Convento das Bernardas - Pátio Laranjeiras by Algartur

Beautiful pool area Location great Spacious apartment

De ligging, het gebouw, het zwembad.

Harde bedden

De ligging

De tafel buiten zou fijner zijn als hij gewoon glad was ipv aparte latjes

The location is nice, we have stayed at the Convento previously.

The bedrooms have patio doors leading onto a terrace and small swimming pool. On arrival we were informed they are missing keys so cannot be locked, or otherwise secured from the inside. We have small children so obviously there was a serious drowning hazard here, especially overnight, and an overall security issue. In short, the owner refused to supply the keys, have new ones cut, or the locks changed. Four days later, the property management company ALGATUR removed the door handles as a solution (!), which then obviously presented a fire risk. The manager became rude and insulting when I explained that this was not sufficient, and refused to do anymore because he was ‘busy’ and my children's safety was my own responsibility! The apartment was advertised as ‘perfect for families’. We spent our entire holiday asking for help and did not sleep for two weeks. Booking.com stepped in and escalated the case, but it was still not solved by the end of our stay. We feel thoroughly taken advantage of. As a lovely endnote, we left the property clean and tidy, but, not to our surprise, ALGUTAR charged our credit card for a duvet we had apparently stained (it was already marked, along with blood spots on pillowcases, lipstick of towels, a heavily stained couch- the least of our concerns!) The property needs some maintenance, smelly drains/bathrooms/AC, signs of mould in the back double bedroom, many of the kitchen pans were flaking etc, but this pales into insignificance alongside flagrant disregard of guest safety. AVOID.

Location is exceptional, the quietness and tranquility are wonderful, staff from the renting team was great, they were immediately available, on a Sunday, to open the door when we forgot the keys inside!

Wi-fi could have been faster

It was our 4 th time of staying here, it’s quiet, well cared for and in a good location. The pools are great

I always feel the distinct lack of sunbeds, and places to sit outside in the sunshine.

The apartment is in a lovely location, by the smaller pool in the development. You get morning sun and shade from about midday on the terrace. The convento is a stunning building - well maintained gardens - everything very neat and tidy. The apartment is well equipped in the kitchen - decent knives, pots and pans. - three coffee machines (!) drip filter and nespresso. The location is great for the town. We hired a car so could explore but it's an easy five minute walk to almost any restaurant and to the ferry to get out the beaches. Tavira is a lovely town to explore, pretty churches and little streets to explore and wander through. We also drove to other beaches, all very close by and there are lovely walks from the door onto the salt flats with wonderful birds to see, flamingoes amongst others. We drove to Seville (2 hours) for the day which was interesting and very easy to do. The main market is less than five mins from the apartment which is fantastic for fruit vegs and meat and fish. Really fantastic fresh produce and sensible prices. There is also a little minipreco supermarket a five min walk away plus Continente on the other side of the river for a bigger shop. There are aldi and lidl too. Restaurant prices are cheaper than uk - supermarket prices cheaper too - wine/beer inexpensive. Try Barril beach (little train or a lovely 20 walk) and praia de manta rota and and praia da lota Fuseta beach is lovely too. Most beach food pretty samey and fairly ordinary. The management staff were very helpful with all questions - very efficient.

There are not enough sun beds around the pool at the Convento - only about12 total by the big pool and four by the little pool. The agent said it was the responsibility of the Convento, the Convento said we should contact the owner of the apartment. This apartment has two reclining chairs which helped us (we were only two people in the flat which sleeps 4) Also we were there in May. I can imagine in high season this could be really annoying. It's clearly an issue which nobody is willing to address. I think there are about 80 ish apartments/townhouses - all with two plus bedrooms - 16 sunbeds for 160 plus bedrooms?!!!!! ridiculous! We were there in lowish season and we went to the beach a lot but it could be a real issue in high season. The management company staff were very understanding but clearly they can't do anything. The only other issue was mosquitoes - we were bitten quite a bit. The salt flats are literally next door so I guess it's inevitable. We found we were more or less ok if we put on repellent during the day as well as the evening but they were annoying (in the town too). We therefore didn't sit out in the evening but ate inside and kept the doors closed. There is no fly swat in the apartment! Perhaps burning citronella candles/coils would help.

A really nice location and plenty of space.

It could have been so much better. We arrived late in the evening after the shops had shut, and there was no toilet paper in the apartment. If you don't provide it, at least let us know so we can bring some. The owners had disconnected the bathroom heaters which made the bathrooms cold first thing in the morning and in the evening. We reported two defects with the sinks, neither of which were fixed in the 4 weeks we stayed. The iron had a bare cable (electric shock risk) which we were told would be replaced the next day, but that took a week! Also, the bathroom and one of the bedrooms has black mould on the walls, which neither the management company or the cleaners did anything about. So, O.K. but could do better

Lovely quiet location. Easy reach of centre.