3 Bedroom 3 Ensuite Villa In Old Village, Vilamoura, With Pool, UKTV & Free WiFi

Martyn - thanks for your great review - appreciated. Regards - Eddie

Thank you so much for your great review - really appreciated. Eddie

Hello Mark - thanks for the review - appreciated. Eddie

Hello Dan - thanks for the great review. Appreciated. Regards Eddie Ager

Hello Linda - many thanks for the great review - appreciated. Regards Eddie

Must have enjoyed the trip, as Yvonne has booked a return visit! Regards Eddie

Hello Martyn - Many thanks for your review and for staying with us. We hope to welcome you back in the future. Regards Eddie

Hello William - thanks for the review and glad you enjoyed the villa and location. We are disappointed to lose a star as you were provided with full details of late check in fees in the email that was sent to you on 22nd April. This clearly stated: Late check in there is an extra charge as below: between 6pm and 12am - 35 euros between 12am and 1am - 50 euros between: 1am and 9am – 100 euros (subject to availability). On the same e-mail address it also requested your mobile number that you would be using in Portugal, so check in on the day could be arranged. This was requested several times. It was finally supplied by you at 17.02 on check in day. You did have a bit of a go at the poor lady that checked you in. You later found the e-mail you thought you had never had and apologised to the management company for the mis-communication. These things happen and with holiday travel there is a lot to keep track of! Anyway, we are pleased you enjoyed your holiday and hope to welcome you back in the future. Kind Regards Eddie

Hello Paul - thanks for the amazing review, really appreciated. The kitchen is currently undergoing a full refurbishment, so if you are able to visit again the villa will be even better! Regards - Eddie

Hello Sian - thanks for your great review. Yes, I am twice as old as the Old Village but as you say, it is pretty, they have built it in an old style and they do maintain it nicely. Completely agree with what you say about the bathrooms and kitchen. We have been saving our pennies and all 3 bathrooms are being replaced winter 2023/24 and hopefully the kitchen winter 2024/25. Regards Eddie

Hello Gary - glad you enjoyed your trip. Many thanks for the great review. Regards Eddie

Hello Don - thanks for the great review. Regards Eddie

Hello Declan - Many thanks for your great review, much appreciated and glad you enjoyed your stay. In the Old Village we have the shop you mentioned plus 3 restaurants, 2 bars and a bakery where you can take away or eat and drink on the patio area - all a couple of minutes walk from the villa. Completely agree with what you say regarding investing to update. A lot of the villa has been refurbed (new flooring and furniture in nearly all of the villa) but there is always more to do. At the start of the year we had the pool completely retiled. Main areas still to do are the bathrooms and kitchen (which are all serviceable) but we are most of the way along with the huge pile of cash we need to save for that! We put every penny from rentals plus a lot more back into the villa for its maintenance and improvement. Just replaced the hot water immersion tank with one 3 times the size. Regards Eddie Ager

Hello Karen - many thanks for your review and glad you had a good holiday. I agree with your comments. The villa is spacious inside. Villa plot outside is in line with other villas in the neighbourhood. If you go further out you will get a villa with a bigger plot but the trade off is that you are then in the middle of nowhere and not walking distance to the Marina and Old Village bars and restaurants. On the pool patio we still have room for 7 sun loungers, 2 tables that both seat 6, sink, BBQ and shower. There are also the grassed areas to the sides and front. We stayed in the villa after you. With Portuguese plumbing standards, sinks, baths and bidets are not fitted with U bends (instead they have a siphon system in the floor). A splash of bleach at night did the trick. Regards - Eddie

Hello Lisa - Wow! Thanks for the great review! Appreciated. Regards - Eddie.

Hello Colleen - sorry to hear you did not enjoy your stay and really disappointed to get your review, as we had had 6 straight 5 star reviews before this. I think the issue with your stay was basically coffee! Hugo, who checked you in, said that from the outset you were upset that there was no Barista style coffee machine in the villa and that this had been advertised on the website. I have been through the website from start to finish and can only see that it mentions a kettle. As Americans, I can see that this was a big deal to you and you did contact me during your stay to see if a coffee machine could be installed. I wasn't able to agree with your request, as this is not standard for villas in Portugal. You did not mention any other issues to me, in fact you told me how much your grandchildren were enjoying the pool. I know America is a car culture and Americans are not always that mobile but within a 4 minute walk for a European you have Jakks Bar, Voila Tapas Bar and Bakery, O Cafe Bar and Restaurant, Casa Do Largo Restaurant, the Village Inn and Artisan Bar and Restaurant. The pool is filtered 8 hours a day, 365 days a year and the gardener calls every 2 to 3 days to clean the pool. You say he only called towards the end of your stay. Entirely possible as you only booked 4 nights. The pool is bordered on one side by beautiful Bougainvillea flowers and Hugo indicated that some pink and purple flower petals had fallen in the pool. He showed you the net we provide to scoop these out. If this had been a spa there would have been an extra charge for flower petals! The pool was also completely re-tiled weeks before your stay so it was in pristine condition. We stayed at the villa before and after you and the cleaning by Clever Details, the management company, has always been first rate. Hugo, who checked you in, said you were upset about the coffee machine but he was not rude. I have known Hugo for years, he is a lovely guy. Once again, sorry that we did not meet your expectations. Regards - Eddie Ager

Hello Suzy - glad you enjoyed the villa and thanks for your great review! Eddie.

