If you want a centrally located place within easy walking distance of beaches, restaurants and shopping then Prado Villas is probably not for you.

If on the other hand you want a quiet relaxing break in a comfortable villa in beautifully maintained grounds and don't mind driving to the shops and restaurants then Prado Villas could be just what you are looking for!

When you find a property listed on Expedia at £15 per night you start to suspect that something must be wrong but reassured by the TripAdvisor reviews we went ahead and were delighted to find that it is even better than we were expecting. (We actually booked through Sky travel and with a £100 Sky Perks discount the total cost of the holiday was less than the cost of booking flights!)

Unlike many self catering holidays couples are not discriminated against with 'under occupancy' charges, instead there is a cheaper one bedroom villa rate although all of the villas do have two bedrooms and two bathrooms (one with bath and one en-suite with shower).

There are only 18 villas spread around quite a large site with mature trees and flower beds. The Old course is on one side with obviously very expensive mansions on the other sides, some were being renovated leading to some noise but not excessive. On most holidays we tend to spend most days away from our hotel sightseeing but we found the villas so nice that we happy to spend much of our time on site just relaxing.

The villas are not perfect though the faults are not major.

They would not suitable for those dependent on a wheelchair since there are three steps between the bedroom/bathroom area and the living area. Fortunately this was not a problem for my wife.

The TV only picks up very snowy Portuguese stations but a satellite dish was being installed on one villa during our stay so this may be resolved shortly.

We stayed at the PradoVillas in September with our teenage daughter and her boyfriend.

We chose this accommodation as a cheap four-person base in Vilamoura for which, I suppose, it was ideal. The villas themselves are not that attractive but the grounds and pool are pleasant and they are located in a good residential area near The Old Village. They are notoriously difficult to find and in the end we resorted to stopping by one of the A-Z map signs beside the road and using a camera phone to provide a map.

Check in was easy enough although you need to tell them in advance if you are arriving outside office hours. I think they overstated the personal safety speech though. It left us feeling anxious about our safety, not helped by the flimsy security shutters and quietness of the area at night.

The inside of the villas are best described as clean but basic. The kitchen was in desperate need of a refurb and we had to share it with the local ant population.

I thought the lack of TV remote would be a problem until I realised there were only a few Portuguese stations with abysmal reception. Our main frustration though was the lack of aircon. The villas stayed cool during the day thanks to thick walls but at night it was stifling. If we had stayed any longer we would have bought fans from the supermarket.

The walk to the marina took us 25 minutes and was actually quite a pleasant stroll. The beach would take about another 10 minutes. We always got a taxi back at night because the area is so quiet. The taxi fare was always less than 5 euros.

So, yes, the villas are cheap but I would have paid a bit more for aircon (or even just a couple of fans) and satellite TV that actually worked.

The villas won’t suit everyone and you need to be sure that you want a quiet, basic villa, 25 minutes from the marina before you book here. The pictures should help you decide.

neat, tidy and clean villas. Excellent price for basic furniture and terraces.far from city centre but great outdoor location.At night could be very quiet. no gate, no security, no reception!

We had booked this as a base for a cheapish holiday in the Algarve, primarily to get some sun. Weather aside, it delivered exactly what we needed.

Once you had spent the first day learning about all the funny kinks in the villa i.e. the toilet splashing the seat when it flushed, then you began to truly appreciate what amazing value the villa was. We had only paid 18 GBP per night, cheaper than living at home!

The villa itself is located about 30 minutes walk from the Marina in a well kept garden, among another 20ish identical whitewashed buildings. They all look out over the garden, some directly at the clean, if not a little cold (it is, as you'd expect, not heated), swimming pool. The villas all have their own small patio areas with a table and chairs. These were perfect for reading a book etc.

The local shop and adjacent cafe are around 10 minutes walk. The new Hilton is only 5 minutes walk up the road and great if you want to nip over there for cocktail / meal etc. There are 3 golf courses within 2/3 minutes drive, one of them backs onto the villa's grounds.

The decor is dated, but all serves a function. There were also enough utensils etc to cook basic food. There also were several builders around the site updating bits here and there in anticipation of busier times (we reckon only half the villas were full when we left).

Other points to note were the friendly and very helpful reception/owners, as well as the resident cats!

There were areas that could have ben improved:

-The directions are a disgrace...they seem to lead everywhere except the villas. It is a maze around them so feel free to email us and we will pass you a good set. I'll email the villas to get this rectified in the meantime.

-We arrived late at night, and reception was understandably closed (they had left a note etc with all details for us). The garden was very dark and some lighting would have helped us locate the villa easier, and safely!

-The television (it was raining!) in our villa only had 4 Portuguese channels. Most of the time only one was watchable (RTP1).

-The shower and toliets were in need of a once over from a plumber. They did work however, just not quite perfectly.

-Would have been nice to have a heated pool. It was cleaned every morning though.

All I would say is, if you want a perfect room, heated pool etc. go to the Hilton. If you want a great value villa to live in for a week, go here!