Reviews of Torre Villa, Alcantarilha

I like a true Scot like to complain and never give praise where it is due and following my trip to Villa Torre nothing changed. That is until I was looking through the comments on Torre Villa. I was so happy to see that seven of the comments made, agreed with me on what a wonderful place Villa Torre is and that the owners were two of the nicest most helpful people you could meet.



We went out to Portugal not expecting the Villa to match up to the brochure as it seemed to good to be true but we were surprised to discover the brochure did not do the Villa justice as it was truly magnificient and the true luxury you deserve on holiday.



The owners Benilda and Julio live discreetly on site but are only to be found if you go looking for them.



Unfortunatley on the second day of our family holiday my husband had a Stroke and was I glad that the owners were there as it was them that arranged the ambulance and looked after my two teenage daughters while I went to the hospital with my husband.

My sister and brother in law came over from England on the Tuesday closely followed by another Brother in law on the Wednesday and Benilda and Julio could not have been more helpful providing extra bedding towels and cooked meals for us all. During this very trying time my daughters managed to have a great holiday and we spend many a night laughing at the fun we had at the villa.



When my family returned home leaving myself in accommodation in Alvor and my husband in hospital Banilda and Julio again surprised us by visiting my husband in hospital and a lovely evening was had by all.



I would like to say our holiday did not go to plan but I am so glad that we had booked into somewhere as magnificient as Villa Torre and that Benilda and Julio were truly lovely people.



I would also like to add that Jo was the holiday rep at the time and was excellent and could not have done more to help so when all is said and done as long as they are there to help when it truly matters every thing else seems insignificant.



My daughter visited Villa Torre last week and spent the evening with Julio and I am now looking at planning our Silver Wedding there in 2years (by then I should have enough courage to take my husband on holiday again)



Benilda and Julio were wonderful hosts who provide a magnificient villa, wonderful garden and pool and I do not understand how anyone could find anything negative about their holiday.



A 10 out of 10 from us.

My family and I have just returned from our 2 week holiday at Torre Villa, Algarve and are feeling a little down as we wish we were still there. This was our first time at Torre Villa and we were a little unsure about it before we got there,- because we thought that the photos on the internet looked to good to be true BUT did we have a surprise. Torre Villa was amazing, my children who are 8 and 6 years old, just thought they were in a palace. The villa was very spacious (the children had a great time playing hide and seek ) and beautifully furnished, the bedrooms were large and fresh. Julio and Benhilde, who are the owners, are wonderful people. We were not uncomfortable with there presence there as we very rarely saw them, only when they left us wonderful fresh fruit and veg on a regular basis (tomatoes, cucumber, grapes, figs, peppers etc) all from there own garden. They were fantastic with the children, and when my son was not well they got medication for us. They also gave us guidance on were to go and good places to eat. The grounds around this huge villa are wonderful, with beautiful flowers, plants and fruit trees all around, the pool is great -we were in this from morning till evening (sunbeds and inflatables all supplied). We will definately be looking into going again next year if it is not booked up already.

This was our second visit to this lovely Villa. The villa and the grounds that it stands in are beautiful and very well maintained. We returned to this villa as it was a haven for my 7 year old son and a wonderful relaxing holiday for myself and my husband. We returned to this villa for a second time with extended family as there is plenty of room and the inside of the villa is furnished and maintained to a very high standard. The owners who live discreetly on site are a very warm and welcoming couple who I found to only be visible to you if you were looking for them. They are very warm hosts and my son became very fond of them, very generous allowing us to use their aloe vera plant and giving us figs, lemons fresh vegetables etc from the abundance of cared for plants that they have. The pool area is just brilliant and myself and my son were never out of it. Although the pool is deep it was not a problem as even if I was at a resort my son would not be at the poolside unattended. This is a great holiday location, and a great property with the added advantage of having the local owners around if needed. Cleaned and maintained to a very high standard, very well equiped. I will be returning and would highly recommend this villa, great for families.

Having just returned from our third visit to Torre Villa, I feel I must share my experience with the world at large. Torre is truly 5Stars plus accommodation and a real jewel in the Thompson crown.



