Octant Vila Monte

Each morning we were greeted by the fragrance of orange blossoms from the fruit trees that line the main avenue. Vila Monte staff went out of their way to welcome us, providing excellent dining recommendations and lending my son a book on local birding sites and natural areas. The room was spotless and filled with nice touches, like a personalized bottle of wine, fluffy white robes, sun hats, yoga mats and beach/pool towels. Grounds are magical with well-maintained winding paths to secluded gardens, ponds with koi fish and cheerful birdsong. Staff seem to truly enjoy working here and engaging with us. Food was outstanding with many good options for breakfast and dinner. Our stay was peaceful and rejuvenating; we take with us happy memories and look forward to returning!

Albeit one of their more expensive room categories with sea and mountain view, the room was wonderful with an excellent lay-out. The large bed was wonderfully comfortable. The grounds were wonderfully kept and the heated pool wonderfully warm. The breakfast and indeed the restaurant were wonderful. The team were truly wonderful, management and indeed Portugal, can be proud of the way these young people conduct themselves. We were there in mid February, and even the weather, reaching 25 centigrade and 4 days of sun, was wonderful.

We spent a couple of nights at Vila Monte in late February enjoying the winter sunshine of the Algarve while visiting the area. Vila Monte is in a great location and we used it to visit Tavira, Santa Luzia and the area directly around Moncarapacho. The hotel's site and architecture are beautiful - cool, white buildings, terracotta roofs, blue swimming pools and green lawns and the public spaces give off a beach club vibe. Every member of staff that we interacted with was superb - extremely friendly, really willing to chat and talk about places to visit, dishes to eat, etc. Our room was superb - we had a junior suite with a separate bedroom and sitting area and it was well appointed, very comfortable and provided a great night's sleep. We made use of the (heated!) outdoor pool during our stay and it was a real luxury to be able to swim when the sun was strong but the air temperature wasn't so high. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner in the restaurant and found it to be a really good place to eat. In terms of lunch/dinner the food is very good and there's a lot of variety so that you can eat there multiple times without running out of options. We also found service to be very good. Breakfast was also good but it's served buffet style and you could imagine that it might get a little crowded at busy times. The offering is fine but it's not super varied and it's perhaps one area where the hotel could improve. The other area I'd call out is that of the drink prices - we found local wines (by the glass) here to be pretty expensive which made it easy to bloat up your restaurant bill. That said, they were very nice wines and they're not compulsory ;-) I'd happily return to Vila Monte and would recommend it to anyone looking for this type of stay in the area - it's a really good hotel.

Fabulous in every respect. If I could give this location 10 stars I would. The property, room, staff and food were all first class. The only small downside is that you have to drive into the closest town. We booked a couples massage one rainy afternoon and it was great!!

Fantastic stay from beginning to end. Truly relaxing holiday with 3 teenagers. Everyone happy with food, rooms, service etc. Special mention for Olympia in the dining room who greeted us so warmly. We will be back again soon. Such a handy location....20 minute taxi from Faro. Local village charming 20 min walk away. Fabulous pool and gardens . The website doesn't do it justice. Such a great place. Thank you.