We stayed at the Pesta Palm Gardens in August 2007. We had a great time. The appartements are clean and spacious, we had the two bedroom two bathroom one and the kitchens are well equipped, thou we ate out mostly. Our patio area was a bit disapointing small and near the parking area. The pool is a bit small and gets crowded at the end of the day when people get back from the beach. beach bar friendly and does good pizzas. a shame it closes early. The PPG is a good 15 - 20 minutes walk down to the town of Carvoeira where the nearest supermarket is located.and the bars and resturants we walked down and got taxis back. the nearest beach is 5 mins walk, we were there for 6 days if were staying longer would recommend a car. Carvoeira is quite busy and lively, so PPG was nice and quite at night.

Returned back a week ago from the Palm Gardens, and can safely say that I would go back there again! I went with my mum dad and 17 year old sister (I'm 22) and pretty much everything was just what I wanted in a relaxing holiday away from the English "summer". The villas/condos/apartments are fab, really well equipped, from what I can gather all have 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a sofa bed so you'll comfortably sleep 6. The descriptions of them on the various websites don't really do them justice. They are not great with regards to soundproofing - so if you're a light sleeper I'd recommend earplugs. Our villa was cleaned every day, and the remote controlled air con was a godsend! From my limited french, it seems that the person below me was complaining about the location of their villa and the location of the beaches - to some extent I would agree, its a bit hit and miss where abouts you are located in the resort - there are about 80 villas - if you can get one thats numbered 50 onwards - those all have a sea view, much nicer grass areas and are slightly more 'out of the way' - much quieter during the day time as you are further away from the swimming pool. Ours was literally on the pool side (see photos) and there are worse situated villas - eg. ones over looking the tennis court and road. Access to the beaches is not very easy - apart from the one in Carvoerio village (about a 15 minute stroll from the Pestana) none of the ones local to the Pestana have disability access. They are a good cliff drop down, so there are plenty of steps. Good for the thighs, not so good for wheelchairs, those with mobility issues and also prams. On the bright side, stunning beaches! Centienes Beach is the nearest, about 10 minutes downhill there, 20 minutes uphill back! Having read the reviews here before we went, we didn't venture into the restaurant on site until the end of the week - and that was to get take out pizzas. the place was pretty much deserted the entire time, but the pizzas were lovely! Fresh cooked, and inexpensive. The little pool bar did good food, but it was pricey compared to cooking yourself or heading into Carvoerio. For self catering get a taxi to Intermarche, about 15 minutes away. Its a Portugeuse Tesco. Carvoerio is a really pretty town, not too big, not too small, like the proverbial porridge, just right. Some gorgeous restaurants (one that I forget the name of did really stunning sole and garlic mushrooms). Also if you like pottery and you have the ability to get it safely home, go pottery mad! One stall does the most amazing variety of pots and plates, I had trouble choosing. Recommend a visit to Algar Seco, 15 minutes walk from Pestana. A big bunch of rocks in pretty formations. Overall, a really great time. The Portugeuse are great, really helpful and can tell an English person a mile off, I don't think someone ever greeted us in Portugeuse. The health care frankly is miles better than England, my sister got a chest infection while we were there - within a hour of wanting to see a doctor she was, and on antibiotics by the afternoon (we'll skip the fact she's now having an allergic reaction to the penicillin, but thats not the doctors fault!). Would have no hesitation going back there again. Just hope that the flight is slightly less bumpy next time!

Des photos valant mieux que des discours ..... Par ailleurs piscine impratiquable , pas de transats , minuscule plage publique à 350 m surpeuplée et accessible par route de bord de mer (danger ! ) , escalier ....