"We have just returned from a lovely family holiday at Colina da Lapa, and overall we had a fantastic time! There were 7 of us staying in a beautiful 4-bedroom villa with our own private swimming pool, and I have to say the villa exceeded our expectations!
The villa itself was absolutely brilliant!
The outdoor space was fantastic, with a lovely private pool, 7 sun loungers, a BBQ area, comfortable outdoor sofas and plenty of seating. There was so much space for everyone to relax, and having our own pool really made the holiday special.
Inside, the villa was much bigger than we expected. Downstairs was a huge open-plan living and dining area, with what appeared to be a sofa bed, although we didn’t need to use it. There was also a bedroom, a shower room and a separate small toilet.
The kitchen was perhaps a little dated in appearance, but this really didn’t bother us as it was very well equipped with everything we needed, including a large fridge/freezer, washing machine, dishwasher, microwave, oven, hob and coffee machine.
Upstairs were three spacious bedrooms, one with an en-suite bathroom, plus another family bathroom with an overhead shower. The beds were large and extremely comfortable.
The villa was absolutely spotless when we arrived, and housekeeping visited every second day. We really couldn’t fault the accommodation at all. It was spacious, comfortable and perfect for our group of 7.
The only real disappointment was the half-board option.
Unfortunately, we made the mistake of adding half-board to our holiday package, and this is something I would advise others to think carefully about before booking.
On our first evening, we arrived at the restaurant to discover there was no written menu available. Staff attempted to explain a couple of meal options, but communication was difficult and we struggled to understand exactly what was being offered.
When we asked for a menu, we were told that the restaurant was closing for the season in a few days and they had very limited food left in stock. This was quite disappointing to hear on the very first evening of our 4-night stay, especially when we had already paid for half-board for 7 people.
Eventually, we were offered pizzas. Unfortunately, the waitress serving us that evening was particularly rude and impatient. There was eye-rolling when we tried to ask questions, and her manner made us feel so uncomfortable that we became reluctant to ask anything at all. We weren’t trying to be difficult; we simply wanted to understand what food was available, especially as one of our group required gluten-free options.
It really wasn’t a pleasant start to our holiday and left us feeling quite unwelcome.
The same waitress was working in the restaurant every evening of our stay. Although the service improved after we raised our concerns, the experience on that first night had already put some of our group off, and a few chose not to return to the restaurant on subsequent evenings, despite having paid for half-board.
The following day, after speaking with Lastminute.com, we raised our concerns with the resort manager. To be fair, he was very reasonable, listened to our concerns and apologised. He spoke with the restaurant staff and encouraged us to give the restaurant another try that evening.
We did, and there was definitely an improvement. This time we were given an actual written menu, which made things much easier.
However, the half-board menu was extremely limited. Main course choices generally consisted of one meat dish, one fish dish or pizza. Starters and desserts were also very restricted, with melon often being the option.
To be fair, the pizzas were actually very nice, but after several evenings we were all getting a bit fed up with pizza! 😂
Unfortunately, gluten-free options remained a problem throughout our stay. There was no gluten-free pizza or salad option offered, and staff didn’t seem confident about which dishes were suitable. This meant we were left trying to work out what might be safe for our gluten-free family member, which really shouldn’t have been necessary.
We had initially hoped to change back to self-catering and receive a refund for the half-board element, but in the end we decided to stick with it rather than go through the hassle of trying to change everything partway through our short stay.
On a more positive note, some of our group went for breakfast and were quite happy with it. They also commented on how friendly and helpful the breakfast staff were, which was a completely different experience from the first evening.
The resort and location
The resort itself felt very safe, peaceful and clean, and we really enjoyed our time there.
One thing worth knowing is that there is no shop on the resort itself. There is a small shop approximately a 9-minute walk away, which was handy for essentials.
You will also need some form of transport if you want to explore the surrounding area. We didn’t hire a car and instead used Uber throughout our stay. The service was absolutely fantastic, reliable and very reasonably priced, so getting around was never an issue for us.
Overall
Despite our disappointment with the half-board dining experience, we genuinely had a wonderful holiday at Colina da Lapa.
The villa, private pool and outdoor space were absolutely fantastic and really made our holiday. We loved having so much room for everyone, and it was a brilliant place to relax and spend time together as a family.
I would happily recommend the villas and would definitely consider returning in the future.
My biggest recommendation would be to book self-catering rather than half-board, particularly if anyone in your group has dietary requirements. With such a well-equipped kitchen and plenty of places to eat in the surrounding area, I think self-catering would have suited us much better.
A lovely resort with beautiful, spacious accommodation – just a shame the restaurant experience didn’t quite match the standard of the villas"
