Colina da Lapa & Villas

A taxa turística foi uma surpresa desagradável.

My husband and I have just returned from a weeks holiday here at Colina de Lapa, and there are positives and negatives to staying here. We enjoyed the space in the apartment as bigger than what you’d get in a hotel. But if you’re looking for a beach holiday, or a lively/tourist spot with shops, bars, restaurants and souvenir shops, then I’d say this isn’t the place for you, or you need a car to get out and about! We said we wouldn’t return here as we like to be nearer the beach. Positives first The 1 bed apartment has benefits of a full kitchen inc kettle, washing machine, microwave, hob, oven, fridge freezer, TV, living room and dining table, it’s a great space for a small family and home from home really. Beds were firm and we slept great! Housekeeping came in every day apart from Sunday, they made/changed the beds, we had clean towels daily, they emptied bins and did a little clean round. It’s a quiet and peaceful area with beautiful gardens and pool. We didn’t use the pool so can’t comment but it looked nice. There’s a shuttle bus that takes you to Carvoeire. We didn’t use this as we had a car, so not sure of the exact details but I believe it drops you off at 11am and picks you up at 4pm. Evening meals were nice but limited. Tennis courts and basketball court I think Children’s play area Negatives You need a car to get out and about as it’s quite far away from any town. It’s definitely not suited to anyone with mobility issues. There is a bit of a hill from the restaurant area, to the reception area, (where you get the shuttle) and there are steps round the complex. Takes over 30 minutes to walk to nearest beach, going down is ok but coming up (it’s all uphill) is another story! Unless you get a taxi or use the shuttle to go to the beach in carvoeiro The restaurant is limited, not sure if it’s because we went out of season (2nd week in an October.) We opted for half board (which was more expensive than we’d paid in other hotels) the breakfast was continental, cold meats, cereal, pastries, yoghurts, fruit, no eggs or hot food though. The HB evening meal option was a choice of 2 dishes (not enough variety) and we were offered the same food a few times. It did taste nice what we had though but needs more veg/salad options. Others who were eating here and not HB said they didn’t have all that was on the menu either. But could be a seasonal thing. Apartment is dated, needs modernizing. We also had ants in the bathroom, not mega amounts but about 6-12 and then we saw 1 climbing up the wardrobe in the bedroom, so panicked in case they crept in the bed! There was a subtle musty/damp smell In our apartment, more so in the bedroom. You got used to it when in the apartment, only noticing when you’d been out and come back in. No shops on site, (not even for basics) nearest one is a 10-15 minute walk away which isn’t far unless you’ve got mobility issues. No gym. The complex has apartments and villas with pools, whic

We hired a 4-bedroom villa at Colina Da Lapa in August 2024. The villa appeared to be clean although we did experience lots of ants in the bathrooms and kitchen, (kitchen needs updating and not enough crockery, etc for the number of people), but didn't think too much about it. The outside area was very nice especially the pool which was a good temperature. We didn't have enough chairs - only 8 were provided despite being a villa for 10. Requested two more which turned up as we were leaving to go home! The sunbeds were falling apart and in need of being renewed immediately. We had a problem with the fridge from day one and reported this to the reception. The lady (she was very helpful but had just started) came along immediately and said she would get maintenance to come and have a look. The fridge was far too warm, and the freezer was not working, the ice melted straight away. We were concerned that the food we had just bought and put in would go off. The lady returned without the maintenance person, and she said she would fix it. Not sure what she did, but it seemed to work a bit better but was still not cold enough. Anyway, consequently out of 14 people (we hired a 1-bedroom apartment also for 4 people) 13 got a horrible bug which consisted of being sick about 10 times and diarrhoea. My brother was taken unwell on the Wednesday and then two nephews on Thursday then having to fly home on Friday with sickness and diarrhoea. Once we got home everyone else became very unwell and the bug took at least two days to do away. We wrote to Colina Da Lapa to let them know that they should look at the air conditioning, fridge, pool (which was only cleaned once during our week stay) and the general cleaning of the villa (which was also poor) and received a reply from management basically saying that we filled the fridge up too much and it was our fault that we got ill! If you are thinking of booking this place, please think again and look at Vale de Lapa instead which we stayed at two years ago and was brilliant.