SpringVillas: Luxury Algarve Villas in Portugal

Miguel from SpringVillas emails me to let me know my masseuse, Susanna, will arrive at 11 am and stay for 2 hours. She will bring everything she needs with her — including a portable massage table. I just need to decide where to put the table.

The options are vast. I’m on a press trip staying in Villa Vilamoura Gardens, a luxury villa on a 4,000 square metre plot in central Algarve, Portugal. The house itself is “only” 350 square meters (!) and sleeps up to 12, with 5 ensuite bedrooms, a gourmet kitchen, large living / dining area, heated infinity pool, hot tub and games room. It’s perfect for holidays with friends or extended family.

But back to my dilemma. Where do I put the massage table? It could go inside the house in the extra bedroom or in the huge hallway. I decide on outside, in a semi private area next to the infinity pool and garden. It’s peaceful there, with birds chirping in the trees overhead.

I then turn my attention to Miguel’s next question. Can I please look at the menu he sent and pick meal options. We’ve ordered a private chef to cook us dinner at our villa. I asked for a traditional Portuguese meal and am browsing through my choices: Presunto de porco preto (Black Pig Parma Ham), Brocolos com amêndoas (Broccoli with almonds), Camarão frito com alho e coentro (Fried Prawns in Garlic & Coriander), Carne porco á alentejana,c amêijoas (Pork with Clams Portuguese Style), Arroz de pato (Duck Rice Portuguese Style). For dessert I can’t decide between Mousse chocolate (Chocolate Mousse), Baba de camelo (Creme Caramel) or Tarte de maçã (Apple Pie). I indulge and order them all – the chef will just adjust portion sizes and we can keep any leftovers in the fridge for later!

SpringVillas is a boutique company that specialises high quality rentals in the Algarve region. It’s a family business run by two brothers. They know the villa market is crowded and differentiate themselves offering a selection of 19 villas of exceptional quality perfect for family or group holidays. The extra is the value-add services – such as arranging a chef, masseuse, personal trainer, private transportation, even a tour guide. I get the feeling that if I needed a physiotherapist to look at my tennis elbow, they would find one (I am right). They don’t want to have hundreds of villas, they want a manageable number where they can retain close contact with their customers.

Villa Vilamoura Gardens is one of their “smaller” properties. I fantasize about some of the ones with bells and whistles with cinema rooms, mini golf, tennis courts and even a mini beach! Vilamoura Palace, just across the road, has a lake with a waterfall. Each property has a manager. Our is João and he checks in via whatsap each day to make sure we have everything. Do we need any suggestions on where to go? The villa is so nice we spend 2 full days just hanging out enjoying the sunshine and the infinity pool. I ask João if he were to go to visit one area in the Algarve, where would it be? That’s a no brainer, he says. Sagres! But first we check out Vilamoura itself, an upscale area 
known for its large marina, golf courses and its long sandy beach.

Villa Vilamoura Gardens is a gorgeous modern property and is perfect for us. We could easily have had another family with us and there would be more than enough room. The property reminded me a lot of the high-end houses in the monied areas in Northern California, like Palo Alto or Los Altos. It’s ranch style tan stone building, with painted brick-red accents and green and mahogany shutters. It’s absolutely beautiful.

The large living area has floor to ceiling glass doors that centers around a gorgeous heated infinity pool and hot tub. Top quality patio furniture (João suggests bringing it in doors if it rains). I can tell everything is well looked after and in very good condition. The villa’s large footprint means we aren’t up against other houses, and indeed there’s a golf course in the distance and I glimpse golfers making their way through the course. It’s a very exclusive feeling.

The downstairs of our villa is devoted to a comfy games rooms, with sitting areas to chill out. Absolutely perfect for teens and cousins to get away from the parents. They can shut the door and hangout.

Another feature I liked is that the sleeping areas are in another wing of the house, and you can shut a door if you need to. This would be great if you are sharing the house with another family and you want to shut off the sleeping areas. It’s obviously been well thought out.

Our chefs Marisa and Aurora arrive with bags of groceries and everything they need. Some of the items have been prepped, so they spend about an hour finishing everything off, set the table, and serve our appetizers with a local white wine. We sit outside because it is so beautiful by the illuminated pool. Marissa and Aurora pop in and out, clearing away plates and bringing our second course, more wine, then dessert. The girls decide to swim between course, just because they can! I do too. It’s pretty cool.

They finally come around to say the extras are in the fridge and they are leaving. The kitchen is cleaner than when they started! I check the dishwasher and its empty. They must have cleaned everything by hand and put it away. Seriously what is better than having someone come in and cook for you, then leave your kitchen clean?

After 2 days making full use of the infinity pool we decide to take Joao’s recommendation to visit Sagres, and thank goodness we did. It’s about 1 hour 20 minutes away from Vilamoura and has a wild and rugged. It reminded me of a combination of Cornwall and California.

We only scratched the surface of the Algarve, there are so many other places I want to explore. Knowing that SpringVilla’s have high quality villas in the region means I have a trusted source and will be back soon!

IF YOU GO

SpringVillas – Algarve Luxury Villas Rentals https://www.springvillas.net

Watch our video: Tour of Villa Vilamoura Gardens

Pin it for later!

Disclosure: Our stay at Vilamoura Gardens was complimentary. All opinions are my own and I was under no obligation to write this review.