Colina da Lapa

I have just got back from 1 week stay at the Colina De Lapa in Portugal and thought it was superb value for money. It was 3 min drive to Carvoeiro, we had a car but there was a free shuttle service. It lovely and quiet what ever time of day. We had a 1 bedroom apartment, with a huge bedroom, same sized lounge & dinning area, large kitchen with big fridge freezer and even a washing machine & 3 balconies! TV and spacious bathroom. It was really clean, staff were so friendly. The bar restaurant was also great value with a full english breakie until 5pm with tea & toast for just 4.60 Euro's. There were plenty of sun lounges anda cute little on-site shop were you could buy hot fresh bread if you got there at 9:30am ish. Fully recommended and I will definatly be returning.

Colina da Lapa came to our rescue, I can't praise the reception staff there enough - we were booked Into Vila Gaivota via Expedia - when we arrived they claimed not to have the booking (but Expedia claimed to have faxed confirmation - and we contacted Vila Gaivota to ask questions and request transfer and they never indicated a problem) BEWARE - we found out that this had been happening to others recently, and that there is a Portugese agent in between Expedia and the hotels! We will be triple checking with the accommodation in the future! We were sent to Colina da Lapa in emergency for the first night - they said straight away they couldn't accommodate us all week, but in the end we did stay there - as we got fed up waiting for Expedia to sort it out wasting our first day - but we had to move accommodation twice. They couldn't have been more professional, friendly and helpful. They were more help than Expedia and Vila Gaivota combined, we were not their problem but they went out of their way to help make things easy for us. ACCOMMODATION The site is very well laid out - good views, and great gardens - a combination of small blocks of apartments - just 2 storeys tall, and semi detached 2 story villas - with privacy as there is space in between the blocks, and parking provision for cars. Tennis courts, beach volley ball and bowling green. There is a very small mini market on site for basics. Plenty of sunbeds, and space around the pool - lawned terraces in addition to the paved area. Apartments and villas extremely spacious and well equipped (washing machine, toaster, microwave, even blenders and juicers in the kitchens! - our last apartment had a dishwasher!) - clean and well maintained. Maid service every day except Sat. We started in one bedroom apartments, which were great, and our last accommodation was a two bedroom semi detached 2 storey villa - huge! - 7 french windows! Bar and restaurant staff were also friendly and good. Food was fine and reasonably priced. Drinks cheaper 7pm-8pm. LOCATION We had originally not chosen this because of the location out of town, - but they run courtesy buses to Carvoeiro twice in the morning, and once in the afternoon, and once to the beach. Twice a week (charged) to Portimao. We walked to the beach once - about 1.5km - turn right from the site and left at roundabout. Taxis are also cheap. There is a supermarket 10-15 mins walk away (turn left out of the site) Ferragudo is nearby if you want a more traditional town - there are also more beaches there - no taxi rank, but we got a phone number from the pharmacy and called one from a phone box. There are also a few restaurants in Sesmarias 10-15 mins walk (left from apts). The first pizzeria very good. Also went to one near the water tower further along - good food and cheap but less atmosphere) They also arranged a transfer to the airport for us - 45euros - cheaper than Vila Gaivota had quoted.

The Stanley family: Kildare Ireland July 2006 We have just returned from the Colina da lappa after a 10 day break and I have to say the complex was excellent. My three children ages 16, 12, 10 had a great time they made lots of friends. The staff we ever so helpful . The restaurant the food was good. I found there could have been a little more entertainment every nite for high season . You do need a car it you want to get out and explore, this can be arranged with the reception as they have deals on with worldwide rentals. You have a David Ledbetter golf course Pestano and Grammoch just up the road if interest in a round of golf and they do some offers including a buggy and golf clubs, as my husband and 12 year old son went out . We will definately be going back and would highly recommend this complex to any one.

