Overall a good choice
Review Submitted: July 2, 2009
Date of Stay: May 2009
Property was a good standard, near beach, restaurants etc. and child friendly enough for us. Kitchen was well-equipped, showers good, TV, washing machine, dishwasher etc. all worked. It was also very clean. The welcome package was lovely - water, milk, fruit, bread, cheese etc. and a couple of very drinkable bottles of wine! Having the communal pool to use was great and the staff at the bar there were brilliant - so friendly. We loved the views from the balcony and really got to like Ferragudo as a place.
One downside was the stairs to the entrance of the property and the steepness of hills into town, beach etc. - this was only an issue for us because we have a baby, toddler, double buggy etc. If our children had been slightly older we wouldn't have minded at all.
We had an issue when we arrived in that the travel cot and highchair we'd agreed weren't there - however as soon as I called Fredrik, they were with us approx. an hour later. If you've got small children, you would need to think about bed solutions as both rooms have high double beds and hard floors. We were lucky as we had brought a travel cot for our baby, and our toddler was able to be persuaded into the travel cot supplied by Fredrik. If he had been a few months older, we would have needed a ReadyBed or similar.
The only real negative we had was power issues towards the end of our first week - Fredrik was great when this first happened and even brought us a bbq and some food and reimbursed us for part of a day for our inconvenience. However, we determined that it was the aircon triggering the powercuts and he asked us not to use the aircon any more - to be fair there wasn't much choice here because whenever you switched it on, all the power in the villa went off and had to be restarted at the switch box. Fredrik said he would get someone to look at it but that was last we heard. This was fine across the middle of the stay but the last 3 days were uncomfortable and difficult with the children as it got hot - 30+ - we think more compensation should have been offered for this given that air con was part of the package we bought into when renting the house. If you're staying here over the summer, check that it's been fixed if it's a feature you need / want.
Despite that however, if asked whether I would stay here again and if I would recommend it to friends then the answer to both questions would be yes. The accommodation standard and location would win every time for us.
Owner's Response: I am happy you had an overall good time and I am of course really sad that you you had any negatives at all. As you told me, it is hard, if not impossible to get any "handyman" or technician to arrive on short notice, and this time was no exception. We have now replaced the complete air-conditioning system and upgraded it - some say they have seen penguins under the dining table ;) Please let me know if you plan on returning and I will make sure you get a good deal. Sorry for your discomfort.
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Helpful votes: 2/2
marks the location of the property in Carvoeiro / Lagoa region
