“Pretty gardens / relaxed area, nice walks with beautiful views on cliffs”

Lovely situation for hotel,short walk to beaches and the small town although uphill returning. Houses spotlessly kept clean every day by maid, excellent kitchen / bathrooms etc, small patio to enjoy although for us it sometimes got too noisy because of swimming pool proximity. Overall we enjoyed the area especially the gardens of the hotel which are kept beautiful.

“A very good standard of accomodation”

Pestana Palm Gardens is basically a clean attractive comfortable place to stay. We were there in August 2006. The town houses are very attractive well proportioned and kept clean.The maid service is good. The pool is adequate if a little small and is kept clean and tidy though it can be busy at peak times. There is a small poolside bar with a snack menu available during the day. The restaurant is fine for breakfast but do not even bother trying to get a decent evening meal there! We ate there a couple of times and the food ranged from bland to inedible! The bar staff are very friendly even though they did run out of certain drinks but the restaurant staff are most unhelpful! The food is all pre packed and simply warmed through. They cant even seem to do that very successfully. There was the constant promise of live entertainment but nothing ever came of it! I would recommend the place if you want a nice quiet place to sleep ok breakfast and adequate snacks for lunch. Venture out (by taxi,it is quite a walk!) to the still lovely little village of Carvoeiro for a good selection of bars and restaurants. The beach is a steep walk but worth it when you get there. Use Pestana Palm gardens a very pleasant base whilst you explore the beautiful Algarve!

“Is Portugal still good value for money?”

One of the reasons for going to Portugal for a winter break over the last twenty years was that it was very cheap to eat out. What with the decreasing vaue of sterling and the ever increasing cost of eating out we are now questioning whether we will return. With this in mind, and the very wet weather we experienced this year (02/2010) we could not think of a nicer place to be than Palm Gardens. The appartment we had was very well equiped for a self-catering family of five. The bedrooms are large and the beds comfortable, which makes a change from those that we have been accustomed to in the Algarve. Tip - bring your own pillow or buy one from a local supermarket. The outside pool (although heated) was too cold for us. Although rated as 3* accommodation, PG is a cut above the rest and is worth paying the premium. Renters tended to be in the 40-70 age group, so may be too quiet for those younger. If we do return to Portugal then Palm Gardens will be at the top of our accommodation list.