The villa boasts 5 double bedrooms furnished beautifully with en suite bathrooms you would have to see them to believe the size. There is a huge fully fitted kitchen with all mod cons and is fully supplied with enough cup, plates and cutlery etc to enable you to feed a small army, and a large table that seat a minimum of eight. There is also a large family sized dinning room and a lounge with all home comforts.



There is a maid/cleaner who visits twice during your stay changing bedding towels etc, we found the villa to be spotlessly clean, so much so you could eat your dinner off the floor.



The villa sits in large gardens maintained again beautifully and boasts a huge pool with children's pool attached, our grandson now aged 8 (under seven on his first visit) spends up to 7 hours a day playing safely in and around the pool, also the main pool is of a depth to please the most discerning of swimmers.



The brochure states that the owners live on site, which they do very discretely their accommodation is as such that they do not overlook their guests, they are very approachable which we found to be a boon and a blessing as we where able to seek advice/direction with shopping,restaurants and sightseeing.



The Torre Villa is a must for larger family groups who seek a safe secure environment and I would not hesitate to recommend to you.

As a rule I never give on-line reviews on products and services, but prefer to give praise or otherwise on a more personal basis. However on this occasion I feel that I must give my views on the Torre Villa, its owners and the whole package.

Firstly I have just completed my third visit to the villa. The first year my husband and myself went on our own. I did have doubts about the owners being on site (being a very private person), but I quickly realised that in my opinion they were exceptionally discreet, but available if needed.

The villa is actually built on three levels. A ground floor, in which the owners live which opens into their own garden area. A first floor which is unoccupied, then the second/top floor which is the part that is yours for your holiday. If you require the use of extra rooms there are two bedrooms and a bathroom to the front of the first floor of the property, but with no access to any other areas of the first floor. The whole villa is decorated and furnished to a high standard that I would love to have in my own home. Even though we were only at the villa for a week the maid/cleaner came in to clean and change the linen mid-week.

I never at any time felt uncomfortable being at the villa and had such a great time and felt so welcome that the second year we took my daughter, her husband and seven year old grandson with us for another week.

Again a lovely welcome from our hosts, and the feeling that nothing was too much trouble. Our grandson had a lovely time, especially when Julio and Bernilde the owners bought an inflatable for use in the pool our grandson had a wonderful time, in the pool, running around and singing at the top of his voice as he was so happy.

This year, our third visit, again the whole family went - we look forward to the villa and its ambience as much as seeing Julio and Bernilde. We were not disappointed - fresh figs and produce from the garden were all given to us. We cannot understand the reviews already given, and when we first read them genuinely thought that these visitors had got mixed-up with where they had actually stayed.

Not all holidays are a success, and not everyone enjoys something as much as the next person, but believe me when I say that I have never before ever felt inclined to go back to the same establishment twice let alone three times. I feel so sorry that the people who gave their reviews so obviously did not get the holiday they were expecting, but felt that I had to redress the balance with my own experience. I am already looking forward to my fourth visit. Well done Thomson for having such a jewel in your crown.l

Having read some of the reviews about Torre Villa, I feel I must address the balance; I have stayed at the Torre Villa for the last 3 years and find some of the other reviews slightly distorted. The owners of this villa do indeed live on site and I would add very very discreetly, I found this to be a boon and a blessing as I was able to approach them for help and advice whenever needed in respect to local shopping restaurants and in particular to places of interest, in fact I probably disturbed them and their privacy more than mine and they always had time for me.



The villa itself is extremely well appointed large and spacious, I would describe it as being luxurious, having 5 good sized bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, a large kitchen with all mod cons, a utility room with washing machine, in fact in the kitchen the number of pots, pans and crockery are sufficient to feed a small army without the need to wash up; yes you’re right it has a dishwasher and not moi.



Further to this there is a large dining room, large lounge with satellite TV and DVD player, outside there is a balcony with table, chairs and a barbecue, just like home (I wish).



Torre Villa is set in large, beautiful and well maintained gardens with a huge pool. When previous guests say they only had a third of the property for their use this, in my view gives a wrong impression, as that third is as big as a five bed roomed house, and the remainder is totally unoccupied, with the owners living to all intent and purpose separately within their own accommodation at ground floor level with their own garden/patio area which is discreetly screened so they do not have view of and cannot overlook their guests.



