Golfbreaks Reviews 20,440

Significant Disappointment at Pestana Golf Resort Carvoeiro
(Booking reference: 743278)

We booked our trip over a year in advance through Golf Breaks as a group of 12 women, with clear and specific requirements: two villas located next to each other, each sleeping six guests, and twin room configurations.

Unfortunately, Pestana Golf Resort Carvoeiro failed to meet these expectations on multiple levels.

Instead of the requested arrangement, our group was placed on opposite sides of the golf course, and the villas did not include the twin rooms we had booked.

Several members of our party had to share double beds, not everyone was comfortable with this option and the only alternative offered was a cot bed, which was wholly inappropriate given the cost of the trip and the notice provided at the time of booking.

The accommodation itself was also below standard. Villa 199 (a V3 villa) was very run down, with miscellaneous items shoved into cupboards, giving the impression of poor maintenance and disorganisation. Although the villa accommodates six people, it was supplied with only four sunbeds. We were assured additional sunbeds would be delivered, but they never arrived.

The second half of our group was “upgraded” to a V4 villa, reportedly due to the resort being fully booked — raising concerns about overbooking, particularly given our early reservation. While the V4 villa was an improvement, it still presented issues, including ants inside one of the sofas and a smashed patio door.

The significant distance between the two villas left our group feeling disconnected, which detracted from the overall experience.

Our golf day at Pinta de Vale was similarly problematic. Our tee time was delayed due to the resort’s error in arranging transfers to the course, and by the time we finished, the scheduled transfers had already ceased at 4pm.

The initial suggestion from staff was that we should order an Uber for 12 people with 10 sets of golf clubs, which was entirely impractical.

Only after waiting for over an hour and requesting to speak with a manager was a transfer finally arranged.

It is important to acknowledge the positive aspects of our stay. Gramacho Golf Course was excellent, the clubhouse food was of a high standard, and the bar staff were friendly, engaging, and contributed positively to the atmosphere. These elements were appreciated, but they were not enough to offset the broader issues we encountered.

Overall, the experience fell far short of expectations due to poor organisation, inadequate accommodation standards, and a lack of effective customer service. Despite a few highlights, I cannot recommend Pestana Golf Resort Carvoeiro based on this stay.

Easy to deal with, nice people, and the online trip admin is really good.

Very responsive and helpful sales manager who walked through the various options and was quick to respond throughout. We went through various iterations and the sales agent was patient and flexible in ensuring the approach (e.g. deferring by a few weeks the time allowed for guest deposits)

Very easy to deal with and prompt on the quotation

Everything went as described. No hiccups or queries.
Exactly what makes for an enjoyable trouble free experience. Recommended.

Used them for years. Says it all.

Trip was spot on, Slaley Hall has 2 great courses, and the hotel is fantastic, only issue we had was the greens had just been hollow tined to within an inch of their life so basically putting on mud, but when you play in March that’s the gamble you take for the low prices.

Already booked our next trip in June with Golfbreaks 👌

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Golfbreaks delivered on all fronts, transfers to and from the airport, and golf courses. Tee times all aligned and the Royal, Ocean and Old Courses were just stunning. Villamoura is a great place to have a few beers with you mates as well. I'd recommend a GB arranged golf trip 7 days a week...very happy group of golfers! I couldn't have had a better 50th trip!

Always easy to book with golf breaks ,find staff knowledgeable and helpful

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Process was easy from start to finish agent Tommy was very helpful throughout.

Very helpful staff and the website is easy to use

made application on line and was easy to use and navigate around.
Have booked two DBB + 2 rounds of golf at two locations with a third in the offing for our July break.
Great value for superb locations.

Good quotes based on our discussion

Very good response times and communication throughout booking. The website is very useful to track payments and general information.

Responsive, efficient and professional. Prompt call back.

Helpful advice a clear booking process and price matched a rival company

Nice and easy to book. Max, as promised, arranged everything and emailed all details and itinerary for the booking. Will definitely use again.