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São Rafael Holidays brings together four different types of accommodation, which will adapt to any profile of traveller. Have your choice between villas with private pool and villas with access to a common pool, comfortable apartments or rooms in a Guesthouse, with an outdoor pool and thoughtful service! The Ocean Villas have a private outdoor pool, while the Palm Villas have access to a shared pool. Also note that the apartments can access a communal swimming pool. All villas and apartments include a private, fully-equipped kitchen/kitchenette for tranquil and leisurely meal preparation. Guests of the Guesthouse will be accommodated in comfortable double rooms, with a delicious breakfast served daily and access to a shared swimming pool. Spacious and comfortable, it is just minutes from Arrifes and São Rafael beaches.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Romantic
Trendy
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish, Portuguese
Location
Praia de São Rafael, Albufeira 8200-613 Portugal
Name/address in local language
Sao Rafael Holidays
4 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Although clean and spacious with a lovely view from the terrace, our villa (506) could’ve really done with an upgrade. The upstairs WC didn’t work, the curtains were all half off their tracks, the kitchen area very tired & nowhere near big enough, the fridge wouldn’t stay shut, no mirrors in the bedrooms, decor flaking, the sun terrace furniture did not have cushions so the chairs were too hot to sit on, I could go on but you get the idea. There was no phone to reception (the mobile given didn’t work) … not that anyone really wanted to help anyway! We were given key cards & pointed down the road, it took us a good 10 mins to even find the villa (not adjacent or anywhere near to reception). When we enquired about breakfast we were told very abruptly that it was for the guesthouses & not the villas. Restaurants & bars are very few & far between, so not the best location for those that cannot walk far or uphill! The pool was tiny & only waist deep, with about 8 beds, so good luck in the height of summer & school holidays!! It was all very disjointed & although not cheap, we were made to feel like lower class citizens. The nearest beach is close by (5min walk) but take a brolly & towels - there are only about 10 sun beds to hire! As a person with a gluten intolerance, the restaurants were OK (see my reviews for the two we visited), but the supermarkets (even Lidl & Aldi) were severely lacking. Sooooo glad I packed some bread & cereal! Would I go back? Sadly no, not even if it was half the price.
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Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Villa located at a great location. A Few minutes walk to the local beach and Sao Rafael beach, both of them have a nice beach restaurant. Albufeira marina is also a short walking distance which has plenty shops. Reception is helpful whenever we have any questions or issues. The only thing can improve is to add a few essential cooking things such as oil, salt since it’s a family villa with kitchen, not just a hotel room. Also it would be nice to have liquid hand wash rather than just small hotel soap or tiny bottles of shower gel/shampoo for a family week long stay. Overall, beautiful place, great view and swimming pool.
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Date of stay: April 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Well firstly I would like to say that the stay at Sao Rafael Villas was very enjoyable, the staff were exceptionally friendly although we didn't interact with them very often. The villa itself is good, we had the pool heated which was fantastic, although I feel the additional cost was a little excessive, particularly as the villa itself wasnt cheap. I have to say, I expected a little more in terms of attention to detail, villas are listed as 5 star but lacked 5 star details, so here are a few suggestions from me that would add a little more to the overall experience. On arrival, it would be great to have a few things waiting, such as bread, milk, a bottle of wine etc.....we only received a bottle of water. We have stayed at other villas that cost less where these have been supplied and they are such a nice welcoming touch. The villa needs a little more love and finishing touches, it all feels a little clinical and sparse, simple additions would be some pictures, soft furnishings, ornaments to give it more of a homely feel. The kitchen itself is basic, but adequate, although selection of glasses needs improved, just water and wine glasses, needs other options, like champagne flutes!! The garden of the villa is spacious enough, but the Astroturf isn't a pleasant addition, it smells of burning plastic in the heat and is unbearable to walk on when in full sun. The sides of the pool need manicured with plants, everything is dead despite having an irrigation system. A simple parasol would be an easy addition along with cushions for the outdoor chairs around the table. Cleaning service was average, we had the villa cleaned twice in 10 days which we knew, but again it all seemed a little quick and rushed without any care or detail. Overall the villa is good, but a little investment and TLC would elevate them from good villas to great villas and justify the high price. Would we go back, probably not, I believe you could find slightly better quality for a similar price. I appreciate how difficult it must be for property owners in Portugal right now with limited clients and reduced income so to sign off we would like to say thanks to all at Sao Rafael Villas for the opportunity to visit and stay and We hope that the future is brighter!