The Villa is kept clean at all times and has a maid/cleaner who comes in twice weekly to clean, change bedding, towels etc. I have never found that any of the bathrooms smelt on any of our visits (the old saying go’s: you could eat your dinner off the floor - it’s spotless).



One of the comments said “not children friendly” I would have to dispute this along with my grandson now aged 8 (not quite 7 on his first visit) who spent up to 7 hrs a day playing safely in and around the pool, I would also point out that small/young children can drown in a few centimeters of water if unsupervised. The use of life jackets, from my point of view, is gross exaggeration unless you wanted to leave them on their own and gives totally the wrong impression and is misleading. This is a safe environment based upon any responsible adult being in attendance.



I am very sorry to hear that other guests have not enjoyed it as much as my family, we have just returned from our third visit and intend to visit annually from now on. My only wish is that we had found Villa Torre many years earlier as I would not have wasted our hard earned cash on other dubious locations.



This is truly, in my opinion, 5 star + accommodation and I have no fears in recommending it highly to family, friends and the world at large.

Our first villa holiday & the way to go from now on.

The owners live on site and are very helpful if you need any assistance.

Quite location out of town.

Never saw a cloud the entire holiday.

Loved the pool & gardens.

Property very clean.

Even the Thomson resort rep ‘Jo’ was very helpful, a first in our experience.



Would consider returning as the weather was simply heaven!

Very highly recommended.



The owners Julio & Benilda cannot do enough to accommodate their hosts during their stay - Lovely genuine people.



This is our second family trip to Villa Torre set on the top of a hill with sea views in the quiet countryside of Armacao De Pera, which is only a five minute drive to the nearest empty postcard pretty resort beach/s or shopping facilities.



Fabulous accommodation with every possible facility, well suited for families with young children as the beautifully kept landscaped grounds with numerous fruit trees (ripe for the picking) surrounding the villa are a safe and secure adventure playground for children.



The pool is always spotlessly maintained and is a generous size for swimmers. The pool also benefits from having a linked children’s splash pool.



Accommodation is palatial with balconies everywhere and a large roof terrace with splendid sea views of the coastline and surrounding towns & neighbouring resorts.



In addition, the cleaner comes two to three times a week and keeps the villa absolutely spotless.



Recommended Must Do’s:



1. Visit one of the local beaches for privacy in Pera or neighbouring Gale

2. Eat out and try the local fish ‘catch of the day’ or fresh sardines

3. If you have children a visit to the ‘Puppet Man’ one evening in the old town market square of Alberferia is a must! = 20 minute drive from the villa

4. Visit the shopping Mall in Guia at night time = 10 minute drive

5. Visit Portimao, again in the evening, and take a walk through the flea market down to the old fort = 30 minute drive

6. Zoomarine, again for the children, is worth a visit albeit a bit on the expensive side



Would we go again, yes, definitely!

On arrival things appeared to be lovely and the owners very helpful and obliging. However, after only two days in the villa things became very different.



Firstly you only rent a part of the villa as the owners live on site. We were told by the rep that the owners live discreatly on site, but I'm afraid they are anything but discreate!



Unfortunately one of the party broke a vase, and whilst everyone tries hard not to break anything an accident is an accident! The member of the goup who broke the vase immediately reported the breakage to the owner who said that they could either replace with an exact item or replace with two matching. The item could not be matched exactly and so the question was asked of the owner what they should do. The owner said she would be happy to have the 57 euros. When the group member took the money to the owner she said she wanted 127 euros! What an increase in only one day!!! In the end she kept the 100 euros deoisit.



The children's pool is not a childrens pool and our children could not use the facility. At 90cm deep this is not suitable for any children who are unable to swim. We had to purchase life jackets for all the children to ensure no terrible accidents of drowining.



The whole villa is tiled and marbled, which at first glimpse looks lovely, however, you soon find out how dangerous this can be, especially with small children. A few of the stairs to the first floor were loose and cracked, which in itself posed a danger!



One of the bathrooms has a continous unpleasant smell, even with the window open at all times.



The first-aid box was stocked with items more than 4-years out-of-date and looked disgusting with some sort of yellow gunge on the outer packaging. You would not have used any of these items for anything. When this was mentioned to the rep he said we should have brought our own. We did have a few things with us, but it was a natural reaction to reach for the first-aid box in an emergency!



