Testimonials

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2008 was our first year renting our wonderful home in the Algarve. As each guest comments on our place we will post it here so that prospective holiday makers can get a better feel for what the Yellow Beach House is like.



The Bartelett's May:

Hi Ya - Hope you are all well.

We had a very nice week at your apartment. Unfortunately the weather was against us. Lots of rain, wind and clouds but the sun came out a couple of times so we all came back looking very healthy.

You asked me what I thought and if there were any problems so I'm going to tell you but you must remember this is only my opinion and will differ from any of your other visitors.

The apartment is lovely - very homely and you couldn't ask for more as far as home comforts are concerned. When Donna (daughter in law to be) saw the shower she said it was the cleanest one she had used on a holiday and that is really saying something. She is very hot on cleanliness. The veranda is a sun trap and we spent a lot of the afternoons sitting reading as the sun usually came out at about 4pm and stayed with us until about 6pm which was wonderful. Rooms were clean and spacious and the beds comfortable (believe me - some of the beds we have stayed in were so hard you would be more comfortable sleeping on the floor!!

We didn't use the barbeque (I don't cook on holidays). We didn't use the dishwasher (I don't cook on holidays) and we didn't use the washing machine (I don't do anything on holidays!!!). We did use the internet but only to check the weather hoping the sun was going to come out the next day!!!!

One piece of advice. You have a lot of lovely pots and decor in the apartment. I am a bit worried in case you get a rowdy lot staying or maybe a family with, shall we say boisterous children. I would hate for them to break anything (particuarly the pot next to the kitchen.

On the down side. Unfortunately, the toilet in the main bathroom was blocked on our arrival and, because it was late on Saturday we left calling Angela until Sunday morning. Because it was Sunday she was unable to help until Monday. The plumber arrived (on time) and had to dismantle the toilet and then had to reseal it. Consequently, we were unable to use the facility until Tuesday afternoon. Inconvenient, but, as we were a family of four adults it could have been a lot worse if the number was higher or there were children. There wasn't a bath plug so, not liking showers I had to keep using the plug in the kitchen sink and the door to the main bathroom didn't lock.

Nothing really to worry about. I don't know what the deal is with your cleaners. They came in on Wednesday and changed the towels and sheets and made the beds. I don't know if they were supposed to do anything else but we were quite happy with this.

Finally - I moved your candle on the table outside to the fireplace. When the sun did come out the candle started melting and I didn't want you to return to find a big blob in the candle holder. Also - I moved your table and chairs on the veranda further back as when we went out in the morning, because of the rain they were wet. Hope this was ok.

All in all - the only thing that didn't work was the weather, so you can't ask for much more so many thanks for being such good (absent) hosts!! If you would like me to put a recommendation on your website just let me know.

Look forward to hearing from you and thanks again.

Babette.



Needless to say we got a new bath plug to replace the one that had disappeard and had the lock on the bathroom door repaired.



When I asked the Bartletts for a testimonial we got this:

Hi Ya -

I had a look at the website but couldn't work out how to insert any comments so use the following:

' We have just returned from a very relaxing week in Paul and Dagma's apartment on the perimeter of Villamoura.

The apartment was very clean and spacious and the position is ideal as a base to visit all sorts of places in the immediate area.

We all made use of the facilities available - the kids spent time by the pool while the oldies (us) relaxed on the terrace reading and enjoying the peace and quiet.

There were no real problems but I spoke to both of the ladies who look after the property on the owners behalf and they were both very approachable and more than willing to share their knowledge of the area.

Most days we wandered into Villamoura, lazing on the beautiful beaches with extremely good beach bars. They all offered a very good selection of food and drinks and in the evening all of the restaurants had very friendly staff, extremely good food and all at very reasonable prices.

Every Wednesday morning there is a market in Quateria which is well worth a visit. It is quite busy but very large with a vast array of goods on offer. Also, if you are into cooking on holiday, the indoor vegetable and particularly the fish market is exceptional and I believe is open every day.

I noticed that there is a small office near 'The Old Navy' pub which offers day trips to Lisbon (36 euro) and Seville (35 euro) which I think is a very good price and there are quite a number of schooners who offer days at sea with lunch included. Again at very acceptable prices.

All in all - Paul and Dagmar could not have been more welcoming (the wine, tea and coffee basket on our arrival was marvellous) and it is our intention to make use of their hospitality later in the year.

Many thanks to you both.

Ray, Bub, Charlie and Donna. '


Hope this is ok. Be in touch. Babette.



The Murphys May:

Upon their arrival they emailed us from the PC in the place.

