Vila Petra - Albufeira, Portugal 

Simply the Best
Posted: Wed, Jul 23 2008
We stayed at the Vila Petra hotel on a self-catering basis via First Choice. Having stayed in 5 different hotels in Albufeira, I can confirm that this is simply the best in every meaning of the word. Don't miss out on Mr Menu - drink in Stones Bar where you will be plied with free alcohol. One thing you must not miss is the 'Sizzling Stone' - turn left at 'Wild & Co' and you will find this restaurant where you are given a slab of raw meat on a heated stone, which you then cook yourself - it is not only a phenomenal taste sensation, but is also reasonably priced. As far as Vila Petra is concerned, the place itself is immaculate, everything looks brand new, all mod-cons - dishwasher is a god-send, tv, dvd player, cannot fault the place. Seriously, it's that good, I wouldn't stay anywhere else in Albufeira.

quality apartments
Posted: Mon, Jul 21 2008
My husband and 9 year old daughter booked almost a year ago for this resort but our accomodation was changed less than a week before departure to the Vila Petra. The apartments themselves were fab. I've never stayed anywhere with such a well equipt kitchen and good storage space. Found the reception staff very good, one day we stayed in the room and hung the 'do not disturb' sign on the door as my daughter was asleep and they phoned straight away to check we were ok and if we needed anything. Cannot comment on the restaurant as we did not use it. The bar staff were also good and the maids did a great job. The pool rules are a bit strict for kids as they can't play with inflatables and there is no other entertainment so I would say it's not ideal for kids over 3 or under 16. It was amusing to watch the towels being removed from loungers but this soon tailed off and there were a few chancers back to claiming loungers and not turning up for hours. Very annoying but seems to be the done thing everywhere. Restaurants on the strip are plentiful and I'd recommend Mary Annes for traditional British food. The steak pie is unbeatable. If you like a pizza, try Senhor Frogs. Loved the resort but probably wouldn't return to Vila Petra unless I was going without a child.

Fab apartments but staff not so friendly..........
Posted: Sat, Jul 19 2008
We have just returned from a weeks holiday staying in an apartment in the grounds of the hotel. The apartment was clean, extremely spacious with maid service on a daily basis changing towels, making beds etc. We arrived at the apartment in the early hours of the morning and didnt get down to the pool until around 10.30am where we found that there was a distinct lack of sunloungers/parasols around the pool. There were numerous sunloungers with towels on them and it seemed that in order to get a sunlounger you had to resort to the "if you cant beat them join them attitude" and get up very early which when you are on holiday you really dont want to be setting your alarm clock just to secure a sunlounger and parasol. If there were sufficient sunloungers/parasols this would not be necessary. Hilariously we noticed an employee of the hotel doing a "sweep" of the said towels and if no one was using them they were folded up and placed on the grass!! This happened not only in the morning but midday if you dared venture to your apartment or to the bar for lunch. A little over zealous to say the least. Also children were not allowed inflatables or balls in the pool and the previous said employee switched from towel watch to inflatable/ball watch!! We booked this holiday through First Choice as it was advertised as child/family friendly but i think that the hotel need to ease off on the pool rules slightly! We found the staff to be quite rude and abrupt and any request seemed to be a big deal. Overall we did have a good holiday despite these small niggles.