Contact the Owners Nigel and Bev, Villa Vida Nova

★★★★★ Exceeded Expectations!
My husband and I have just returned from 4 weeks at Villa Vida Nova and our stay exceeded expectations. On arrival we were taken aback by how spacious the villa was and then we stepped outside to the pool area and fell in love with the view. Gardens are lovely and it was nice to look at the fish every day. The villa is very well equipped, we wanted for nothing. Netflix and Amazon prime were useful but we sat outside by the pool for most of our stay! Excellent barbeque, and very handy having a second fridge outside. Nigel was always quick to respond to emails and very helpful with the whole booking process, especially as we had guests arriving at different times. Nigel sent through a pdf of the villa directory before arrival, which was very useful. The housekeeper Ercilia was unobtrusive and very efficient.

My husband and I had a few days alone and then my parents and a family friend arrived for two weeks. For the last 2 weeks we had our sons and their girlfriends join us. We had 4 days overlap of guests so we used Alojanebti S. Gabriel 1, which is next door to the patisserie Doce & Arte (booked through Booking.com). I would recommend this apartment.

We ate in Luar da Foia on our night of arrival. We were impressed by the choice and quality of food. The staff were very friendly and helpful. We ate there on two subsequent occasions. If you want a table outside on a Friday or Saturday night it is a good idea to book a couple of weeks in advance. These tables are on a 2 hour limit, so they can be a little quick to take your order and we learnt to take our time over the menu! We ate in Ceiceira Tasting Lounge three times. This restaurant is a little cheaper and slower paced. It accommodated one of vegan/gluten free guests well. Our first two meals were very good but I was not so happy with my food choices on visit three. We had a lunch in Foz do Banho, which was very tasty and great value. We ate in Jardim das Oliveiras a few days before coming home, and wished we had eaten there earlier! Such a beautiful outside setting. We had a meal in O Castelo which did a great piri piri chicken and was great value.
We drove into the square most days, either for coffee and/or breakfast or for an evening glass of wine. We used Velochique the most, as it opened at 8am. Breakfast was very good and I would recommend – omelettes, pancakes and granola. Bela Vista with the yellow canopes did a good cappuccino and cheese and ham toastie. Service in Café da Vila was a little slower so we tended to use this one for a glass of wine in the evening. Very good house white from Setabul for 3 euros! Our sons often stayed for a few drinks and a cab back to villa was around 5 euros. (Taxi number 2 is on Whatsapp, and they often messaged him, and he’d come and pick them up from the café).

In terms of going further afield we went to Alvor (40 min drive) twice for a fish lunch. A little pricier than Monchique, but a fantastic choice of fish. We had lunch in Silves, which is nice to walk around, and has a good Lidl. We visited Lagos (40 min drive) a few times, where we had lunch and on one occasion did the dolphin watching tour with Seafaris, which was great. We saw lots of dolphins and got some great photos and videos. We went to Portimao (35 min drive) for the beach experience, some of us on sun loungers (3 beds and 2 umbrellas 15 euros) and others went out on pedallos. Our sons went into Portimao for a night out (and to watch football!) and an uber back to the villa was only 21 euros. Auchan(huge store), Lidl and Aldi very good in Portimao and have an excellent choice of meat and fish, but we used the Intermarche in Monchique for most of our shopping.
We went to Villamoura and enjoyed a glass of wine while looking out at the sailing boats and super yachts. Our sons went parasailing from here, and really enjoyed it. We had a drink and sandwich in the Alkaline Bar at Caldas de Monchique which was very nice. We did drive up to Foia, which has a couple of cafes, a gift shop and great 360-degree views.
On the last day I had a massage and used the Spa at Monchique Resort and Spa. The facilities are very good and I was really impressed with the massage. The rest of the guests hired quad bikes in Monchique. This was a four-hour experience with lunch included at Teresinha - they thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We finished the day off with a final meal in Pimenta Rosa, which had live music (Friday night) of a really good standard.
What a fantastic 4 weeks. We did not want to come home!

Louise Price

04 Sep 2023