Hi Paul

Well, we arrived safely this afternoon - your directions from the airport were perfect and extremely easy to follow. You weren´t joking when you said the apartment is beautiful. We are very impressed - already we want to rebook for our next holiday. We have moved a few items to the top shelf just in case one of our little people gets over excited - we´ll put them all back before we leave.

Thanks again for all the helpful information you sent us - we´re looking forward to exploring and trying out some of the local restaurants, etc. Sarah has arranged to call in tomorrow but I cannot imagine needing anything else that isn´t already here - nonetheless it will be nice to meet face to face just in case we need her help during our stay.

Thanks again for everything - we´ll be in touch.

Helen Murphy (& John, Isabelle, Ewan and Jackson)


After they returned home:

Hi Paul

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you and sorry the last e-mail was blank. No school today so I have three small people under my feet causing a major distraction. I have checked our account and the €300 has arrived - thank you. I have written a few words below which you may want to put on your website.

"This is a truly splendid apartment offering all the comforts of home and much much more. My husband and I and our three young children have just arrived home and we're already trying to figure out when we can arrange to return to "The Yellow Beach House".

The apartment is in an excellent location, just a few minutes walk from beaches, shops, restaurants, bars, etc with both Vilamoura and Quarteria easily accessible on foot. This is not a typical empty holiday apartment - it is a luxurious and very spacious home with every possible comfort available for guests use from flat screen TVs to a new barbecue on the very large veranda.

Also the owners very kindly provided us with lots of very useful information about the local area and the Algarve in general which greatly helped us to make the most of our stay. We would definitely recommend a visit to this fabulous accommodation - you won't want to leave!"


I hope that's ok - we really did enjoy the apartment and will certainly never book a package holiday again. Thanks for all the info - the directions and video made it especially easy to find the apartment on arrival.

Thanks again for everything.

Cheers Helen, John, Isabelle Ewan & Jackson



The Harts June:

hi paul,finally got round to speaking to you after a fantastic holiday at your lovely home.

we had a great time,the weather was very hot with clear blue skys and every need was catered for at your home. your directions were spot on and we enjoyed both QUARTEIRA and VILLAMOURA,but as you said VILLAMOURA was more expensive.

thank you for all your help with the info which we followed to the letter.look forward to hearing from you soon.

rgds

DEREK



The Gallaghers June:

Well Paul it was it was absolutly wonderful.

We loved your place. Quinta do Ramao, Vilamoura, and Quarteria are all great places we were so impressed. Your apartment has everthing we could possibly want, simply fantastic, we would love to stay there again.

Once again thanks Paul for a wonderful vacation, the memories will last much longer than the sun tan.

I will write a testamonial for your web site in a few days when I clear away my work backload.

Kind Regards

John Gallagher

And when they got back home they sent us this:

Thank you Paul, Dagmar and little Jason for letting us rent your apartment.

We fell in love with the place as soon as we walked in the door, so bright, spacious and very well equipped it had everything we could wish for even the internet. What a fantastic holiday, everything went perfect.

The only problems we encounterd were deciding where to eat between the many magnificent restaurants and getting the kids to come out of the wonderful pool which they virtually had all to themselves from Monday to Friday.

The location of the apartment is superb nestled between the beautiful Quarteria promenade and the Vilamoura marina. The local Portuguese and indeed everyone else we met were extremely friendly. We will treasure our memories and hope to return again one day.

Thanks once again

John, Joan, Sinead and Patrick



The Thomas Family July:

Hi just a quick message to say we arrived, you have such a lovely home from home, we feel settled already, thankyou once again for allowing us the use of it.

kind regards

Tracy & Glen

And when they got back home they said:

Paul,Dagmar and Jason

Thankyou for allowing us the use of you beautiful apartment, it really is one of the best equipped places we have stayed in, you have some really lovely items that we did try to place in safer locations as having a 3yr old with us did make me feel slightly nervous, it was so nice not having to take heavy beach towels with us for the holiday as everything was provided. The balcony was a lovely area overlooking the pools, and with a bbq. The pools are lovely and safe especially the childrens pool we couldnt get our 3yr old out of there (wish it was the same for bathtime), we were the only english residents there at the time but that really was not a problem as the portuguese residents made you feel more than welcome. The location really is good as it is only a short stroll along the beach front and you are in vilamoura marina with lots of lovely restaurants and bars, and going in the opposite direction again along the beachfront you come into quarteira, with many more things to do and back streets to explore, this is where you will find a large market on a wednesday that is worth a look. We will be returning next year for another relaxing holiday!



The Ralphs Family July:

When they arrived:

HI Paul,

Just to let you know that we´ve arrived safely and sending this message from your PC!

