I would love to write a glowing review for the St. James in Praia de Luz, because it has so much going for it. The apartments and complex are in good shape, the pool area and grounds very nice, the residents/ guests very friendly and the location very handy, but unfortunately there are just too many negatives (big and small) to do so.

The biggest complaint is the noise. We stayed on the east side of the building isn a large 3 bedroom, but we happened to be next to the communal trash and recycling bins. They are emptied nightly at about 3 a.m to loud clanging of bottles, cans and whatnot. Added to this is the fact that locals restaurants seem to dump their bottles and trash at closing time. It made sleeping a nightmare. We were also across from a restaurant (touristy) that drew a noisy crowd that spilled onto the street at all night, particularly at closing.

The other complaint was the randomness of the opening hourts of the restaurant. It was really good but... more