Gida Apartments

Gida was an experience! We spent a week there and through the dramas we had a good time!
It was once a beautiful place to stay we think - but now it is run down and very poorly managed. The bar is run by separate individuals - and they were friendly and made us feel welcome, although prices were expensive and variable!
We had a good week - but wouldn't recommend the location to our friends.
We met lovely people there (united in frustrations with our accommodation) and that made up for the difficulties.

We really liked the Gida Apartments. We are used to Greek family run apartments, and this was much the same. OK, the place is a bit outdated, but clean and tidy when we were there, and where else can you get near Villamoura for this price?
It was cleaned very day, and the views from the balcony were great.
We went in January, and the coldest January in Portugal for years. This was a bit of a snag for the first three days, after which it warmed up.
It is a fair walk from Gida to the beach - but what a beach! Ask Alice to give you a map of the shortest way down, which is through the old town, 25 minutes walk. The town is happy enough, with good restaurants. We had a hire car, but we walked everywhere anyway.
There is a nearby bar, which looked like a right dive. We visited the places on the way into town instead, which were better. The Pizza Villa is a great place for local colour, great food, and a stout walk back. Cheap too.
When we were there the Gida pool was operating but it was too cold to try it. The Gida bar was shut, so I cannot say what that would be like, but we went in and it looks good.
If you have kids in tow, that walk into town could be a pain. On the other hand, take a cheap flight, hire a car, and you could not go wrong. Maybe not January though.