i've stayed at vila marachique for several years now. usually for 2 weeks in the summer.
it's not in the center of alvor but it's a 15 minutes walk to all the restaurants, bars, banks, supermarket, etc. alvor is not to big anyway. to the wonderful beach of alvor is a 25 minutes walking..
the apartments are comfortable and clean. the pool area is great. nice big pool and well preserved gardens. parking is easy.
it must be great for families with children.
the vila marachique is 5 km to portimão. you can use a bus to town.

First time we have stayed at this complex and we were thoroughly pleased with everything there. The apartment we had was beautiful and the complexc itself was extremely well kept and the pool and gardens fantastic. Slight comment on distance out of Alvor was a bit further than we were led to believe but we still walked it each way every evening and also walked it to the beach a few times. Will definitely go again!

Very large complex with eight blocks of apartments some would be 200 metres away from the pool. It would be unfair to generalise and label all accommodation the same as it seems each is individually owned so quality of furnishings, comprehensiveness of equipment and cleanliness etc would be different. Because there are so many apartments, you would probably have to rely on individual comments or recommendations. As mentioned, some apartments would be near the pool, others further away. The pool area is completely fenced off with pass key access to only allow residents. A good thing perhaps but annoying for families who might want to visit the area separately. Also with so many apartments some face the pool others do not. And opting for a pool facing one may mean you don’t get the sun on your balcony at all whereas some facing away from the pool could have sunny balconies. Or not. It’s all a bit hit and miss unless you know to ask these questions of an owner. Our apartment overlooked the pool 100 metres away but never saw the sun on the balcony. The complex is a good 30 mins walk into the town centre. 45 mins from the beach. The nearest shop 15 mins walk away tucked behind another complex a few hundred metres down the road and on the opposite side. Difficult to find even by car. Nearest restaurant is opposite and another two a few hundred metres by turning right out of the complex away from the town centre. Nothing on the complex open, no shop or restaurant. The complex is very well kept and quiet but overall felt a little isolated even more so if you didn’t have a car for ease of access.

We stayed in apartment 113 in lote 5 for 10 nights in August. The apartment and complex was so clean and safe. The apartment had everything you needed for a family holiday even a small cool box which was so handy. The complex itself was perfect, the staff very helpful and plenty of green areas for the kids to play (our children are 12 and 8). They were allowed to play in the pool ie. jumping, diving, etc. you just are not allowed any inflatables or balls in the pool but these are allowed in the pool for younger children.
There were lots of families with different age groups and the kids all played together, rounders, football, etc. The pool table at the bar was a great addidtion with all the kids having their own tournaments. I would have no hesitation in reccommending this apartment which we booked through holiday lettings or the complex. It is a 15 minute stroll to the town and 4 euros in a taxi ,so a great location.