us.

The complex was quiet at the time of year and the site was peaceful. The pools weren't crowded although there didn't seem enough loungers to go round in peak season. They were not charging for loungers when we were there. Pool was cold though and uheated - children would be advised to wear wetsuits if planning on being in for a long time. Supermarket on site was small but had most of the things you will need and prices weren't extortionate.

Don't bother with the train into town, it goes all round the world to get to the marina and the timetable is erratic. You're as quick walking and it's not far.

Eating on the site isn't a great experience, there are a few restaurants but nothing that you would call typically Portuguese.

my family and i have just booked our third holiday at the old village. i could not reccomend it more. me and my husband, our 3 year old son, sister and brother in law and my mother in law all love the friendly complex. we have had the same three bedroom house everytime which has three lovely bedrooms three bathrooms and a lounge leading on to the garden which over looks the main pool. the house also has a well equipped kitchen with all mod cons and an exelent roof terrace. the staff at the old village are also very friendly, we have eaten at all the bars and restaurants and have not found a bad one. my son loves the train ride down to the harbour which runs on the half hour or you can walk down which takes about 15 mins and is quite pleasant. we keep saying we will try somewhere else for our holidays but we cant tear ourselves away from the old village! we would miss it too much.

This was the 5th time we have visited Vilamoura and the 4th stay at the Old Village apartments. The last couple of years we have booked directly with agents in the Old village and booked flights online which saves you loads of money compared to booking through a travel agent.
All the apartments we have stayed in at the Old Village have been excellent and this year we stayed in the Prestige part of the complex which although is more upmarket than the existing apartments, seems to lack the character that the older apartments have.
The complex is spotless and the surrounding gardens are really beautiful !!
Its about a 15 minute walk to the marina where there are enough restaurants to cater for everyones tastes. If you like traditional food there are 2 restaurants that deserve a special mention, If you find the Irish cabin pub on the marina there are 3 squares at the back of this. In the 3rd square is the "A Broa" which is run by 'Bill' who will make you very welcome. The food is out of this world and we have been to this restaurant for the past 5 years and always had excellent food and service (see pic attached ).
Next door is the Braganca Mar which is recently under new management. We tried this for the first time this year and the food was excellent and at the end of the meal the waiter made a rose out of the paper serviette for my daughter which she was amazed by.
Both of these restaurants are really good for fresh fish and seafood. The restaurants on the marina tend to be a bit more expensive and the best one we tried was the Perne de Pau.
We had a fantastic holiday and have re booked to go back to the Old village for Easter 2009 !!!