We arrived about 10:00am and our room was not ready until about 2:00pm, which was fine so we were able to hang around and check out the facilities at the Pestana Viking Resort, which were typical of a Pestana 4* Hotel. The Pool area was crowded and there were no free sun beds and packed with children. Our actual accommodation was a one bedroomed apartment on the ground level with a terrace and garden area which was great.
We spent most of our time at the Pool for Pestana Porches residents only, it was small, but quieter and a bit more refined. We hired a motorbike for 4 days as there was not a huge selection of amenities nearby within walking distance. We had great fun travelling up and down the Algarve coast line stopping off and various towns for a bit of site seeing. Transport is a must. However, for the evening there was a few very good restaurants within walking distance if you don't mind climbing up steep hills.
All in all we loved the accommodation and had a great holiday.

I was sure I had posted a review here before - it's not the sort of place you forget in a hurry. We ended up here by pure accident (long story) two years ago and bought a Holiday Ownership. We've been here twice and I'm already dying to get back next year. To my family this place is ideal. Quiet, friendly staff, use of all facilities in Pestana Viking right next door. Fabulous pool area, great food (albeit a bit expensive), kids club, pool table, beauty parlour, gym.

Our apartment is a one bed, one bathroom. Large lounge area with seperate kitchen. Good size bathroom. The apartment sleeps four. The bedroom is a great size too and both this and the lounge have doors out onto a generous balcony overlooking the gardens. There's a small beach down some steps and a few bars nearby also. You can get to the local town by taxi where you'll find more restaurants and bars. Not great for nightlife though if you're looking for clubs.

There's an Italian restaurant on site with a smaller local restaurant 2 mins up the road. Great food here too. I can't fault this place. It's spotlessly clean and there is always someone around to help or answer any questions you might have. We were nervous at first about Holiday Ownership but 3 years in, we've no regrets.

we stayed here last july and had a great time. we were in a garden view apartment which was just fantastic for the kids [6 year old and 1.5 yr old].. the gardens are actually closed in by gates at the other end so was safe for kids to play. we had a one bedroom apartment which was very spacious. kitchen came with all mod cons and was very clean and looked like it had only been upgraded in the past year or so. v. nice. the pool around the apartments is very quite we went there an odd day but mainly used the main pool in the viking pestana. this was very clean and was never over crowded. my daughter loved the kids club. they made something different every day. the staff in the kids club were lovely. we ate in the restaurants surrounding the hotel, Belmondes and the lovely italian up the hill. some nights we got a taxi into the main resort for chinese etc. so if your looking for something nice and relaxing this is the place to go. you wont find any better. the whole holiday was 5 star from start to finish. spotlessly clean hotel, great staff, lovely food!fantastic weather what more could you want !!! have booked an apartment for 2009 directly with hotel.

my second visit to this hotel and it was not a disappointment. Booked with medhotels as much cheaper than booking direct with the hotel. Had a one bed ground floor apartment and contacted hotel by email for a room with a garden and close to the swimming pool. The staff were welcoming and informative. Allowed to check in early at 10am. The room was spotlessly clean with excellent facilities including 2 bathrooms, lots of wardrobe space, comfy settees, large enclosed garden, washing machine, fridge freezer, oven and hob, microwave, toaster, hairdryer, power showers etc. The rooms are very generous in size. The apartments are next to the pestana viking resort and share all amenities. They offer option of upgrading to half board on check in. There is a lovely swimming pool at the front of the apartments which was very quiet and surrounded by trees and grassed areas. There is also an italian restaurant that was reasonably priced. There were apartments that had been sold as timeshares here. In the hotel there was an indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room that you could use. A childrens club that ran in the morning for 2 hours and again later in the afternoon. This was free and very entertaining for the kids, air con. Everyday had an activity and the theme generally was for the kids to make something creative. The hotel had nice comfy seating areas and free wifi internet access if you took your laptop. Otherwise it was expensive in the lobby. The area surrounding the hotel is very quiet. The beach is literally out of the pool down a slope and there is a very good beach restaurant that stays open of an evening. Restaurants: italian up the road, bar that serves food opp the hotel entrance, wine bar with posh food, 2 more restaurants by the supermarket plus another bar. Taxi to armarca de pera was only 5 euro and lots of lovely places to eat including lovely chinese just before the pedestrian area on the left. would i stay here again... yes most definately.