Pinheiros da Balaia Villas

Fantastic place to stay. All the staff were brilliant. Very nice and clean. Probably one of the nicest we have been too. We did use the bbq and had a nice evening used the bar and restaurant couple of times however we booked with easyjet and there was no mention of the 700mtr walk from where the coach dropped us of at 10.40pm. And the same walk back to be picked up at 5.50am. We were a party of four pensioners two of us with walking difficulties. But this should not reflect on the place itself as our stay there was fantastic.

Arrived early Saturday evening, check in was quick and painless. Villa is spotless and very well equipped. We were fortunate to have a roof terrace which was great to enjoy a drink and catch some sun. There was a BBQ in back terrace but we never used it. Ate in the onsite restaurant 3 times for breakfast and 3 times for dinner, I must say really good quality, no complaints. We spent most of our time down at the old town. Uber approx €6 very reasonable, loads and loads of pubs and places to eat, wasn't overly keen on the staff at each place vying for punters but, it's kind of expected abroad nowadays. We did have a family bereavement whilst we were away so, did change the holiday mood significantly. Please don't expect much close by as there isn't, the Aldi is a good 15 min walk and if returning with shopping Uber is probably your best bet. Would i return ? Definitely.

Really enjoyed our stay here, villa was spotlessly clean when we arrived. Housekeeping came everyday except day after check-in and day before check-out. New Town and Aldi is within walking distance from Villas, Bolt or Uber will be needed for Old Town, we walked to the beach a day and it was a trek so id advise a Bolt again if your looking to go to the beach. Found the walls in the villa to be very thin, could here neighbours dragging chairs about and I could even make out their conversation in the mornings. Lady that works in the bar is just lovely and so friendly, went looking for her before we left but we couldn't see her -she took time out to ensure everyone was OK. Exceptional customer service from her. All in all we would return again, kids loved the pool!!!

We stayed as a group of 6 women for 4 nights. The villa was clean and well equipped but the bed set up in the lounge was a little strange. But ok for what we needed it for. There was a lack of mirrors and plug sockets so that could be improved on but other than that it was good. The sprinklers come on at night in the garden of the villa so don't leave your washing on the dryer on the lawn or it'll be soaked in the morning....we learnt the hard way haha. The receptionist when we checked in wasn't the most friendliest or welcoming which isn't what we needed after a long journey. Pool area was lovely and the pool bar was great. The toastie was the best I've ever had and the pizzas were also really good. Cocktails were lovely and the staff there were friendly and fun. The villa isn't near anything so we used Uber everyday but it was only about 9euros into town so that was fine.

The villa was very comfortable, the pool was great, and the breakfast was great. We had a very nice person taking our order called Pedro the first few days. On the other hand, the arrangement of the villas is very confusing, and it took us a while to find ours. The garage is incredible tight parking, and sometimes locks you out. In the garage there were huge cockroaches, both alive and dead. On the first day we had to make up our beds, and room service only made the beds, didn't clean or replenish anything ( including the tiny soap). The safe was not free, and cost a ridiculous amount per day. The pool closes quite early, which we were confused about since there was no lifeguards. We were locked out early on the day of our checkout.

We booked as a package and were due to check in at 4pm which we considered late as it was. Unfortunately we did not get in until 5.30pm. We did wait by the pool but after a long days travel, having to open bags in the reception and change there wasn’t the best start and added more stress in the high heat. The check in itself took over 1/2 an hour if not longer and it was only our family checking in. Reception staff were not friendly or welcoming at all and barely acknowledged us. Definitely not the start we expected after a long journey and being excited to arrive at our destination after spending a lot of money to get there. There was a large sticking residue on one of the counter tops when we arrived (although everywhere else was immaculate) I had to go and get cleaning products from reception and clean it and return them myself. Aside from that the Villa was beautiful and large and practical for a family. It was cleaned every day thereafter. Unfortunately we had an old air con in the living area and two bedrooms which just had a mind of its own. Taking several attempts to start and sometimes stopping or turning on hot air during the night so I had to keep getting up to check on my children’s rooms as they woke up one night sweating with a heat rash due to it. The other room had a new unit which worked perfect. We were there for 7 nights, for 4 of those we were woke with an alarm going off at least twice each night. It seemed to come from the pool/ bar area and meant that everyone had a disturbed sleep. I even videoed it to give a sense of how loud it was from my bed. The pool was everything that was needed. It closed at 8pm. Food and drinking bar/ restaurant was decent and reasonably priced and the staff there were so friendly and interactive. There was a guy called Lionel and another lady on the nights be wasn’t, both were brilliant and made the holiday so much more enjoyable. They and the size of the villa were the best parts of this location. The location was ok but not near anything. If you want to walk it would have been at least 15 mins up hill to the nearest Aldi and shops. It was 34 degrees when we were there so too far to walk in that heat for us. All the reports about being less than €5 on bolt and Uber is only for going to new town area and for 4 or less people. With a family of 5 we needed an XL Uber/ bolt which almost doubled in price. Every day we were out between 11 - 25 euro each way depending on where we went ( old town, Marina and Vilamoura and water park were the dearest). If you plan on just staying around the villa and pool you’ll be ok but there’s no entertainment so if you’re over 4 people and want to get about allow plenty more spending money on transport. Overall we had a nice time but balancing it all wouldn’t book these villas again.