Vila Petra Hotel Apartments

We spent about two weeks in March here but due to the corona virus had to leave two weeks early. The hotel is very quiet with little traffic around. We walked everyday down the strip or to the Olde Town a distance of about 7 km. The staff are very professional and are extremely accommodating. The rooms are clean with a kitchen and are cleaned everyday. The large pool area has many lounges to sun on although the pool,is not heated.

We stayed three weeks in a one bedroom unit the end of February and through to mid-March. Could not believe how spacious the unit was and how well equipped; even had a dishwasher! Complete dishes, forks, knives, spoons, for 6. Also had pots for cooking, a frying pan, glass baking dishes, cutting board, cutting knives, strainer. We took advantage of the kitchen and only ate out 2 nights. Closest grocery store (Pingo Doce) is no more than 15 minutes walk and the others probably no more than 25 minutes by foot. There is a mini market on site that also sells wine but it closes around 5:30 PM. There is a laundry facility on site but it is not inexpensive - 4 euro for wash and 4 euro for dry. Three washer and 2 dryers. As we were there for 3 weeks, we did do laundry twice. Little bit of a tip - pack clothes that are mostly in the same colour palette or have been washed and proven not to fade/run and you can throw everything in one machine. Front desk staff were outstanding. A particular shoutout to Halia at the front counter. She was always very pleasant and we ran into her a couple of times at the Pingo Doce where she was most helpful when we were trying to purchase meat. She even assisted (when we asked) in how to say our order in Portuguese. It made it a bit simpler to order, but we could always point and the grocery staff would understand. English is widely spoken, but it never hurts to learn the basic Portuguese phrases, as a matter of courtesy if nothing else. Apartment was cleaned daily, I believe towels (including dishwashing towels) were changed every other day and bed linens twice a week. If you are planning on utilizing dishwasher, it would be a good idea to bring your own dishwasher tabs. They do sell at the mini market - 6 for 2 euro (price might be wrong), but they don't take advantage of you. I would not hesitate to return to Vila Petra. It's not "on the strip", but within very close walking distance and because it's not on the strip it tends to be quieter, which is not a bad thing. Of note - our stay was during the Covid-19 pandemic and it was very reassuring to see the safety measures that had been put in place. It was a very stressful time but the staff kept us informed as to what was happening at the hotel and we saw obvious measures of precaution (sanitizing counters, hands, keys, not taking cash, closing of pools, spacing of pool deck chairs, closing the restaurant to all but room service)