Quinta Pedra dos Bicos

went to this hotel earlier this year. exceeded expectations .. Place is really nice. boutique style. Close enough to all the nightlife .. but far enough to chill as well. Restaurant was great, didn't expect that! Rooms are quite funky. Loved it!

lowcostholidays had the best deal. would go thru them again. Defo recommend this place

Quinta Pedra dos Bicos comprises two elements: the rust-coloured-rendered boutique hotel, surrounded by a plethora of colonial style apartment blocks, not dissimilar to Raffles Hotel, Singapore. We were in one of said apartments, but being on a half-board basis, breakfasted and dined in the hotel.

So that's where we'll start. Throughout, decor is chic and modern, with heavy use of browns, blacks and whites. You know the In the lounge, a Roland piano/CD player whispers chilled jazz covers (the same CD day in, day out, but it's a good one).

'Six Senses', the restaurant, appears pokey when you first walk in, but opens out onto an al fresco dining area and pool you won't want to leave.

Fayre is all buffet-served, pretty darn good, and frequently varied. Make sure you take advantage of the barbeque, whose chefs sizzled some excellent fish and meat dishes, including rabbit, if you please. Waiting staff are plentiful and friendly, serve drinks only, and make frequent visits to your table to clear plates. (If you haven't finished your dish, don't leave it unattended, or it will disappear.)

Moving to the apartments, we were lucky, which I don't believe all have been. It was spacious, laterally laid out, with all rooms (kitchen, two bedrooms, lounge, shower, bath) emanating off the hallway. Aircon was present in both bedrooms and the lounge, though one unit packed up.

Cleaners turned up on precisely the days reception advised us they wouldn't (reception caused us one or two annoyances during our stay), resulting in confusion, and necessitating an emergency delivery of towels and linen.

Outside, there are two swimming pools. The more sedate restaurant pool (no diving), and the more splashy pool towards the beach.

The beach itself is situated down a lengthy wooden stairway, but once you're on it, very pleasant, lifeguard-attended, and with a decent cafe (mackerel on ice - yum). Tip: avoid the 12 euro/day sunbed charge. Buy a parasol at one of the local shops for 7 euros, and settle on the right hand side of the beach. All in all, Quinta dos Bicos is recommended.

Would I go

Just returned from these privately owned apartments Quinta Pedra dos Bicos.

They demand a £250 deposit 8 weeks prior to your booking and this is cashed immediately, very unusal in my past experience with private bookings. It means your £250 is in their bank account for approx 3 months.....or longer as it turns out !

The complex itself is lovely along with the hotel on the same site, however I cannot recommend this apartment. It's advertised for 6 people, 1 twin bedroom, 1 room with bunk beds and a bed settee. The bunk beds are wholly unsuitable for children as they're situated not in a bedroom but a cupboard ! They're almost touching the ceiling they're so high and there is NO guard rail, therefore a potential 8ft drop to the tiled floor.

The soft furnishings have all seen better days and are very dirty, along with the entire apartment really. We made a list of 16 faulty items, these included a very unsafe handrail at the top of the stairs which is hanging off the wall. Main socket in kitchen hanging out of the wall with bare live wires. And there were 9 bulbs missing throughout the apartment, despite advising them as soon as we arrived they did nothing so we had to buy 6 packs to replace them all just to be able to see at night !

Despite the ad stating a cleaner would visit 2 or 3 times a week to clean and change towels & bedding this never happened once during our stay and we washed & cleaned the apartment & everything ourselves mid week.

I informed them of all the faults during and after our stay by way of an email and texts and advised him in good faith that we didn't think he was getting the service he paid for from his cleaners or maintenance company. I then find myself £250 out of pocket as they have witheld our deposit to carry out the reported repairs !!!!!! And we find ourselves going to the small claims court to have our money returned.....a very sad and poor end to what was a fabulous holiday.

Quinta Pedra dos Bicos is in a perfect location, lots of shops, supermarkets, and restaurants within 10 minutes of the hotel if you have no transport. most of the locals are either english or speak/ understand english so easy to communicate. I cant praise this hotel enough. I am looking forward to returning next year. there are daytrips available from local tour opperators which are quite cheap. but it pays to look around as prices vary between places.the cheapest is right next to the supermarket which is just round the corner from the hotel.buses are regular and cheap if you want to go further afield.lots for the kids to do.well worth the money for a 4* hotel with a 5* service.