Villa Clara — Hotel in Albufeira

Very disappointed in our stay...

We were a party of 14 of mixed ages,attending a hen do, we chose this property as it said it had a hot tub, and i even submitted a question on booking. Com to clarify and was told it did but when we arrived it DID NOT HAVE A HOT TUB...there maybe some lost in translation going on as there was a spa whirl bath in one of the bedrooms, but for UK clarity..there is not a hot tub (as we know it) outside...so beware!!

I had paid for an additional 4 beds, (which I was charged twice for!!!) The 4 beds were in the lower floor, and I was informed the day of arrival not to use the toilet in the bathroom in this area.... this was very inconvenient as it also served the other double bedroom, so 6 people!.. no offer to have it fixed, so was a pain waiting for the loo or having to go upstairs at night in the dark. The shower in the ground floor bathroom leaked and the tray was broken. There were Ant's in the 3 of the bedrooms, not a couple, but lots, we were careful not to leave drinks etc in the rooms, but despite this they were everywhere!!! And we had to purchase spray. We arrived to dirty sunloungers, not from the sandstorm the day before, but from months of no use, there was ingrained dirt and insects on them and to a pool that had many indescribable things at the bottom of it and floating ontop. It was clear nobody had been in the villa for a while, but this should have been cleaned properly before our arrival. As well as being charged twice for the extra beds, it took 2 weeks for my security 500€ deposit to be returned despite no issues with damage etc, this was VERY inconvenient!!!!. There were no linen bags for us to bag our dirty linen & towels at the end of our stay and in terms of linen, bedroom pillows and coverings were like fresh air. This has the potential to be a great property with some tlc, a bit of investment and better administration.

On a plus note... The location was good, kitchen was very well equipped. Very large property. Taxi service approx 4€ to main strip Edit** in response to the owners reply below, this is COMPLETELY UNTRUE... It was YOU that Text ME saying do not use the toilet as it was blocked.... none of what you said is true..i text you and asked for the pool and loungers to be cleaned.... and someone came that evening... but re the toilet it was blocked and out of use when we arrived...

Re the hot tub... in the UK.. this is the term used for an outside jacuzzi, NOT a whirlpool bath... as i said this is lost in translation but i think worth mentioning as we wouldnt have booked to come here as we were looking for a villa with Hot tub"

Ive stayed in many villas... all with garden's and have never experienced ants before like this.... so.....?.

Re the deposit, there was no delay from the... Nat West Bank it was a delay from YOU releasing my funds!!!!.... ...

Your reply just enforces the justification of my poor review...

AVOID THIS COMPANY WHO DO NOT VALUE CUSTOMERS AND PROVIDE A POOR SERVICE PRE, DURING AND...

We are a mixed family group of four adults, two older teens and three children under 10.

We were a bit concerned by some of the reviews we read before arriving at Villa Clara and in spite of reassurances from Manuel on the management team we remained nervous about our stay. We needn’t have been. Our flight arrived in the morning and we hadn’t realised that we wouldn’t be able to access the villa until the afternoon, however our contact André kindly said we could leave our luggage in the back garden of the villa. When we arrived Ariana and her team who were cleaning the villa welcomed us in and made it possible for us to change and leave our luggage more safely inside the villa. She also showed the children around which was so kind of her. We could see that the villa was very nice but that the team had a lot to do as the previous guests had left it a real mess. When we returned that afternoon from a few hours on the beach the villa was spotless and beautifully set up for us.

The reviews that say the villa is tired and needs updating have some truth to them, the shutters on some of the windows have been damaged by previous guests, the two fridges in the kitchen are probably due for replacement (but they work fine, just a bit icy and missing the shelves in the doors) and in places the villa is perhaps a bit worn and knocked around but that didn’t really matter to us. The kitchen was well equipped and included a Nespresso machine and toastie maker which pleased everyone! It should be noted that this villa does accept groups of friends - hen and stag parties etc. This means that you won’t find luxury furniture, fixtures and fittings here because there is understandably an expectation that things won’t be looked after.

We loved the whole pool area, the beds were comfortable enough, the showers were good with plenty of hot water (even with all of us showering at the same time) and everything was clean. The location was ideal - we could walk to lots of bars and restaurants, the strip was about a 10 - 15 minute walk, about the same walk to the closest land train stop and easy distance to the supermarket. We walked to the beach in about 15 minutes and taxis arrived quickly for longer journeys. The taxi journey to the old town was less than 10 minutes and inexpensive.

When we needed them the Sunny Deluxe team were quick to respond and efficient, I really can’t fault them. Everyone who we came into contact with was kind and friendly and did everything they could to make our stay as enjoyable as possible. The only things that bothered us were the shutters and the terrace sofas could do with new cushions.

We...

Large Villa that could be fantastic if it was looked after properly and their facilities were better. Very poor bedding and pillows, broken shower tray that was leaking all over the bathroom floor, one toilet in an ensuite was blocked and could not be used, ants in every room, which should be sprayed regularly. When we arrived the pool was filthy and so were the sun loungers, we had to clean them all before we started our holiday, not a good start. On a positive note the kitchen is large with well stocked crockery, untensils etc. Wouldn't stay there again unless it...