6/10 Okay
Melanie E.
2 Jul 2016
Great location...however...
My partner and I were overall very happy with this accommodation, having stayed here for the whole of June and the good price we paid.....
First the good:
The location in Vau is great with a fab sea view! It has a few restaurants nearby, as well as beach bars and a Spar. On arrival the owners fathers met us on time with keys and gate access. The apartment was clean and tidy and is quite spacious (there were 2 of us staying there) and is one of the most well equipped I've stayed in with more than adequate cutlery, crockery, tuppaware etc. The enclosed parking is invaluable as it gets very busy on the street. The pool area and pool is very good (though the filter didn't seem to be working), however the complex cleaner did her best to ensure most of the leaves and bugs were removed. The balcony is quite big and was also clean - having a hammock, 2 sun loungers and a patio table with 4 chairs and 2 invaluable awnings to create shade in the late afternoon.
The Bad:
The apartment DOES NOT have internet as advertised. After directly asking the owner (by message before booking) if the apartment has internet I was extremely disappointed on arrival to find it hasn't. I asked where the internet was and he gave us the password to the Spar's wifi - which is 50+m away and we were unable to connect to 80% of the time. After 4 days we contacted the owner about this and he brought a usb plug-in dongle which unfortunately was no good to us as it wouldn't work on iPhone's or iPad's - just on laptops.
The property DOES NOT have air conditioning as advertised!!! What it does have is a oscillating tower fan, that didn't oscillate.
On arrival I was curious as to the 'pest reject' plug-in that was located near the front door...my curiosity was sated when I discovered the cockroaches after a few days. They were always found dead (fortunately the plug-in works) and were discovered in the lounge and bathroom after returning from a night out.
It's unfortunate that the apartment is directly opposite the only bus stop in Vau so privacy was virtually nonexistent. To sit on the balcony meant we were constantly being watched by many people waiting for both the Alvor & Portimão bus, and those walking by. Also sat at the bus stop they could see directly into the apartment so you have to keep the curtains partially drawn to have any privacy.