Vila Bicuda, Cascais

Advantages: Handy for Cascais
Disadvantages: Not pushchair friendly, limited choice

...The big brother to Cascais centre's Cascais Villa, this shopping centre is located about 15 min. to the North of the town centre - expect to pay about 6 euro if you're taking a taxi from the station. It's got a reasonable range of stores, with a large Continente supermarket , FNAC, Zara & Zara Home, Area, Toys R Us and various clothes / gifts / homeware shops, plus restaurants,on site. However, parents of babies & toddlers be warned : it's quite tricky to navigate with a pushchair! There are 2 lifts in the centre of the mall, but these can take forever to arrive. Also, to get to the Sports Zone on the top level, you need to go outside into the car park if you've got a pushchair - nightmare! If you want to catch the bus from Cascais, it only runs very infrquently, and to get the bus back you have to negotiate loads of steps to cross... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Quick Transfer from Airport
Disadvantages: None if you like a quiet village setting.

...This is a review of the Vila Gale Hotel at Santa Cruz on the Island of Madeira. We have just returned from a three day break. We booked the Vial Gale as we have used their Hotel in Tavira for a few years and find them very good. Hotel Location, is best described as if the Plane Toppled off the end of the Short Runway at Funchal Airport then it could land in the Hotel Swimming Pool. Having said that do not let it put you off, it does not intrude and the closeness is slightly less than that, and it is quite exciting to watch the landings and takeoffs. The Hotel is in the small village of Santa Cruz a mere 6 Euro Taxi ride from the airport gets you there. Checkin was very efficient in a very large modern Reception Area. Cost for the Three Nights for Double room with Breakfast was £111. This was for a Sea View Room... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fairly quiet area, good location, family friendly, rooms in good condition
Disadvantages: Quality of kitchen facilities could have been better

...I visited the Algarve last summer with a few friends and stayed at Vila Alba apartments during our two-week stay. I really enjoyed my stay here and would not hesitate to return - the apartment became a large aspect of the holiday! The location of the apartments is not in Albufeira itself, but just outside. Although the apartments are simply a 5-10 minute walk from The Strip (where there are many cafes, bars and little shops), it is a fairly quiet area, with little to no disturbance. The apartments are quite detached from one another, so this further lessens the noise levels. The apartments are around a 20 minute walk to the beach. The rooms themselves are of very good quality. The lounge area includea a TV with several channels; some in Portugese and some English. Even the CBeebies channel was available, which is great if you... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful