Rio Arade Manor House

Booked this as part of a quick tour of Portugal. Superb value and great location for exploring the Algarve. Staff extremely helpful and friendly. Good breakfast and facilties. Parking right outside. If you want somewhere to eat, try R.Alentejano (about a 3 minute walk). It's very good local food and wine, with a funny owner and again, amazing value. Can't fault this place and location. Have a good trip.

We stayed last September (2013) and were so impressed that we paid a deposit for a stay this September. Carlos and his staff were extremely helpful and friendly and helped make our stay feel extra special. We had a wonderful room that had views over garden and pool. For breakfast there was a good choice foods including fresh fruits, cheeses, meats, bread, coffee/tea and fresh juice etc. We look forward to going back sometime soon.

We stayed for a week at the Rio Arade Manor House in mid/late April and it was the perfect break. The house and hospitality is just as described and we were very happy with our room and everything about the hotel. The pool was a bit cool at 22 degrees but warm enough for an invigorating swim even at this time of year. Most guests obviously drive here but we took a car from the airport and then spent a week on foot and public transport and there is plenty to do (though walking in high summer would be less fun. Local buses are just down the road and trains from Ferragudo just one mile away. There are not a lot of trains and buses (and there was a partial train strike on which limited our options) but they are reliable and inexpensive … and trains are half price for age 65+ so a real bargain for local journeys! The Portuguese are also very hospitable to tourists and English is widely spoken in the most unlikely of places. Highlights included the port of Lagos, which is very impressive, the museum in Poritimao and the hill town of Silves. We also enjoyed walking to Ferragudo and across the river to Portimao (both about 2.5 miles). Two good supermarkets - Coviran (Co-op) and Lidl - are also an easy walk in Parchal (which is confusingly the home of Ferragudo station!) Two more things – come in the spring and see white storks nest on chimney top, lamp posts and rooves everywhere (a massive conservation success for the Algarve) and eat out at Sanleti (we did three times!). You can also eat very cheaply and well if you eat where the locals eat and choose from the menu of the day (a massive steak and chips, wine pudding and coffee in Lagos for 12 Euros or a ludicrously cheap Feijoida (pork and bean stew) from the Pingo Doce supermarket in Portimao).