I don't think Sadie was referring to the OC, but to hotels where the receptionist 'listens'.
Dianne was facing the tapas entrance. Moving clockwise were Matt, David and Gerry. all with their backs to block 5. Fiona was next to Gerry, then Kate. Jane, Rachael and Russell were next, probably facing block 5.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/FIONA-PAYNE-ROGATORY.htm
Rachael said she could see the top half of the patio doors only; not that she particularly looked.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/RACHAEL-OLDFIELD-ROGATORY.htm
As a point of interest the Tapas pool wasn't particularly small at 37 meters long. An Olympic pool is 50 meters, but many pools are 25 meters.
By modern standards at most places, that pool is rather small, but maybe you stay at different places where small pools are de rigur. I make it 35 metres, but that is from the farthest point to the farthest point . As it is a funny shape the average length is about 29 -30 metres. In suppose that is a decent size for the number of people using it, but it would be unusual for a modern pool (where I holiday Anyway) to be that small.
You are quite right, I wasn't referring particularly to Ocean Club, when I talked about queues at the reception and interruptions. At one hotel we stayed at, a brand new gorgeous hotel (then), one evening we saw a queue of hundreds of people waiting to check in. It was a fairly big hotel and there were 4 receptionists struggling to cope. A flight had been cancelled and everyone bused to this almost empty new hotel
Without doubt, any time honoured method of receptionists listening to baby alarms in rooms would have gone straight out of the window for several hours that night.
Rachel was talking generally about her flat and the Mccanns. The bushes and straw sunshades were not evenly distributed and of variable height. I wasn't looking at her flat so cannot comment on how clearly it could be seen.
Certainly a bit of the bottom of the patio windows was hidden by the low wall under the railings and the fact that the diners were at a lower level had a minor affect as well, but I could see virtually the whole of the patio windows with the exception of these very low bits.
The group sat a couple of metres or so, further west in the tapas restaurant to where we sat.
We were lucky, the bushes had been recently trimmed back. Our view would have been very different had it been a couple of months later. Greenery grows amazingly rapidly on the Western Algarve.
