"My children and I had a lovely holiday staying at Colina Village, booked through Jet2 as a package holiday.
We arrived by transfer from the airport at 1pm and were told check-in was at 3pm. But they had an apartment ready so that was helpful.
The apartment was spacious and the bedroom and living room were lovely. Furniture in good condition and plenty of storage in the bedroom.
The kitchen however had many broken tiles, wobbly furniture and missing cutlery and cups. If we'd been completely self-catering, this would have been an issue. Maybe cleaners could restock prior to new customers checking in? The fridge had not been properly cleaned. This was rectified upon request. The kitchen sink tap was extremely loose. This was also fixed upon request.
Some tiles in the bathroom were broken too and rust in the bathtub. A smear of something in the bathtub hadn't been cleaned. The broken tiles really dragged the feel of the apartment down.
TV in the living room of apartment where there's a few English speaking channels with Portuguese subtitles. English subtitles not an option.
Air-conditioning in bedroom and living room. I couldn't get it to stay on for longer periods of time so had to reset regularly if we were in during the day for a short while. It wasn't really needed during the night.
The restaurant and bar offered plenty of choice. Staff very friendly and attentive. Bartender Rossan especially stood out with his friendliness and helpfulness, always attentive and greeted us every morning when we went for breakfast and asked how we were and what we'd done or what our plans were. He delivered great customer service. So did other staff, but Rossan was exceptionally kind.
The food was delicious and service was great. Several wobbly chairs which need replaced in the restaurant seating outside. Price of food very reasonable.
The bar offered beer, wine, cocktails, mocktails and soft drinks as well as ice cream, crisps and sweets. Drinks reasonably priced.
It would have been handy to have a mini market on site. They did sell floaties (and there's an electric pump), sun cream, water and bread, but some fruit, veg, milk, cheese and cold cuts would have been convenient.
The big pool was great and my kids (teens) used it a lot. It was very deep one end (2m 60cm I think) and 1m in the shallow end. The deep end is at the same side as the kiddy pool, so parents of young children should be aware of that. The kiddy pool is on the smaller side. The water reached above the knee of an adult or around the hip for a toddler. We didn't use the indoor pool.
Several sunbeds had to be removed due to being broken.
At no point did we struggle to get a sunbed. If arriving at the pool in the afternoon, we'd get at least two sun beds, but if arriving at 9am when the pool opens, we'd easily get one each.
There was sometimes music in the bar area. There was live music one night which was lovely.
There's Wi-fi in the bar, restaurant and reception. No wifi in the apartments.
Toilets in pool area and restaurant should be paid more attention to.
Staff friendliness almost made up for the issues we did have with the apartment and toilet facilities.
Praia do Carvoeiro is great and a 25 min walk from the reception area. Consider taking a Bolt or Über if going back in the afternoon as it's very hot in mid July. If in the evening, it will have cooled down enough to walk, just beware that it's mainly uphill.
We used Bolt for all our day trips and it's very reasonably priced. Price can vary depending on time of day.
I recommend a boat trip to see dolphins; I've used Wildwatch in Ferragudo twice. This time we also saw whales!
Colina Village - great staff, food and drinks. The interior could use an upgrade.
Overall a great holiday."