We mentioned to the owners that the Television wasn't working nor was the CD Player. When the owner came to investigate he insinuated that this was down to our children! No aplogy was offered when the engineer explained that the Television only needed tuning in and the CD Player had a section missing!



On several occassions there was, what appeared to be, building works going on late on in the evening into the early hours of the morning. We asked the owners if they knew where the noise was coming from as it had woken the children who were sleeping in the first bedroom directly next to the area blocked off for the owners. They denied any knowledge of the noise, but later on in the week we saw two men arriving at 9pm and they entered the ground area of the villa. The lady owner had already mentioned that they were having a games room built, before any of the animosities arose.



We contacted the Thompson rep, Joe, to try to sort the issues out, but he was as much use a chocolate teapot! Any questions that were asked of him were only replied with 'I don't know' The general consensous was that he did not want to fall foul of the owners of Villa Torre! He told us that the owners don't make any money renting the villa and they like to have their antiques on show!!! Be careful - it might be you who has the next breakage!!!



We left some comments in their 'Guest Book' which is left on the hall table inviting guestes to leave their views. Clearly they only want the good ones as it was evident that some pages had been torn out and before we had even left the driveway our pages were being removed!



What a shame it turned out this way, as I say, initially they appeared to be so nice but I guess you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover!!!



I could go on but I think this will do for now! All I can say to other guests is if they are considering holidaying at Villa Torre - check all the small print when booking. Make sure you have an entry itinerary check (something we did not) as you could be blamed for something that is not of your making on your departure. If you have small children who are non-swimmers buy a life-vest for them because the children's pool is too deep for non-swimmers.



Finally, check the arrival deposit requirement. Only when we arrived did we find out that there was a deposit of 100 euros expected. The lady owner told us that she felt it should be between 400 and 500 euros because that is what other villas charge. As this holiday had been booked on the internet this was not evident, it is however, in the small print in the Thompson Brochure.



Good points: - Nice gardens with fruit trees. For adults and strong swimmers the pool area is also a nice feature. Not a bad place for adults but not child friendly.

WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!! Having booked this villa on the premise we were hiring the whole villa it was quite a shock to find we actually only had about 1/3 of it, the owners occupy the remainder, anything but discreetly. Come the evening a team of builders began working well into the early hours, waking my 18mth old baby on 2 occasions at 1am.

Initially the owners went above and beyond helpful, but quickly turned nasty when we reported something broken, accusing our children when they had had no contact with the item.

Thats when it went downhill, the owners began tailing us around the pool area making us feel like criminal misfits, any queries were met with rude retorts.

One of my children trapped his finger in the door and when we opened the first aid box we found all the items to be out of date, some by up to FOUR yrs!! All covered in some kind of yellow sludge. When we spoke to the rep about this, his reply was "well you should have brought your own", hardly the response you expect. We found the rep on a whole to be hopeless, every question or enquiry was met by "I don't know".

The guest book in the villa represents a bias veiw, before even leaving the property the owners had ripped out our comments, so don't believe all you see!!

On arrival, the villa looks lovely & is really big, easily accomodated my party of 11 people & the gardens & pool area look beautiful, however what we didn't ecpect is that we had to share the villa with the owners, we were told that they lived discreetly on site, but in actual fact they have halved he villa and live on the ground floor (guests have the top floor). This would be fine if they were discreet, but we found them to be noisy & several times had a team of builders come in to work at 9.00pm and the owners made more noise than the 4 children combined that were in my group (not what I call discreet). They also watched our every move & when we pointed out that the tv & cd player didn't work, thay accused us of breaking them!! They also ask for 100 euros deposit and if you break something they say you can replace it, but when you try to replace it thay tell you they want a different item that is twice the price & are extremely rude and unhelpful. If you do need nay help don't ask the rep, he couldn't answer any of our questions & didn't appear to actually be interested in sorting things out!!

I wouldn't recommend that you take young children with you as the kids pool is over a metre deep, hardly a splash pool!! so not really appropriate for small children.

Finally on arrival make sure when you give your deposit you get them to give you an itinery, as on departure they will accuse you of breaking/losing stuff & keep your deposit even though you don't know when you get there what if anything was there previously.

Finally don't bother writing in their comments book, as they will tear the pages out before you get off the driveway.