We booked to stay in a Villa in Ponta Grande Resort through Owners Direct (property ref P8527) but when we arrived at the resort the Villa that we were staying in was completely different to the one advertised on Owners Direct.
Rather than being the 4* Villa we booked we were staying in a very basic Villa without half the amenities that were advertised.
The Air conditioning did not work, and it took several attempts to contact the owner over a couple of days before this was sorted.
When we complained to Colin Fletcher the 'owner' that advertises the Villa the only response we got from him was that 'all the Villa's are the same'. This I can assure you is definitely not the case! The pictures on the internet were of a lovely looking Villa but the one we stayed in was anything but lovely, was sparsely furnished and the decor was very tired.
The Villa we stayed in was in quite poor repair (Broken towel rails, holes in wall, broken parasol, broken garden chair). The Villa was advertised as able to accomodate 4-8 people, yet there were only 2 x mugs and three wine glasses.There was no microwave, DVD player, Dishwasher or beach towels (all advertised) and we had to purchase a number of basic items such as cutlery and a sharp knife in order to be able to stay there for the 10 nights with 2 young children!

In summary it was a disgrace and a blatant case of false advertising

If you are choosing a holiday in the Ponta Grande Resort (which is an OK resort for young families) do not book the Villa that Colin Fletcher advertises on Owners Direct! He is a con man!

First the pluses. Large pool, well kept grounds, staff quite helpful, maid service very good. Good bars across road and nice restaurants in walking distance. Bus stop including stop for Algarve tour bus nearby. Great beaches especially Coehla (Rabbit ) and Castelo a short walk.
The Negatives, Villas in dire need of a makeover every item of furniture and electrical devices a good ten years out of date and have been used over that period of time. Kitchen equipment very basic and furniture sparse throughout eg for seating in living area only a sofa and the dining chairs. A family could not sit comfortably together to watch TV or play games etc. Lots of hot water but one of the two showers very grotty.Veranda furniture consisted of a cheap plastic table and chairs, all ancient, stained and filthy, plus no parasol hence no shade.
Good size pool nice surroundings, bar, toilets and showers all very good, the downside to this is the lack of shade only seven parasols to forty sunbeds. No other shade available for those who want it - so restricts use of pool. The website states there is a tennis court and a crazy golf course, what it does not tell you is that tennis is ten euros per hour and crazy golf 5 euros per game. Overall i would rate this as a 3 star resort at the most. For us, the lack of shade on veranda and pool and the poor furnishings mean we would not want to stay there again. Next time we will look for a genuine four or five star. Will not return.

We were a party of five four adults one child we stayed from the 13th- 27th July we feel that the Ponta Grande resort does not deserve its 4* rating the villa was spacious and had a good air conditioning system the pool area was adequate and grounds were well maintained however the interior fittings were of a poor standard tiles in the bathroom and shower room were cracked and broken the shower tray and bath was badly stained the work tops in the kitchen badly stained the patio was dirty and patio furniture was in poor condition worst of all was the food it was disgusting limited choices at breakfast evening meals were practically uneatable we were forced to eat out also restaurant staff were way below standard the Ponta Grande complex does not in any way deserve its 4* rating and the restaurant should be closed. Ponta Grande is in the resort of S.Rafael there is a sports bar/cafe small supermarket, a restaurant and a small local bar within 5 minutes of walking. The beach is 20 mins walk away for the elderly. Albufeira is a 6 euro taxi drive. It is a quiet resort.

Very spacious air conditioned villa with well equipped kitchen, lots of living area, balcony and two good bathrooms as well as two bedrooms. Pool very good and never too crowded. Good location. Near restaurants and nice beach but not too far from town either. Helpful reception staff. Restaurant nonexistent however and bar poor at night, closing early and understaffed. All villas and pool area need painting and brightening up. Laundry are limited. Overall very good value and worth it for the spacious villa and lovely beach.