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Date of stay: June 2021
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:Expensive, but required if you hate cold water, have the pool heated!!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Joao Cardoso, Diretor-Geral at Sao Rafael Holidays
Responded Jul 26, 2021
Dear Pete Z, We appreciate your preference for Salgados Beach Villas, as well as the time taken to comment on your experience. Your opinion is very important to us, as it ensures the continuous improvement of our services. We regret that we did not fully live up to your expectations. We assure you that the quality of the services offered is a primary and daily concern for our team, so we will do our utmost to improve the aforementioned aspects. We look forward to welcoming you again in the future. Sincerely, The Direction
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
To say this place was awful is all I can do after my personal experience there recently, I certainly would never book to stay there again or recommend it.
I booked a double room in their Guest House part of the complex.
* The Reception is only open certain hours. You are supposed to be able to contact them outside those hours but I had to call them a couple of times and got no answer or help. It’s really impersonal and there’s no one around when you need them. * There is no facility to make hot drinks in your room. There was a bottle of water. You have to go to the breakfast room where a vending machine serves terrible quality drinks. You don’t want to have to walk around the hotel first thing in the morning to get hot drinks. *Room 521 was right by the door into reception and was noisy all night with people banging through into the corridor to get to their rooms. * The space immediately outside of the double windows in my room opened out on to the terrace for people sitting having breakfast. This was horrible and gave no privacy into the room at all. Thankfully it was raining but had it been sunny I would have had people sitting right up by my only window in the room. * They have waterproof mattress protectors on the bed which made it feel like you were sleeping wrapped in tin foil it was so hot and it crackled loudly every time you moved. * Pillows were either absolutely enormous and too big to put your head on or so flat and small they were useless. * No bathmat provided for the floor while showering, bit of a safety concern and I had to use a pool towel. No where to hang towels in the bathroom when you’ve used them…it was all just lacking in thought. * No waste bin in the bedroom * Horrid yellow lights in the room * It’s very dark and depressing inside. * Bright light over the door to highlight where the door was in the night but it lit the room up through the night making it hard to ignore and sleep. * Breakfast is only available from 8.30am which is very late. It was poor, stale bread and dirty jars with cereal in with a very poor selection of foods.
Overall this was poor quality, grim and depressing and absolutely not worth the cost.
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:Just avoid it completely and book somewhere else.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The villa did not have a usable private pool. When we asked for the manager to fix this, she made up lies and blamed our flight timings. The manager (Catia Salvador) spent more time evading fixing the issue than taking responsibility. Night 1 - no pool, very dirty. Night 2 - chlorine added, no pool for our safety. Night 3 - pool hoovered but no pool lights, no pool because it was out of order. Catia blamed us saying ‘no one uses a pool after a flight’ for night one, took no responsibility for the second night the chlorine was added and no responsibility for the third night where there was no pool light. To make matters worse, she used her lies to get out of refunding us for the three nights. Booking.com has also done nothing to remove the property from their lists to protect their customers.
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:Avoid like the plague.
Especially if you have Catia Salvador as the manager.
Photo of the dirty...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Cátia Salvador, Diretor-Geral at Sao Rafael Holidays
Responded Aug 15, 2023
Dear Guest, we appreciate the comment left on TripAdvisor, as it gives us the opportunity to enlighten all visitors to the site. Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused by the pool. We can understand your level of disappointment and we express our profound regrets for this unfortunate incident. We would like to assure you that this is not the normal standard of São Rafael Holidays. Unfortunately, as I explained, we had a small problem with the chlorine levels in the pool which, after you reported it, was resolved the morning of the next day by the maintenance team. At the time you expressed your dissatisfaction, I apologized for the inconvenience caused and we did everything we could to minimize the impact. We hope that you will give us the opportunity to receive you again and thus prove the quality of our accommodation and services. Kind Regards,
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Lovely location and villa perfect for our needs . Could have done a better cleaning job midweek as dishes left unwashed . Biggest criticism was first night when recommended restaurant nearby called A Sardinha - only bad meal we had the whole trip - overpriced / terrible food / terrible service . Be careful recommending this restaurant - it is a tourist trap !
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Date of stay: May 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Avoid A Sardinha restaurant if recommended by reception
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I've just come back from staying in this terrible place. I would not recommend. The facilities are outdated, the pool area looks incomplete and they even charge £200 if you want the pool to be warm, but don't tell you this until you arrive. When trying to resolve issues with the staff they are rude. Don't waste your money here!! Really upset that our time in Portugal was ruined by this experience.
