Pestana Carvoeiro Golfe - AL

We booked a two-bedroom apartment through a “WEBSITE2025” promo and specified unit “302B,” which the website described as “recently renovated” and showed in photos. When we arrived on April 6, the receptionist said 302B was occupied and we’d been assigned a different apartment. She said room assignments were handled by head office. I told her I wanted a renovated unit, and she asked me to inspect the one we’d been given first. It was appalling. The toilet was broken, and the shower had years of dirt and stains. I took photos and showed the receptionist. She asked us to come back at 3 pm, saying she’d find us another apartment. When we returned, she said it was Sunday, there were no cleaners, and there was nothing she could do even if we disliked the second apartment. We were exhausted after flying from North America, so we stayed in the second unit despite it being unacceptable by our standards. The kitchen was so greasy and grimy that we had to clean the counter and dishes ourselves the next morning. The bathroom was worse. After a shower, the floor was soaked. At first we blamed each other, but it got wet again while we were brushing our teeth. We also saw signs of water damage on the master bathroom baseboard. Even being careful, our showers and morning routine left the floor very wet. We used towels to dry it and endured three nights in a dirty, damp environment. At checkout, we returned the key and told the receptionist we thought water was seeping up from under the bathroom tiles. She said she’d make a note and told us we could have switched rooms again the next day. But we had golf and sightseeing planned, and didn’t have time to keep packing and unpacking. When we were offered the second apartment, she’d also made it clear that little could be done. It’s a pity Pestana mismanaged the units at Carvoeiro. The buildings’ exteriors and landscaping were pleasant, and we played one round at Gramacho Golf, which was well maintained.

The receptionist was rude. I was only discussing things for about 30 seconds before she interrupted and rushed me, saying I had to pay then. I did pay, but I wasn’t happy with her attitude. She nearly let another customer go ahead of me.

Gramacho Golf Course was excellent, the clubhouse food was high quality, and the bar staff were friendly and added to the atmosphere. Those were the highlights of a stay that otherwise fell well short, and I can’t recommend Pestana Golf Resort Carvoeiro based on our experience. We were 12 women who booked through Golf Breaks more than a year ahead. We clearly asked for two neighboring villas, each for six people, with twin beds. Instead, our villas were on opposite sides of the golf course, and neither had all the requested twin beds. Several beds were doubles that couldn’t be split, which not everyone in our group was happy with. The only alternative offered was a cot, which was completely inappropriate given the trip’s cost and how far ahead we’d booked. The accommodation also wasn’t up to standard. Villa 199, a V3, was run down, with random items shoved into cupboards that gave an impression of poor maintenance and disorganization. It sleeps six but came with only four sunbeds. We were promised more, but they never showed up. The other half of our group was “upgraded” to a V4 because the resort was reportedly full, which raised concerns about overbooking despite our early reservation. That villa was better, but there were ants inside one of the sofas and a smashed patio door. Having the villas so far apart left us feeling disconnected. Our golf day at Pinta de Vale was also poorly handled. The tee time was delayed because the resort had arranged the transfers incorrectly, and the scheduled transfers had stopped by 4 pm when we finished. Staff first suggested ordering an Uber for 12 people with 10 sets of golf clubs, which was impractical. We waited more than an hour and asked for a manager before a transfer was finally arranged. Poor organization, inadequate accommodation and ineffective customer service outweighed the few good parts of the stay.

The place is really nice and the golf courses are good, though the greens are tricky. I wouldn’t hire clubs, though. On the first tee, I hit a ball and the club head broke. We all saw the driver who brought the clubs throw them from the van, but they still charged us £60.