Owner Interview: Alfie tells us about his Villa in The Algarve

Alfie Henighen, along with his wife Eileen, are fortunate enough to own villa in Vilamoura. Over to Alfie, to tell us more about his luxury four-bed townhouse villa and its perfect location...

 

1. Tell us a bit about your property and its location...

When we decided in 2006 that we wanted to buy a home in the sun I booked 7 days and several viewings in La Manga, Spain, as two of my friends had homes there and I am a very keen golfer. After I booked all this, Eileen said to me that she didn’t fancy La Manga as it was too golfy and our kids probably wouldn’t enjoy it so much! So, when I asked her where else she would consider, she reminded me that we have had some great holidays in Portugal and that we should look there also. So being a sensible husband and knowing that in most cases your wife is almost certainly right(!) I booked flights to Portugal immediately after our La Manga trip.

When we viewed the house we both instantly fell in love with it and bought it within 24 hours. It is a 3 level Townhouse Villa, with two bedrooms on the bottom floor, two bedrooms on the top floor and the living area, dining area, kitchen and pool, all on the middle floor.

 

 

2. Why do you love the area?

The house is only 800 yards from 3 of the golf courses, Millenium, Laguna and Victoria (did I mention I like golf?) and is a 5-minute drive to both the beaches and marina. There is a is hop on hop off tourist train, which passes the end of our road and does a loop around Vilamoura. Vilamoura itself is not a large resort and you can go from one side to the other in under 10 minutes.

The pool is only 5 paces from our sun terrace and as we have a disabled daughter, this was very important to us as it's so easy to pop in and out of the pool, sit in the shade or sunbathe without having to trail all over the place. Also, although the pool is shared there are only 6 villas on the property and 12 flats, plus the pool is hardly used by the other residents so you have it to yourself most of the time. We have furnished the house as we would like it, all with quality in mind, so that if we feel comfortable so will our guests.

 

 

3. Who would you recommend this property to?

I would say that we have had a real variety of guests over the last few years, golfers and families alike. Its perfect for golfers as there are 6 golf courses within a 10 minute drive. And for families, you can lounge about the pool whilst the kids splash around or visit one of the fantastic beaches along the Algarve coast.

We have Free Sky Tv including Movies, Sport and BT Sport so you will never miss your favourite tv programme or the big match, and the kids can be kept occupied with their favourite kids' channel.

The climate is fantastic all year round and the beaches have won awards every year for their quality.

 

 

4. Talk us through your routine for making sure your property is perfect for your guests when they arrive...

When a guest books our holiday home, we send them a “helpful hints” document, which gives loads of information from directions, to key pick up, to operating any equipment in the house. As well as this, our team of cleaners work hard to have the house perfect for all guest arrivals.

I also personally call all guests around their anticipated arrival time to ensure their satisfaction with the preparation and presentation of the house, as I know how important an annual family holiday is and we want everything to be perfect for guests.

 

 

5. Finally, give us a recommendation for your favourite local Restaurant!

We love the choice of restaurants around Vilamoura. You can go to the “Chicken Shack," Maroufos and have a full meal including wine from around 10 Euros. Or alternatively, you can go for Chinese, Italian or Indian at the marina.

My favourite restaurant is an Italian called Luna Rosso on the marina which does the most fantastic thin based Pizza. I can almost taste it now.

I hope that all guests coming to Vilamoura enjoy the resort as much as we do and have a great holiday!

 

See this short video of Alfie and Eileen's house and the surrounding area of Vilamoura...

Stay in one of our villas in Vilamoura. We also have villas in the Algarve and villas in Portugal to boot.