The weather is glorious and the apartment is just as you´ve described and photographed. Absolutely fantastic....

We´ve already found the local supermarket to stock up on the basics and plan to head out for a bit of exploring this evening when it´s a little cooler.

~We spoke to Sarah when we landed and she´s dropping by tomorrow morning to say hi...

The terrace is so lovely and I can´t wait til later to light the candles and pour a glass of chilled wine. (Thank you for the welcome gift..) Just perfect.

We´re so glad that we found you and your place.

We´ll send some pictures when we look less pale skinned and completely settled in!!

Hope your trip to Florida is amazing...

~Kind regards~~

Lynne , Jenny and Mike

When they got back home they said:

I’m delighted to provide a testimonial following our recent stay at the Yellow Beach House!!

When searching for an apartment near Vilamoura (for 2 adults and 2 teenagers – aged 13 and 17), we had a list of main requirements to help us narrow down our search and this place became number one choice very quickly. It was 2-bedroomed, near the beach, had air-conditioning, a pool and was in walking distance of nearby shops and restaurants - so no need to hire a car.

We were also initially attracted to the details of the apartment by the lovely photos and the welcoming, enthusiastic and very comprehensive information on Paul’s web-site. Everything looked perfect for us.

We e-mailed Paul for further information and to check availability. He replied very quickly and confirmed the dates we wanted were available. As a novice arranging my holiday via the Internet, Paul was really helpful in explaining how the booking arrangements worked and everything went really smoothly after that.

Right from the start Paul responded very quickly to a few queries I had and he also sent lots of really useful information about the apartment, his local contacts, nearby attractions and the area generally. Really great.

During the period between making the booking and the start of our holiday, Paul and I corresponded regularly and by the time we travelled, we felt as though we were family friends staying in his holiday home rather than customers renting an apartment for a couple of weeks.

The personal touches continued when we arrived to find a chilled bottle of wine and complimentary tea / coffee – a very welcome surprise!!

The apartment lived up to all of our expectations – beautifully furnished, amazingly equipped and very bright and airy.

We arrived mid-morning, but this wasn’t a problem as we made contact with Sarah (Paul’s local contact) on our way from the Airport and she said it was Ok to make ourselves at home and she’d call in to see us the next day.

Sarah is really lovely and gave us lots of local information and maps and then took us to the nearby market in her car!! She’s a goldmine of information and helped us book a number of trips whilst we sat on the terrace in the sun!! What could be easier!! We visited Zoomarine, Aquashow and took an all day cruise along the coast. All a great success.

As promised, there were gorgeous beach towels and beach bags at our disposal – which saved a lot of space and weight in our suitcases. The towels were changed 4 times during our stay.

During the hottest parts of the day, when the children needed some time out of the sun, they were able to watch a DVD or go onto the internet – all provided for our use. So they were very well catered for!

In summary – with the fabulous weather that you expect in the Algarve this is a perfect place to stay if you appreciate home comforts, a high standard of equipment and lot’s of space. It’s 5 * accommodation and feels just like a home from home – exactly as promised!!



All we can say is that Paul’s makes every effort to ensure that you have a great holiday. His attention to detail, warm and friendly style makes you want to stay here. We would definitely return.

Lynne, Mike (13) and Jenny (17) from Stafford, UK



The Boyd Family August:

When they arrived:

Hi PaulThe place is great, having a super time.You may still find us here this time next year!!!!

Best regards

Paul,julie,chris & lewis...

When they got back home they said:

Hi Paul, Dagmar and Jason - We wanted to write thanking you for making our stay at your apartment in Portugal so enjoyable, the reservation and payment process was seamless, including return of deposit (thanks for chasing me) and access to the apartment was also easy inspight of our arrival in the early hours!

The apartment was far more spacious than we had anticipated, which gave our two teenage boys some privacy (or was that us?) The maid service was again excellent with clean bedding and towels being provided more often than I do at home!. The location was perfect with Villamoura and Quarteira being within walking distance, the local information provided by both yourself and "Sarah" helped to make our holiday far more fun. Our first week was very quiet with hardly anybody using the pool, our second week was busier with the Portuguese residents joining us but again the pool was virtually empty from one until four!

Thank you for providing tea,coffee and the most quaffable wine, the only surprise for me was that there were no basic condiments available for cooking on your wonderful B-B-Q (e.g. salt and pepper) but we left what we purchased including washing and cleaning materials so hopefully this made it easier for the next holiday makers.

Thanks for the warning on the sun beds, we found ourselves scratching around for a couple that weren't broken!

We would have no hesitation in recommending your second home to anyone - Thanks Again

Julie, Paul, Lewis and Chris



More as we go along

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