Florencio Villa

9 readers found this review helpful

This is a lovely villa with spectacular views over-looking the countryside to the sea beyond. Peaceful and relaxing with only the gentle tinkling of the bells around the sheeps necks and occasional over zealous farm dog to disturb you.
The villa is comfortable (apart from the creaky beds) spacious and clean (a maid came in to freshen up the villa on the Wednesday as did the pool man who topped up the water levels).
All the locals we met over the week were very friendly and we had lots of giggles trying to communicate using a phrase book and hand gestures.
I must admit that we never really ventured far from the glorious pool, but when we did summon up the energy to explore the area we found the pretty village of Alte, the indoor market at Loule, the sea front at Olhao and the Milreu Roman ruins well worth the effort.
The sleepy and charming village of Estoi is worth exploring too.
We were so glad we hired a car, as it is a must. The countryside near the coast is arid-looking but the further inland you go the greener and prettier it gets.
If we have any criticisms it is in the detail - there was no toilet paper in the villa (a bit stingy we thought), the old barbecue and shoddy pool furniture need replacing and there was little in the way of tourist information. Thompsons left an interesting file with some info in it, but more specific leaflets would have been most helpful in planning visits. The TV had only two english speaking channels (BBC World News and CNN) but then again we did not watch it much. However these were only small irritations really.
However be warned - We felt rather insulted and cheated with the the food hamper we ordered. It was of poor quality and vastly over priced (we were charged £35 but it probably only cost £8.)
Far better to skip it and buy enough basics to last you until you can get to either the Intermarche in Sao Bras de Alportel or one of the other super markets dotted about. (There is a Lidl wherever you go!)
Tip - Buy anti-mosquito plug-ins whilst you at the super market if you want to avoid scratching all week and bin bags as you will need to empty bins daily to avoid having ants everywhere.

So despite the creaky beds, dodgy plumbing (smelly toilets) and the teeth- rattling, suspension-busting, seat-grabbing approach track (more of an assault course than a road) we had a great holiday and would recommend the villa to anyone wanting a quiet, relaxing, away-from-the-crowds haven in Portugal.