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Date of stay: February 2022
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Ana Rebelo, Vendas at Sao Rafael Holidays
Responded Feb 16, 2022
Dear Mr. David, Thank you for leaving us your comment and sharing your experience. We regret to know that your stay was not able to meet your expectations. At São Rafael we always try our best to create good memories and experiences for our guests, make them feel comfortable. One way to do this, is being explicit on the services we provide, the ones that are included, and the ones that may have an extra fee - which is the case of the pool (to be heated), as it is shown on our website. We know that one way to provide the best service, is to give all the information beforehand, so that our guests are able to make a decision that will suit their needs, and we are happy to help and always available to clarify any question at all, and help the best way we can, before, during and after every stay. Thank you again for your time and for choosing São Rafael. Kindest regards, Ana Loureiro, Diretora Geral São Rafael Villas, Apartments & Guesthouse
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Visited here for 4 nights on a Hen Do, 13 of us in total. Villas where clean and had good amenities and we felt safe there. The only thing I would say is there needed to be more mirrors and the lighting was pretty dim. The TV worked but stuck on one channel and the air con did not work. The reception is up the hill from the villas and was only open until 6pm so we just left it and didn't ask for them to be fixed. Overall an average villa but served its purpose. Would recommend for stags/hens or large groups as its not far from the old town or the strip by taxi and has a beautiful beach a short walk away.
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Date of stay: May 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:The beach is well worth a visit and the beach restraunt is lovely for food and cocktails.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I travel since I’m really young and never seen something like this. They asked for a deposit of 300€ when the value of the stay is 70€ , right after the payment they gave me a sheet with all the stuff that is inside the apartment (even spoons, towels..). When I tried to cancel the reservation it said that I had a tax of 50€ to pay if I wanted to cancel the reservation. The hotel is a mess, totally empty and they still acting very rude with the costumers. So, I could be in a much better place without all this problems that took 1 hour apart from my day. Make yourself a favor and find a normal hotel because this apartments and all are always trying to catch you with their tricks .
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Date of stay: November 2020Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from The Management, Diretor-Geral at Sao Rafael Holidays
Responded Nov 13, 2020
Dear Mr Joao B, Thank you so much for having stayed at the São Rafael Villas, Apartments & Guesthouse. When you made your reservation for the 2-Bedroom apartment for a one night stay, it is clearly mentioned under 2 sections, “House Rules” and “The fine print”, that a damage deposit is required upon arrival and it will be reimbused at check-out, once the property has been inspected and there are no damages found within or to the property. The value of the damage deposit requested has nothing to do with the daily rate that is charged, these are two separate amounts. An Inventroy sheet is given, in order for the guest to know all the items that are in the property, from spoons, glasses, plates, to the LCD Televisions, this is for the guests own good, so that it is known what is inside the property and there will be no charges for any item that is not mentioned on the Inventroy sheet. As you may understand, each reservation has a cancelation policy, this information is also mentioned when you booked. The check-in is a quick process, it took longer because you were waiting for one of your party members to arrive. You do apologize for the inconvenience caused, and thank you for your understanding and patience that house-rules have to be abided by. Kind regards, The Management
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The first morning of arrival, the boiler woke us up as it was making a strange noise, the receptionist out with it and we were told that it was not normal. One part of the water is wet and the decor was peeling off the walls. This is one of the worst places I’ve stayed at I would not recommend this place to anyone.
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Date of stay: December 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Cátia Salvador, Diretor-Geral at Sao Rafael Holidays
Responded Aug 10, 2023
Dear Guest, firstly we would like to thank you for your visit and for sharing your experience. We regret that you didn’t have the best experience and we assure that all the points mentioned were analyzed. Regarding the boiler situation, we regret the inconvenience caused, the same day the problem was solved. Kind Regards,
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Dear Michelle,
There are some restaurants walking distance (in São Rafael Beach and Arrifes Beach). In Albufeira Marina (around 15 minutes walking) you have also some restaurantes and bars.
Thank you!
Kind Regards,
Ana Figueiredo
There are more places to choose from in the Albufeira area.
PRICE RANGE
C$123 - C$262 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
São Rafael Villas, Apartments & GuestHouse
LOCATION
PortugalAlgarveFaro DistrictAlbufeira
NUMBER OF ROOMS
28
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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