Baluarte da Vila Apartments

Excellent in everything Location perfect 5 minutes from old town a bit of climb to it but very manageable beautiful beach not far from apartment with fab board walk Very clean and very helpful staff with great recommendations for restaurants Definitely will stay there again

Great location, 5 mins walk from a great food spa. 5 mins walk to the centre of the shops and restaurants. Central Pandaria “bakery” just 5 mins away also which is a super value and great coffee / breakfast shop 3 doors down on the corner which smart contemporary and always busy.

If you can book the ocean view apartments do it, the roof top terrace view is mind blowing, we booked here thinking there would be a glimpse of the sea from a small balcony, but the apartments have not one but two seating areas on the terrace. With its proximity to the old town but with some separation in a quiet residential area, this apartment complex is amazing.

Baluarte da Vila is located on the quiet side of the old town, which we really enjoyed. It’s away from all the noise and busyness, yet only a short walk away to everything and the beaches. It’s a 5-minute walk to a local grocery store/supermarket, Spar (which also contains a self-served laundromat) and a short walk to Dona Ana and Pinhao beach. Slightly less than a 25 minute’s walk from the train station for those who have to walk because they couldn’t find a taxi or an Uber. The room is slightly dated, yet surprisingly spacious. We stayed in one of the seaside view rooms. Everything was clean and the caretaker can be seen cleaning regularly. The room has a decent size kitchen with basic kitchen utensils. There is a pool with sufficient number of poolside lounge chairs. Pool towels could be rented for 1.5 euro for your stay. The water temperature was a bit too cold for us even in the summer heat, but the lounge chairs were comfortable and beaches were only a few steps away. The hidden gem and star of this place is the front desk staff, Jessica. Kind and warm, and often goes out of her way to assist other guests such as ourselves. There were a few occasions where she rushed to assist us when she heard us fumbled with our keys, even at a far distance which we appreciated. She also showed up shortcuts to places and made valuable restaurants recommendation (O Alcaide is a must stop for authentic Portuguese food and a 2 minute walk from Baluarte).

Apartment was old, dingy and dirty. There was a no elevator so you have to carry luggage up and down stairs. The receptionist did not help with a single bad as she led us to the room. The only window is the door to the balcony, which is right in the pool area, no privacy at all. The rug is old and dirty, the hand sprayer wouldn’t turn off in the shower. They didn’t provide soap or body wash, just shampoo. Every light is a hideous fluorescent energy saver bulb. There is no phone to call the front desk, but there’s no one there anyway. They have an app, which allows for service requests, but every time I tried to submit anything it gave me a data error. The “sea view” that we paid extra for is only good for someone 6’ 4” or taller that can see the little sliver of blue over the wall.