FAQ

Any booking which cancels at least 60 days before arrival will get back 100% of the amount paid. If you cancel between 30 and 60 days before check-in, you will get back 50%. If you cancel fewer than 30 days before arrival you will not receive a refund apart from any damage deposit paid. Early departure does not warrant any refund of rent

If your travel arrangements are affected by any declared pandemic, and you booked after the pandemic was declared, our booking terms and conditions still apply as accepted at the time of booking.   If you booked via a third party booking site you should refer to the booking terms and conditions accepted at the time of booking via that site.  Changes to national or international goverment policy relating to international travel will NOT invalidate a booking made after the declaration of any pandemic.  In such circumstances you should refer any losses to your travel insurer.

Apart from the main high season of mid-July to early-September, we charge rental at the Villa on the basis of a rental cost for two people staying.  We then add a per person per night charge for each guest in addition to two.  This is so that we can offer the Villa for smaller parties and couples at a reasonable rate, and you know you are not paying for extra beds and rooms that you are not using!  In the peak Summer season the Villa is charged at one rate only regardless of the number of people in your travelling party.

At all times other the main summer season, when the rental for the Villas is one fixed weekly price, we charge the same extra per person nightly price for children using beds.  We do not charge the extra person nightly price for babies/toddlers using cots.  There are two cots and two highchairs available for each Villa, and if you need more than two, this can be arranged.

Our minimum stay is 4 nights

From mid-July to the end of August, and some other periods, the minimum stay is 7 nights.  In July and August the only changeover day is Saturday.  At all other times any day check-in and check-out is possible

Our maximum is 28 nights unless booking a longer winter let

We do consider long terms rentals over 28 nights but please contact us before attempting to book a longer term rental.  Substantial discounts on rental costs are available for long term bookings

• By booking directly via our website (links to book above)
• By VRBO – Villa Quina Property Number 1057836 and Villa Susana Property Number 6726812
• By Trip Advisor Rentals (formerly Holiday Lettings) – Villa Quina Property Number 345461 and Villa Susana 746888

• By credit or debit card through our processing merchant Stripe
• Bank Transfer (using an IBAN to our bank Millennium BCP in Portugal) – NB this is our least preferred option

BOOKINGS DIRECT WITH US – An advance payment equal to 20% of the rental rate is required upon booking. The advance payment will be applied toward the rent.  The advance payment is not a security deposit. The balance of rent is due forty-two (42) days before your arrival date.  Bookings made less than 42 days prior to the expected arrival date will require full payment at the time of booking

BOOKINGS THROUGH A THIRD PARTY RENTAL SITE (VRBO, AIRBNB, etc) – subject to the terms and conditions of booking applicable to the third party site used

This is because our business and trading are all based in Portugal, along with our accountants and bank.  Portuguese law places on us certain requirements as a holiday rental in Portugal and therefore our business function is based in Portugal and not the UK.

We are aware of media coverage of  holiday rental ‘scams’, so to help you know what to expect from us –

• We will never ask you for full payment at the time of booking unless you are booking less than six weeks before arrival, as per our booking terms and conditions
• We will never offer you a rental ‘discount’ for quick or full payment by a bank transfer outside of our stated booking terms and conditions – if any person purports to make such an offer to you, do not pay, and please contact us
• We will never ask you to change your preferred method of payment unless you have requested to and wish to discuss it with us beforehand and we are more than happy to speak to you in person to confirm any details about direct payment.  Bank transfer is our least preferred method of payment from you!
• We will always confirm receipt of any direct payment as soon as it arrives with us
• Every transaction will be further recorded via e-mail contact between you and us and you can contact us at any time
• If you have any concerns at any time before payment just drop us a phone call and speak to one of us direct

During you stay our pool maintenance company will attend to clean and maintain the pool usually on Wednesday and our gardener and his team, will attend during your stay on Thursday

We hope you appreciate that maintenance of our pool and outside areas forms part of why our villas are always well presented for you as our guests, and why the pools are always in the best condition and the gardens look maintained.  Neither the pool company nor the gardener has any reason to enter the villas during your stay.

It is part of the booking terms and conditions of rental that you may not refuse our gardener or pool company access to carry out their duties during your stay.  If you do you will be liable to forfeit an amount of your damage deposit which is the equivalent of their lost fees or payments.

Our Housekeepers do not provide a private ‘maid’ service during your stay, they will change linen and towels for you, and conduct a general clean but they are not required to wash up or clean up in cases where the Villa is in a state of general untidiness. They do not provide a maid service for you and your party. We reserve the right to withdraw housekeeping services during your stay if the Villa is in an unfit state whereby our Housekeepers cannot conduct their normal duties, in which case this will be reported to the House Manager immediately.  Our House Keepers must be allowed access to the property during your stay.  They are required by us as owners to visit and undertake their duties, please do not ask that they not attend – if you do not wish our House Keepers to attend during your stay, please do not make a booking

Both Villas are looked after by our Housekeepers who will visit during any stay greater than 7 nights to change linen and towels*.  They will visit at the mid-point of your stay and we will confirm with you which day she will attend when we send all the details to you.

* Housekeeping services for longer winter rentals is not included in the reduced rental price but can be arranged for you for an additional fee

The Villa pool is solely for the use of the guests booked in to the Villa – no one else has access to or may use the pools during your stay

Access to the Villas is by means of a key safe – this means you can arrive any time after 16:00 on your arrival day, and there is no issue if your flight or arrival time is delayed

For any issues with the Villa itself, Alex & Richard are on hand if needed.  We would ask you not to call them between 18:00 and 08:00 unless in an extreme emergency which requires immediate assistance.

We recommend you hire a car as both properties are slightly off the beaten track, however we have had guests who have relied on taxis and they have reported back that this worked well for them and in fact worked out cheaper for them than hiring a car

Arrival is not before 16:00 and departure by 10:00 please

This is to ensure that the housekeeping team have sufficient time to clean the Villa after your departure and to ensure that it is also ready for your arrival – we do ask you to respect these times please

Unfortunately we cannot agree for bags to be dropped off at the Villa prior to 16:00 if you arrive on The Algarve early, or for bags to be left after 10:00 if you have a late flight/road departure.  This policy is to ensure our staff are protected and to ensure the Villa rooms are as clear as possible for them to clean, whilst they are undertaking their housekeeping and client changeover duties

We are often asked about car hire recommendations.  We have always used enjoycarhire.com to source our hire cars.  They are a site which offers various options to book ‘local’ car hire companies, and they always offer a ‘fair fuel’ hire, which is that you return the vehicle with the same level of fuel in as when you collected it.