Guests who have enjoyed our villa in the Algarve
Casa Lia has a wide appeal. It is spacious and well equipped so families with children enjoy spending fun holidays here. Couples looking for a romantic getaway with nobody to disturb them enjoy the peace, tranquillity and stunning views. Yet the many restaurants and beaches of the area are only a short car ride away.
beautiful location and lovely family holiday
A family of eight aged 50, 30, 20, 5, 3 and baby of just over 4 months, the villa had everything we needed. The location was superb but would recommend car hire as situated in the beautiful hills, right at the top and so had wonderful views. It was great having the pool as it was very hot. (pool is deep so will need to supervise little ones though we had no issue with doing this and they had the time of their little lives!).
Never having been to Portugal before, we were pleasantly surprised at how family friendly it was. The beaches were full of families just like ours, grandparents, parents and little ones. We absolutely loved it and will definitely return!
Tavira was a lovely town with entertainment on at the square during the week we were on holiday though please note it does tend to start late, after ten. We ate at the restaurants already mentioned in the visitors’ book but also at an Irish one over the bridge next to the river. The food there was very good and the staff were so helpful and it was very child friendly.
We spent time at both Cabanas and Tavira beaches with Cabanas being our favourite as the sea was more calm and shallow for the little ones.
On Tuesday mornings there is a fish market at Olhao where you can get fresh fish, fruit and veg. we spent the morning there returning to bbq our sardines and sea bass (so cheap) back at the villa.
We took the children to Zoomarine which is in Guia , Albufeira. Don’t do as we did though and travel on the local roads as it took us a long time to find the park this way. Stay on the motorway. Should take an hour to get there rather than the two hours it took us argh! We had a great afternoon but there is so much to do and see you really need a day there. We went into Albufeira for dinner in the evening which was interesting but we were glad to be staying in Tavira and enjoyed ‘our villa’.
A drive through the mountain region of what I think to be called the Castro Marim was stunning! We called in ,at Altura and at Manta Rota.( Both very nice holiday resorts).
Only wish we were still in Tavira and at Casa Lia.
Will certainly return to Portugal in the very, very near future!
Thanks Debbie,
Best wishes,
C H and family x
Cheryl from Lichfield. July 2011
"We have now visited this large, clean and v. well maintained Casa Lia villa as a family for three years running now. 5 stars again!
The location for us was just perfect and pulls us back. We love the peace and quiet of the countryside (just natural noise) and the stunning views from its high location. You are not overlooked. If i was going to write a book I would do it here!! The photographs do not do justice to the views. Combined with an amazing pool (that our child lived in) a BBQ with cooking views to die for and perfect customer service both prior and during our stay (Herman) Its a truly perfect getaway.
Tavira is a very pretty old town that is a 10/15 minute drive away down the hills. We love the run. There are some lovely places you can find if you go searching! Our boy loves the small train ride to the beach where the old Tuna fishing village is. Every member of our family has been out now and they all want to return.......It is up in the hills and is quite isolated at night but we love it and would recomend to anyone... "
The Warwoods, June 2011
Great villa in good location
We had a lovely holiday thank you and good journeys. Herman was a great help. Casa Lia is a beautifully spacious villa but has a wonderful homely feel to it. We particularly enjoyed the indoor-outdoor living when all the doors to the terrace were open and the music was playing. Some of our favourite days were when it was too hot for the beach or sightseeing and we just lounged around the pool, reading and playing games, and mooching in and out of the house with drinks and snacks. Being high in the hills there was often a cooling breeze which we appreciated most days. We loved the atmosphere of Tavira at night. We certainly had everything we needed,
August 2011
We really enjoyed our stay
Casa Lia was great, we enjoyed the secluded location, away from the urban/more busy areas while still very close to everything (once you memorize the way to get to the house, which seems impossible the first time :-)) and with all the comfort you need. with lots of light, well equiped, nice terrace/lounge with the pool which the kids enjoyed a lot. Having some games, pool tays and DVD's for the kids.
Having Herman meet the guests and be in reach is also fantastic. Gives it a more personal, friendly and welcoming touch. The beaches in the area are really nice too, the kids enjoyed them very much, part of the fun was getting to them on the small boats.
The guest book is also a great idea as it was full of useful information from the other guests, we did our bit and added ours ... only wished I discovered the "good restaurants" magazine a little ealier and not on our last night -1.
It was exactly what we were looking for, thank you for sharing your house with us we really enjoyed our stay !
July 2011
A sheer Delight! 5 stars!
Casa Lia was a sheer delight to stay in. It was everything we had dreamed of. What is so appealing about it, is that you have no-one overlooking you, so you have complete privacy, and the only sounds you hear are the birds. Utter heaven. The villa was spotless and caters for every need that you would wish for on your hoiday. The views are fantastic and you do feel you are in your own private world.
It was great having Herman meet us and take us to the villa and show us round. It was good also as we could ask him any questions that came to mind. We had his phone number, so we always felt secure if we had to contact him for anything.