Just returned from a very nice week at the Colina da Lapa Club. We were impressed with the way the Club itself is looked after - spotlessly clean throughout and the grounds maintained to a very high standard. Our family of 4 stayed in a two bedroom "villa" which was simply furnished, well equipped and, again, very clean. But we did feel that the villa could have done with a lick of paint and some improvements made to the plumbing. We also found the furniture and beds very uncomfortable. Other minor gripes included the well-documented tiny tea cups and the so-called "satellite" TV which is fine so long as you speak German or Dutch. Cosmos give this resort a 4 star rating so we were expecting a few luxuries, but there were none. Another thing that attracted us to the Club was the children's club, again run by Cosmos. Rather than having set times at sensible times each day, the 2 hour sessions were run basically at the whim of the staff. So some days there were no sessions, other days two and they tended to be at silly times. In the end, the children only went to a couple of sessions. This didn't really matter as they loved the beach but it did mean we didn't have a lot of time to ourselves. Our plane was delayed so we didn't arrive at the resort until quite late. After a long day's journey we were hoping for some help taking our luggage to the villa, but there was nobody to help us. The receptionist showed us a line of rusty trolleys and pointed us in the direction of our villa down the road. We were not impressed. Although Cosmos say the club is in Carvoeiro, it is in a suburb called Sesmarias, some way from the centre of town. Although the Club operates a shuttle bus service to Carvoeiro, I would strongly recommend hiring a car. This will also give you the opportunity to visit some of the other beautiful beaches and towns nearby. The drive into town takes about 10 minutes if you know where you're going - the roads are narrow and windy and the sign-posting is all but useless. But the water tower is a local landmark - if you find that you know you're not far from the Club! Carvoeiro itself is lovely but if you are after authentic Portuguese cuisine you may be disappointed - the restuarants in town cater more for foreign tastes. Much better was Ferragudo (about 10 minutes by car in the other direction from the Club) where we found authentic restaurants serving the freshly caught catch of the day. All in all, despite some minor issues, we had a lovely holiday and we would recommend Colina da Lapa. We are considering going again next year.

Collina De Lapa apartments and villas are the best I have stayed in. So spacious, well equipped and of a great standard of cleanliness and upkeep. Set in fine gardens with some great views over the countryside, golf course etc to Portimao. We did the apartments in Sept 2004 and the villas in October 2005 - both occasions we had less than a days cloud. Although the bar under the restaurant was closed in the Oct visit. The reception staff/restaurant staff are fantastic. As are the very thorough cleaners. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this resort - it is excellent. You will need a car for best way of seeing local beaches etc. And CdL is not walking distance to Carvoeiro centre .. cabs are only 6E

We stayed at the Colina da Lapa apartments for a week, having booked through Cosmos holidays. I would back up what previous reviewers have said in that you do need a hire car as there was very little in the way of shops, restaurants, etc. within walking distance. We stayed in November so did not make use of the pool or spend much time in the grounds of the complex but the gardens were immaculate and seemed well cared for. The apartment itself was larger than we had anticipated - there were just the 2 of us so we had a 1 bedroom apartment - and clean and well-provisioned with furniture. The kitchen seemed quite newly fitted with oven, hob, microwave, fridge/freezer and washing machine. Not much in the way of crockery, but who wants to cook when they are on holiday?! There was a log-burning fire which we used every night, the local supermarket (Intermarché) sells firewood. There is also air-conditioning/heating - the heating was effective, can't vouch for the aircon as it was too cold. The area (Sesmarias/Ferragudo) is much nicer than other parts of the Algarve we visited (e.g. Albufeira, Lagos, Praia da Rocha) as it's not English pub next to Irish pub next to Fish and Chip shop, etc. If you're looking for a lad's/ladette's drinking holiday don't go to Colina da Lapa.

We have just returned home on Sun 9th Oct after spending 2 weeks at Colina Da lapa, what a lovely, beautiful place. The accomodation was second to none we couldn't fault it at all, very spacious apartments, lovely gardens, very well kept, very very clean. All the staff were so friendly, especially Sergio one of the receptionists, he was just a lovely guy, Scott and Katie the reps were really friendly and helpful. No faults what so ever. Will definatly be visitng again

Second time I have stayed here and will go back again. Excellent staff, friendly. But best of all CLEAN appartments!!!

Literally arrived home yesterday from a seven day stay at the Colina da Lapa. First off, our intial impressions were 'wow'. The complex was beatifully maintained, lovely gardens and plenty of wide open space between all of the buildings. We had booked a 1 bed apartment, but on arrival were upgraded to a 2 bed villa - which was huge! Very clean, well furnished and with a well equipped kitchen. The daily maid service was great too - clean sheets, clean towels and a clean house were nice to return to after a hard days sunbathing! As 3 star accomodation, it was definitely above par. Negatives - we had hoped for a more couple friendly place (we've no kids) but the pool area swarmed with children - not conducive to a relaxing read by the pool. The other activites like the pool table and the table tennis were all out of order/broken, and in the week we were there no effort was being made to fix them. Also, the complex is about 3-4 miles outside Carvoeiro and is situated in a quiet residential area - so it was either drive or taxi into the town at night for a meal/drink etc. All told, it wasn't quite the holiday I was looking for and unless we had kids, I probably wouldn't choose the Colina da Lapa again. Carvoeiro was just right though - no loud clubs, fantastic beaches/cliff walks and some very nice restaurants. Recommend the Salmao or Fernandos on Monte Carvoeiro...very nice!

i think that my stay at colina da lapa was the best holiday i ever had! i reali liked michela the boy who works outside in the bar by the pool! hes really good and the staff speak really good english! hope to stay again next year danni x x