Let's start this review with the golf courses are all good and once you are at the tee box you will most likely be happy. Why only most likely? Well, I'll tell you about our experience and you can make your own mind up. We are a small group of 4 mates who have been going on golf trips together for 12 years. Our trips are all about golf, we book an early flight play an afternoon round, then over the next three days fit in another 5 rounds. For this trip we paid for a hotel the night before at Gatwick, flew at 6am and arrived at the golf resort around 10am. We had originally booked a tee off on the hotel course of Gramacho at 12.25pm but this was changed to 3.54pm prior to us leaving. YourGolfTravel said we could change to an earlier time on arrival, however, this was not the case and we were met by the rudest receptionist who did not wish to help us at all. She gave us the news that the policy at the resort had changed and on your first day you could no longer play before 4pm. We were also informed that we were not playing Gramacho but were playing Pinta at 4.03pm. We checked the website and noticed that there was a tee off time at Pinta at 2.15pm and asked her if we could play that time. She said she could not do anything and we would have to go to Pinta and see if they would change it there. This was even though she had the ability to book us a tee time on any of the courses from her computer. So we got the shuttle to Pinta but by the time we arrived we were told that tee off time had gone and we were back to the 4.03pm time. So that was a waste of time and we went back to the resort to sit out our 6 hour wait. Whilst waiting we also learned that buggies were not guaranteed, especially for your second round as it would depend on people bringing them back with sufficient charge from their morning rounds. You could also not book your afternoon round until you booked in at the course you were playing in the morning. So, even if you wished to play at the resort course in the afternoon you still could not book until you travelled to your morning round location. A golf trip should be stress free and yet everyday we were unsure if we would be able to book a second/afternoon round and if we would be able to have buggies. Luckily as we were a small group things worked out fine but we still went through the stress of not knowing each day. On our last day there were a large group who arrived and were told that there were not enough buggies for them all in the afternoon. They were not happy that their golf holiday was starting in this way. The good points; the accommodation was good and ours was close to the resort, the bar/restaurant was good including the staff who served us, the transfers all went well and the drivers were friendly. The courses were all good and held up well to the high level of use they are subjected to. Would we go again? No, because of the stress caused as described with not having a guaranteed afternoon round or buggies.
Imagine checking into your golf resort and knowing you had five championship courses to play unlimited golf on and enjoy! At the 4-star Pestana Carvoeiro in the Algarve, that’s exactly what awaits you. Just 45 minutes from Faro airport, this resort is easy to get to and well worth the journey.
The two courses on the property have strong championship pedigree having hosted elite ladies and senior championships on many occasions. Pestana Carvoeiro has outstanding self-catered accommodation consisting of apartments, townhouses and villas as well as being very close to some of the best beaches in the Algarve, this resort is the perfect place for families or large groups of golfers.
The Monchique Mountains provide an idyllic backdrop for this resort and with the towns of Lagoa and Carvoeria very close-by, you can take in some authentic culture whilst you’re here plus you can eat and drink with some of the locals in these characterful towns. Pestana Carvoeiro offers the chance to play some of Europe’s best courses in one of its most stunning locations, a great choice for any golf break.
