Villa Cerro

We left before our stay was over and would never return. We barely slept, and the owner’s rude, cocky, greedy manner badly affected our visit. When we asked about getting our money back, she was smoking and said, “do what you want, this is not a hotel.” We found a lovely hotel afterwards, where they immediately upgraded us to a nice one-bedroom apartment. That’s how guests should be treated, rather than as “clients,” as she called us. Our room was the worst one, with no view, shabby furniture that looked salvaged, grimy chairs and no table. The two aircon units on the balcony were noisy even with the door shut, the wardrobe doors rattled, and we could hear people talking upstairs all night. The TV was tiny and didn’t work. The bathroom was clean, but the toilet barely flushed, and the beds were small singles. Our room was by reception, where the owner was inside coughing badly. There were pharaoh ants on the kitchen worktops heading for the food, some broken sunbeds and pool tiles coming loose. The nearby motorway was noisy, and the place is far from the old town centre. Cigarette butts sat in many ashtrays without being cleared regularly. There was a sign in the room saying no eating or drinking, and she would follow us into the kitchen to check on us. The safe was locked, and she said she had to put in her code. She even told me to drink rose wine before bed to sleep better.

This is a shared villa, not a hotel. I'd only recommend it if you don't mind a nice view of a wall just two meters from the window, and hearing noise because the rooms have no soundproofing. Getting to the city center means a half-hour walk up and down Albufeira's hills, often in blazing sun with barely any breeze. There were big cockroaches in the bathroom and tiny mosquitoes in the room at night. The receptionist is only there for a few hours each day, so good luck catching them.

What a disaster. The room was noisy and the furniture was poor. The owner was an unfriendly, rude and arrogant woman who spoiled what should have been a relaxing holiday. She smoked constantly, and cigarette butts were everywhere. I’ll never return.

The room was clean and nice, and the bathroom was fine, though it could use a fresh coat of paint. The pool was great, and parking was available on site.