- Algarve Holidays
- Albufeira
- Monicca Collection Suites and Residences
Monicca Collection Suites & Residences enjoys a prime beachfront position by the golden sands of Oura Beach in Albufeira. With views across the Atlantic Ocean, the hotel offers a coastal setting that combines easy beach access with proximity to local attractions.
Guests can enjoy a year-round outdoor swimming pool, children’s playground, and inviting outdoor areas overlooking the sea. A 24-hour front desk ensures attentive service throughout the stay, and complimentary Wi-Fi is available across the entire property.
Guests can start their day in the breakfast restaurant, where a continental or buffet breakfast is served. For drinks, the hotel offers an elegant bar near the reception area, along with a standout Sky Bar boasting stunning views over Oura Beach and the Atlantic Ocean.
All rooms are air-conditioned and include a flat-screen TV, free Wi-Fi, a seating and/or dining area, and a modern private bathroom with shower, and complimentary toiletries. Each room also features a well-equipped kitchenette, a safety deposit box, iron and ironing board, satellite channels, telephone, and tea and coffee facilities.
We had a fantastic stay at Monicca Collection Suites & Residences and couldn’t have been happier with our experience! The hotel is beautiful, the facilities are excellent, and the location is absolutely gorgeous, but what really made our stay special was the outstanding service from the staff.
A special mention has to go to Sumit at reception, who was absolutely amazing from the moment we arrived. He upgraded our room on arrival, which was such a lovely surprise, and even arranged a complimentary dinner at the Italian restaurant for our last night. He was consistently friendly, welcoming and attentive throughout our stay, always going above and beyond to make sure we had the best possible experience. His thoughtfulness and genuine hospitality really made a difference.
Our room was lovely, with a fantastic view, and we really appreciated the complimentary snacks and soft drinks available. The pools were great, with plenty of space to relax and enjoy the sunshine, and breakfast was consistently delicious, with a really good variety of options to choose from each morning.
The location is another huge plus. The surrounding area is beautiful, with the beach right on your doorstep and a lovely selection of restaurants and bars along the beachfront. It was the perfect setting for a relaxing getaway, with everything we needed within easy reach.
Overall, we had a wonderful stay and would absolutely recommend Monicca Collection. The combination of beautiful surroundings, excellent facilities, a lovely room and genuinely exceptional staff made it a trip to remember. We would love to return!
Breathtaking place with amazing staff in the roof top bar. It's a perfect spot to view the sunset. Amandeep was a very attentive and professional bar tender.
Arrived and reception area was lovely so looked very promising. Didn't get the accommodation we requested and was put into a 1 bed apartment. It wasn't very clean with balcony area filthy. Corridors in need of an upgrade, broken tiles and peeling paint. Awful smell of sewage outside the apartment. Had breakfast in restaurant and it was awful. Our complaints were ignored. The last straw was the bed bugs and we left. Amazed at the great reviews
Great hotel and location. Friendly staff
Like the other person that October, I was surprised with all of the “great reviews”. While the resort was not horrible, it certainly was not what I would have expected from a 5 star in Europe or Portugal. Please read my review for categorical things we like, and issues we had. I am reluctantly giving this a 4 because I do not know what the other comparable resorts in Portugal are, but based on my Canadian USA Mexico standard (if it is comparable) it would be about a 3.5 and yes, a 5 if it were in Cuba by there standards.
Checkin: A very polite and nice gentleman that ran the checkin. We arrived early, so our room wasn’t prepared; however, they allowed us to store our luggage in the front while we changed in the washroom and headed to the beach. The lobby was very nice and clean, and at 5pm they offered free snacks and drinks, including wine and juice.
Issue: The resort offers dolphin and caves expeditions that require a bus to come and pick you and others at other resorts or a taxi ride to and from the marina. DO NOT DO THIS. We found, on the beach right below the resort, and business that offers this for much cheaper and offers an excellent dolphin and cave experience right from the resort (called Ski Molhado Desportos Aquáticos) - which we saw dolphins right up the the boat! I am not sure if the resort is taking a commission to offer these other trips but it is a disservice to your guests NOT to at least say that there is another easy option to look for from the beach right there, 100 feet away from the checkin. Not good a good look for you, and not customer first.
Issue: I wish they gave us a print out of that week’s entertainment. We missed the magic show that we really wanted to see.
Room: Our room was very clean, facing the east, and offered a small kitchenette. There were two single beds that were pushed together for a ‘double’. The cleaning staff did a remarkable time cleaning our room each day, which we appreciated. Great cleaning staff!
Issue 1: The safe took a lot of jiggling for us to lock and open it. Issue 2: The wifi IS AWFUL! Often disconnecting, or unavailable often throughout the day and night. Do not count on it. Issue 3: No North American plug adapters. You will need to bring or buy your own if you are from USA/Canada etc. They should offer these for guests or have one in each room.
Breakfast: This was our biggest issue. We did the breakfast only plan and the food was lower quality than what we received in Cuba (for those that know Cuba will understand that this is setting the bar very low)…..unless you like deep fried toast, watery eggs, scrambled eggs that tasted artificial, and beans. There was never any changes- the same awful breakfast every day. If we did it again, we’d simply buy cereal and milk from the grocery store and save a ton of Euros.
A suggestion- please have a regular coffee pot available. The coffee machine did not only taste bad, but at times there was a longer line. Having a pot available for self serve, or perhaps even have a server go around and fill cups, is an easy thing I would expect from a 5 star.
We would NOT do the breakfast option, and am very thankful we did not do the all inclusive meals or drinks.
Beaches and town: AMAZING. We loved our time on the beach and the proximity to both the Strip and old town, which we walked to. I would suggest you download BOLT (like Uber) which we used to go to the seven hanging valleys trail on one of the days for a low cost. We made our own lunches or dinners, but often found ourselves at Neto’s restaurant just up from the hotel, for some very reasonably priced and good Portuguese food. We bought groceries from the grocery store just west of Neto’s restaurant.
Pool: Lots of pools to choose from, but you might have to arrive early if you wanted to reserve a spot. Didn’t spend too much time at the pools but we did enjoy the times when we did.
Bars: The regular bar next to the resort is very nice. However, it is very expensive drinks to enjoy the rooftop lounge. I am not sure why they don’ t just open this up for free for guests? Nobody was even up there because of how much a drink costs, which isn’t even included for those that do the full all inclusive.
There are a ton of bars on the Strip or old town as well that are cheaper for those looking for more.
Resort in general: While we did have some issues, we did enjoy our time and the value that we paid, although the resort needs to clean up some items (e.g. missing button on the elevators, touch up paint outside, etc.).
If we did go again, we’d know more what we’re getting ourselves into so I hope this helps some others have a fairer review and know what they are getting themselves into. At a glance, in fairness, it did look more lovely from the outside than the neighbouring resorts.
The staff are lovely, as mentioned in many of the reviews, although I am very suspect of some of the perfect scores that put this resort as the number 1 in the area…….? Hmmmm.
