Casa Grande 8

We had a great weeklong family reunion at Casa Grande holidays, and would gladly come back. The place has more than enough to keep everyone happy: we enjoyed the pool, hot tub, outdoor grill, pool table, ping pong and plenty more. There's a good coffee shop across the street, and the waterfront is a 10-minute walk away. Thanks, Carl and Jinni!

The beach was easy to reach, and the area is quiet. Turn left for the downhill route, though there are gentler ways to get there if you take time to look around. Nearby you'll find a fruit and vegetable market, secondhand shops, a deli and a launderette. To the right, a couple of streets away, there's a large supermarket, with a coffee shop and patisserie opposite selling lovely cakes and fresh bread. In April the beachfront had two gift shops, plenty of cafes, a few restaurants, ice cream places and bars. It was limited, but enough for a week. The beach itself has soft white sand. We chose this Villa for a holiday with seven children and eleven adults, aged 3 to 50. Its size and number of bedrooms suited us, and Portugal was a short flight for the children. We booked directly by email, which was easy. Airport delays meant we arrived at midnight. A polite lady greeted us, though we were too tired to catch her name. It took over an hour to decide who would sleep where, with so many double, twin and family rooms, some with ensuite bathrooms and others with bathrooms nearby. We picked rooms for the first night because two adults were arriving separately the next day. There was plenty in the Villa: two large kitchens, utility rooms, two living rooms, two outdoor table areas and two covered games and barbecue areas, plus covered seating. We had table tennis, snooker, foosball, darts and sun loungers. There was also a vacuum, mop and bucket, brush, iron and board, WiFi, Wii and Xbox, TVs, DVD player, books and games. Both floors had dishwashers, and there was a big American fridge, washer and condenser dryer. Bedrooms had large wardrobes and drawers. White shower towels were provided, plus a big pile of pool towels, which we ended up using on the floor. The children loved the good-sized pool. The hot tub was great too, but with so many of us it went murky after three days. We texted the managers, who came within a couple of hours and cleaned it and the pool. There's an 11 pm noise curfew. The flowers, trees and bushes throughout were lovely. A welcome basket would have been very useful when we arrived, though there wasn't one. I raised a few problems with the managers in case they help future guests. The indoor floors get very slippery when wet, and there is no outside toilet or changing room, so coming in from the pool to use the bathroom led to several accidents. The outdoor shower is slippery and needs a mat. There was only one bike instead of four, which was a huge letdown for me. Many of the glass doors and windows don't close slowly, so they bang in the wind. This is a windy town. We left the next guests some coffee, tinned tuna, oil, pasta sauce, ice cream and sauces, and hope it helps.

We came back for a second stay, and the place was still fantastic. There's a great pool, loads to do and brilliant facilities, with a lovely team looking after everything.

A fabulous villa for sale, with amazing views, technology and design. Definitely worth seeing!