We visited Tavira on a few occassions to eat and do some sightseeing. It is a beautiful village and very picturesque. There are plenty of places to see there and a great way to walk off a fabulous meal. Tavira is not far from the villa, and only took us 20 mins to get there and parked. There are plenty of parking spaces in Tavira, so we never had a problem paking. The shopping mall in Tavira is great, with an excellent supermarket which caters for all your needs. The staff were very helpful and friendly. We found a little cafe there
which served delicious Portuguese home baking and very good coffee. We would often nip into the centre just for that!
Our days at Casa Lia were spent lying in the sun, reading, cooling off on the lilos, having a lazy lunch and drinks by the pool in the late afternoon when the sun was just going down. It was just the perfect holiday we wanted.
We will definitely be coming back and have already recommended it to our friends.
Denise and Graeme from Glasgow, September 2010
The holiday was really great , the place was fantastic and we had the best family holiday we have ever had. Herman was very helpful. The house was very homely and perfect for us. The only disapointing thing was coming home. We would like to thank you for all your help and I am very sure that we will visit Casa Lia next year.
Yan, Nicky and family, England. July 2010.
We have just spent 10 wonderful days at Casa Lia. We were welcomed by herman who was very helpful and friendly.
The villa was very clean and had heaps of room and well equipped. The pool was very refreshing and a welcome site for the children,having the dvd player and sky tv was a good distraction for the children when the sun was at the hottest !!
The villa is in the hills with wonderful views but only a short drive away to local restaurants or about a 20min drive to Tavria.
A very relaxing/peaceful holiday we all enjoyed the portugal sunshine.
peaceful and relaxingLyn and family from Kent, August 2010
"Excellent villa, amazing location, 5* overall".
"We're just back from 10 days in this incredible villa, the whole place is done up to an excellent standard, and is very well-equipped, from the range of kitchen utensils, to lilos and toys for the pool, and a good selection of books and games. The villa is very clean and well looked after, and spacious and airy in the heat - we rarely needed the aircon, though it was great to have the option!
The owner was incredibly helpful, answering my many questions before we left, and once we got there, the villa manager meets you to take you to the villa, shows you around, and then is at the end of the phone if you have any queries about the villa itself or the surrounding area - a very reassuring and welcome touch.
The villa itself is about 10 minutes drive from the town, and it's lovely to get some peace and quiet! Tavira is a lovely town, easy to walk around and with nice restaurants and ice-cream cafes, as well as a castle, old bridges, and a ferry out to the best beach in Europe costs EUR1.90 return! We had a great day on the beach (Ihla de Tavira) which has a boardwalk with plenty of cafes and bars. There's an old castle in the town, as well as a camera obscura, and a lovely old church. Service in restaurants is not as fast as we were used to at home but the food is good and varied.
There is a large new shopping centre in Tavira with an excellent supermarket stocking all the food, drink and toiletries you could need, and the large mall is full of shops!
Faro airport and the business of the city is only a 40 minute drive, but we really felt a world away, we couldn't have asked for a better holiday! We would happily recommend this villa to friends and family, and would love to go back ourselves!"
Andrea from Belfast, September 2009
Rating 5 out of 5 Wonderful holidays in the heart of the Algarve!
Perfect for us! My friends and me really had one of our best holidays ever. We spent two weeks in June 2010 in Casa Lia. The arrival was relaxed: we took a car, a short phone call to Herman and he picked up us in Tavira for the last few miles. He was availialable 24 hours a day, we didn´t feel uncomfortable any time. The kitchen is perfect equipped, the rooms are big, quiet and clean (2 times a week maidservice). We were glad to have an aircondition, its really hot in summer. The pool is not such big but clean and deep enough (2,10 m) for shell diving ;-).
One of the best facilities is the BBQ. We used it many times - especially perfect for fish, sepia...
Shopping:
Best choice for the big family shopping tour is the new shopping mall in tavira on the left hand. It´s open Mo-Sun from 8am to 12pm (winter: 11pm). Here you will find all you need and don´t. And there we got there really fresh fish, good fruits and fine meat for BBQ.
There´s just another supermarket in the area: Minimarket. The butcher in the small market on the right hand side (2nd circle, road to Tavira) is much better. It´s really affordable and we were surprised about the very high quality in such a small supermarket. But they don´t have fresh fish.
If you like fish as we do, the best choice you will find in Olhao. We tried it; you should not miss it too! Best fish, vegetables and fruits of East Algarve you will find there. We tried different Mercado and I must say, it´s the best.
Beaches:
We tried many: Ilha de Tavira, Ilha de Cabanas, Ilha de Culatra, Manta Rota... My friends say: the best beach was Manta Rota. Take the road down to the beach, turn right to the parking area behind the dune and straight on to the end of the parking area. There´s a small track to te beach. Nice sandy beach, a cool sandbank and really quiet!
In my opinion Ilha de Cabanas was the best. We parked in Cabanas and walked down to the Marina. It´s a 2 minutes walk. Take one of the small boats there. For 1,30 € you will have a little boattrip to Ilha de Cabanas - and back. The beach has the finest sand of all beaches there, the new wooden restaurant just there was very good too.
Take a flight and enjoy!
