Colina da Lapa Apartments

We stayed for 10 days as 4 adults with an 8 month old, and had a good time in this huge, clean villa with nice furniture. It’s the biggest villa we’ve ever rented. There’s a nice view, but it’s far from the centre, shops, and most restaurants, so you need a car. Carvoeri is close and was nice. We also visited lisboa, faro and other places, though the weather wasn’t great and didn’t help the holiday. The hexagone restaurant, 200m away, is fantastic but not cheap, a fine dining experience. If you’re visiting the algarve, this place works well as long as you rent a car. The villa is 300m2, with 4 bedrooms and 3 and 1/2 bathrooms. There’s aircon in every room, a fully stocked kitchen, dishwasher, washingmachine, private unheated pool, a nice terras seating and BBQ area, plus a childseat and bed. The electric stove is old and should be replaced with halogene or induction. Only one room has an en suite double bed; the other 3 bedrooms have single beds pushed together. The water was warm enough. The furniture was good, and the beds were adequate, though they could be better. The biggest letdown was that there was NO internet. We were told it had broken, but nobody made an effort to fix it. We booked breakfast at the small bar/restaurant about 150m away. The same small selection was served every day, with scrambled egg and bacon, and no fried or cooked options, pancakes, or anything else. The people serving were friendly. Breakfast was too basic for us.

The apartments are a lovely size and the complex is nice, though there isn’t much shade. It’s remote, so you really need a car or taxi.

I’m here in the off season, and it’s very quiet. The self-catering apartments are basic, clean, and well kept, with what you need for a good-value stay. Check-in was friendly, and I’d definitely consider staying here again.

We were robbed during our stay, and later learned other houses had apparently been affected too. When we rang reception, they just told us to call the police. Nobody came to the house, apologized, or showed concern for our safety. There’s also an ant infestation that needs attention. Ants covered my bed on the first night; when I called the front desk, they did nothing, and I was lucky to find bug spray. From the start, the staff were shockingly rude and unhelpful. Our booking was fully paid, and I’d told them in advance that my friends would arrive before me, yet they refused to let them into the property. Instead, they demanded that my friend pay the full amount again on her own card and said they would “refund mine later.” That’s completely unacceptable and feels close to unethical. They also offered no help with our luggage, even though our house was the furthest one on the property. They simply didn’t care. This was the worst service I’ve ever encountered. If you care about your safety, money, or being treated with basic respect as a paying guest, I strongly recommend avoiding this place.