Well, after all of the up and down reviews recently, I guess we are the most upbeat as of late. I think the reason we have a more positive review is we did not do the all inclusive, and it seems to be the food which gets the worst reviews. Let me post the positives and negatives, and if you find a good deal for this hotel, you can decide if it is worth it for you.
We were a 30 something family with one 5 year old boy looking for a quiet (non strip located) hotel with a warm pool and private beach for a great price, would only take good priced all inclusive deal if food was raved about, must be family friendly. Wanted to be away from time share sales people, to be left alone. Booked Faro due to location, private beach, noted warm pool, and price. We took a taxi to and from airport for $26 each way.

Positives:
We got the main features we were looking for.
-warm pool, it was fantastic temp. like a luke warm bath, never chilly. Great for kids. Only problem was they ran out of towels occasionally in early evening if you went swimming late, so we snagged a few each morning. We did not see it dirty like a previous person noted.
-Private beach. We never experienced any "bad conditions" at this beach, never saw trash on beach, lots of rocks and shells to pick up (wear swim shoes), tons of baby crabs on rocks, gentle swimming surf for children, almost had beach to selves, only 10-15 guests at a time max on 1/4 mile beach. Got to watch fishing and sailing boats enter and exit harbor right in front of us. Hardly a sole in the water with us EVER. Did rent board once, for $4.00 for one hour. It was very deserted, just total one on one family time at beach. Towels available at desk upon entering beach. Stairs were fully functional and not in dis-repair as someone noted before.
-Quiet non-party atmosphere. We were on the marina side and had our large sliding door/window open almost 24 hours, no bugs this time of year, only chirping birds in trees.
-maid service was very good, we had a very clean room each day, swept and mopped, and they would come back if we refused service at noon time (son was napping) and practically insist we need a clean floor and bathroom. We did not have washclothes but did not really need them, just hosed off sand and went to dinner! One grounds person did cut open a coconut for my son while they were trimming the trees which greatly thrilled him. He might not have been a regular employee but was nice enough. Most staff was very friendly to us in the halls saying hello often, I think it is the mang. fault for problems, vs. the lower staff. We had nothing stolen from the room and no one even bumped into my purse or backpack when out in town, which surprised me.
-Lots of grounds to explore, grass, rocks, a hill to watch the sunset on (must be a little fit to climb), huge cliffs on end so don't let kids run ahead!!

Negatives:
-People complained about food and since we did see what they were serving, I would have to say I was not impressed. It was equal to a high school cafeteria, so that would be my impression, to know you are getting a basic, hamburger, rice and meat sort of offering for the price. Not a big spread and not really inviting of a meal, filling probably but so many great resturants in town, I would have been disappointed most likely.
-Room was a bit outdated in style. The amenties were fine, we had cable TV-15 channels with remote, dresser, lamps, closet with optional laundry service bag, nice size full bath, etc but all were outdated. My big thing is that could all of been so easily and inexpensively updated. If we had a new dresser, new silver faucent in bathroom, and new warmly colored bed spreads, it would have looked far more modern. It is just the color combination of sea foam green and yellow bed spreads was very 70's, even though all was in working and clean order.
Our room did not smell and we had a great harbor view and beach if you looked left.
-If we wanted more attention it would have been hard to find. Maids were great but very limited staff otherwise. Some front desk staff knew eating and fun locations well, others had no idea what to say.
-the room doors closed very loudly as they were medal, they should buffer those some. Tile files spreaded noise, so doors should be muffled, it woke my napping child a few times.

If you are looking to be "waited on" by a staff member, this isn't the place. If you are looking to be left alone with a clean room and great views and swimming then you are good with this place.
I highly recommend this place for families looking for a laid back quiet, face to face swimming and touring the city vacation, most notably with children 5-11 as there are not resort driven kids activities, the windows do open without a notable railing for little ones, it is on a hill so babies/older people will not get around easily.

We did have a very good time but we did have sort of easy expectations for our vacation. We basically just wanted to be on the beach/swimming or eating out. We got just that at a good price. The only place in this price range that had most was not on the water. We did book this as a discount package on a discount web site offering airfare and hotel together with optional meal, at a 3 star rating. I feel sorry for people booking at a 4 star rating, it was not a 4 star. Since it was a bit outdated, we did not worry about our son playing cars on the dresser or jumping on the bed occasionally. He loved the heated pool and the private beach was just what we ordered. We could of ordered drinks there if we wished.

Taxi drivers were a blast, w/ loud music and friendly, it is $4.00 (400P) each way to the hotel zone/rest. area, or $5.00 (500P) each way to the downtown/square/aquar. area. The Aquarium is fun for kids, small but doable in a morning with a cute sea lion and bird show, I think it was $7.50 (750P) each adult. We did this when we were fried from the beach.
Take a sleeve for evening outings, it could get chilly with the beach breeze and open taxis.

We ate breakfast each morning down the street 1.5 blocks on the opposite side at Munchkins, sort of an open air bar, great eggs, pancakes, etc. for $3.50 each.
There is a fantastic Italian rest. in the hotel zone called something like Verillos if you want true Italian food. A lot of the places have music of some sort, great drinks, but the places you get coupons for are certainly more pricely!
We had a great time in Maz. and recommend it for casual traveling.
We recommend this hotel if you are OK with walking to food or paying a short taxi fare and are looking for a quiet location that is a discount price, for couples on a budget, families on a budget ages 5-11ish with simple accomidations.
Maz. has a lot of bumpy sidewalks so wear good walking shoes regardless of where you stay.
Eating out cost similar to US prices in rest. unless you go off the beaten path.
One thing you do get lots of bang for your buck in all rest. we went to was alchoholic drinks, they do not hold back on the strong stuff!!