Tim and friends from Germany, June 2010
"The holiday and Casa Lia were amazing" 5 stars
The villa was all we hoped for and more. I would have to think long and hard to find anything negative to say about it. We all loved it. We felt totally relaxed straightaway, and enjoyed the peace and solitude. Having such a nice town as Tavira close by was lovely.
It was reassuring to have your agent, Herman, just a telephone call away should we have needed him in an emergency - it was a delight to meet him - he is very charming, and he did us a big favour getting us some shopping as it was fairly late by the time we got to the villa and we were ready for a beer!
No-one was in any rush to get up early and leave the villa so we mostly had lazy days by the pool and then got ready to go out in the late afternoon/early evenings. We only went to the beach on two days - we went over to the island on the ferry one afternoon, and another day we did the trip by the Guadiana and had a couple of hours on the river beach at Alcoutim.
We had evenings out in Tavira, Faro, Manta Rota, VRSA/Monte Gordo - everywhere was so lively with street entertainment, market stalls etc. In all we had a fantastic holiday.
Thanks for the use of the villa, we shall definitely be singing its praises to friends and relatives and would love to return some time in the future.
11 July 09. Jayne, Mark, Alex from Nottingam.
"Perfect for everyone, young and old" 5 stars!
We have been to Portugal a number of times and have usually really enjoyed the country and the people. However, this was the first time of hiring a villa.
And what a success it proved to be!
We are in our late 40s, my mother-in-law is a (sprightly) 88 and we have a very active 7 year old daughter. In past holidays this has not been an easy combination where everyone is kept happy! At Casa Lia, however, it all seemed to fit!
The accommodation was very clean and spacious and was well appointed throughout. Over the very small things we needed some advice or assistance, Herman, the very handy man, was just a phone call away. Best bits were the the airconditioning, the small but very adequate pool and the entertainment systems (TV/DVD/HiFi)
No printed review can do justice to the fantastic feelings of the outside space and tranquility surrounding Casa Lia at my favourite times of early morning or evening. You'll simply have to go there to experience it for yourself! There was some wind noise at night but we quickly got used to it and found ourselves well rested at the end of the holiday.
Tavira is a really lovely Portuguese town where tourists are well catered for but where they are still well outnumbered by the locals enjoying their own cafe culture.
We thoroughly enjoyed the massive and very safe beach at Manta Rota and just about 10 km away and would thoroughly recommend it.
My daughter has a number of food allergies and we found it easy and enjoyable to prepare many of our evening meals using the wide range of food available at the surprisingly well-appointed local supermarkets coupled with the cooking facilities available in the villa or using the outdoors BBQ.
The only real problem was that this holiday seemed to pass all too quickly!
We will definitely be returning!
Paul and Carol Ann from Scotland, June 2009
"The villa really is fantastic" You must be so happy with it? I loved the way it is isolated and has views accross the rolling hills towards the sea.The lights that come on the drive are great. It actually looked like a footballer's villa when we rolled up. Everything about it was perfect.
If I was going to write a book I would want to write it there. Tash and I walked around the lanes quite a bit and not many other villas have what yours does.I would love to own it. We would love to come out again."
Daniel, Tash, Baby Max, 4 grandparents. May 2009
"What struck us immediately was the sense of calm and peacefulness of this Algarve villa. The pool and barbecue area were great and the views from all the outside areas are spectacular.
There was plenty of room inside the villa and we liked the open plan kitchen which was very family friendly. The bathrooms were spacious and clean and the new air conditioning made a comfortable night’s sleep easy.
We found getting in to Tavira very easy (15 mins max) the beaches are simply superb and we also enjoyed some excellent meals beside the river in the old town.
We went hoping to have a really enjoyable peaceful holiday and the villa allowed us that and more we thoroughly recommend staying there"Julie and Guy from Marbella. August 2008.
"The description of this lovely villa was very accurate.
The owners could not have been more helpful and provided perfect customer service.The property was clean and provided excellent modern facilities.
The views were wonderful and being so isolated we could make as much noise as we wanted without fear of upsetting neighbours
we have no hesitation in recommending this property to friends and relatives.
The golf courses nearby were perfect and the course just over the border in Spain was amazing value for money."
Jane and Leigh. September 2008
"Just thought you would like to know how we enjoyed our stay at your Villa.
We were most impressed. The view over the countryside was impressive, in a tranquil setting. A lovely clean pool and patio, with ample sun loungers.
The large lounge had plenty to entertain us, should we have required it, and the satellite TV let us keep up with home News.
All kitchen and cleaning facilities were perfect. The bedrooms were very comfortable and the heating in each room was an asset.
It was our first visit to Portugal, and it was a great way to be introduced to the country.
We would certainly use your Villa again."Jean and Ferdi from Glasgow. October 2008.
"We really enjoyed our time in your beautiful,peaceful villa and would love to return someday." It felt very spacious and it was so nice to be so remote - great to let the children be children without having to keep asking them to be quiet! The kitchen was fully equipped - lovely to have the TV and DVD player too, to keep the children out of the sun for a few hours.
Ann and family from Reading, July 2009.