Hello Betsy - many thanks for your review and pleased that you enjoyed your stay. It's always nice to welcome transatlantic guests but we have noticed that there are some differences in expectations from the other side of the pond! We've only had one comment about a coffee machine before and that was from American guests - a kettle is standard in villas rather than a coffee machine. In terms of self-catering the accommodation has toilet rolls and bin bags in place but after the initial supply the expectation is that you will cater for yourselves and there is a small supermarket a couple of minutes walk away. Each person is supplied with a hand towel and bath towel and these get changed every 3 to 4 days. Noted that you were on a short break, so you did not benefit from this but any particular needs you have the management company is on hand to help. The management company also can supply beach towels at 5 euros a go - I will ask them to amend the welcome email so that this facility is publicised. Two out of the 3 bedrooms have air conditioning but the ground floor bedroom does not, as this is the coolest of the 3 - but fans are provided. I stayed in this bedroom in July and got by just fine. No tumble dryer, only a washing machine. Clothes dry pretty quickly on the airer provided and definitely ok to hang clothes out - no signs to the contrary and better for the environment than tumble drying! Regards Eddie

Hello Lisa - so sorry you did not enjoy your stay and really sorry about the pool pump, which failed. It was new last year, we had someone out to look at it the same day you notified Clever Details and it was replaced next day. For the TV channels we do pay each month for as many English TV channels as we get in the UK with Free View. There are two remotes, full instructions in the villa and Clever Details would have assisted if you had let them know you were having no luck accessing the channels. I am glad that you enjoyed the welcome pack and that Clever Details were helpful. In terms of villa maintenance we spend every euro we receive from bookings plus we send out a lot of money ourselves on the upkeep of the villa. In the last 3 years the villa has been completely repainted outside, has had new flooring in the lounge, dining room, hallway, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, new settee, coffee table, bar furniture, flat screen TV, TV stand, dining room table and chairs and cupboard, new chest of draws and bedside units in all 3 bedrooms, new settee in the gallery area, new bar furniture on the roof, 4 new outside tables and chairs, new sun loungers, new light fittings throughout the villa and has had balcony patios relaid. The upper landing and stairs still have carpet, which we are hoping to replace this winter. We would like to replace the bathrooms but have to save up for that. Although the villa was only built in the 1990s Portuguese building standards fit villas with metal pipes and they need to be replaced with polypipe so it is a hugely expensive job in total that we need to save for. The loose edge on the step down to the bar is actually a thin plastic decorative strip on the edge of the new laminate flooring, impossible to trip on - Clever Details have now screwed it into the laminate. Once again I would like to apologise for your experience. The vast majority of reviews we get are very positive. We did make a partial refund to you for your inconvenience. I believe you paid a very modest price per person per night. Would you believe that after Home Away fees, VAT, local agents and Portuguese income withholding tax we end up with about half of that! We do our very best to offer, what is a very expensive villa, at competitive rates. I always come out at the start of the season to make sure everything is OK and two of us spent a week checking, pressure washing and painting to make sure everything was fresh and ready for the season. Sorry Lisa - we genuinely try our best but didn't get it right this time!

Hello Luis - pleased to hear that you enjoyed your stay and that the house had many good points. I think expectations are higher from our Portuguese guests because, in terms of income, the house is relatively more expensive for you. I note that you expected a 5 star house. I would say that we are up to a 4 star standard and that is reflected in the low prices we charge compared to the space that you get. I cannot agree with some of the points you make - saying there is not a single dish in the villa is just insane. I can confirm there is no soup ladle. At the present time we have no plans to provide one. I can confirm that in the winter of 20/21, despite the 2020 season being a wipe out, we are investing another 12,000 euros in projects to maintain and improve the villa, pretty much as we do every winter, I wish you well and hope that your next rental has an abundance of soup ladles! Regards Eddie

Hello Barbara - many thanks for your review and glad you enjoyed your stay. The Clever Details cleaners are pretty good but I think that you are saying that during your stay there were no cleaning materials available. Please accept my apologies for this. I am at the villa now and from what I can see there were no sponges to wipe down surfaces. I think there was a broom and a dustpan and brush and a bucket. I usually go out to the villa at the start of the season to double check the set up is correct but Ryanair cancelled our flight! Sponges are now in place! Regards Eddie

Bonjour - merci beaucoup pour votre excellente critique - c’est apprécié. Cordialement Eddie