my second visit to this hotel and it was not a disappointment. Booked with medhotels as much cheaper than booking direct with the hotel. Had a one bed ground floor apartment and contacted hotel by email for a room with a garden and close to the swimming pool. The staff were welcoming and informative. Allowed to check in early at 10am. The room was spotlessly clean with excellent facilities including 2 bathrooms, lots of wardrobe space, comfy settees, large enclosed garden, washing machine, fridge freezer, oven and hob, microwave, toaster, hairdryer, power showers etc. The rooms are very generous in size. The apartments are next to the pestana viking resort and share all amenities. They offer option of upgrading to half board on check in. There is a lovely swimming pool at the front of the apartments which was very quiet and surrounded by trees and grassed areas. There is also an italian restaurant that was reasonably priced. There were apartments that had been sold as timeshares here. In the hotel there was an indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room that you could use. A childrens club that ran in the morning for 2 hours and again later in the afternoon. This was free and very entertaining for the kids, air con. Everyday had an activity and the theme generally was for the kids to make something creative. The hotel had nice comfy seating areas and free wifi internet access if you took your laptop. Otherwise it was expensive in the lobby. The area surrounding the hotel is very quiet. The beach is literally out of the pool down a slope and there is a very good beach restaurant that stays open of an evening. Restaurants: italian up the road, bar that serves food opp the hotel entrance, wine bar with posh food, 2 more restaurants by the supermarket plus another bar. Taxi to armarca de pera was only 5 euro and lots of lovely places to eat including lovely chinese just before the pedestrian area on the left. would i stay here again... yes most definately.

Just returned from holiday, the apartment was fabulous and well worth the 4* rating. The maid service was everyday and thorough with clean towels daily and bedding 3 times a week. We stayed bed and breakfast and there was a good selection of food and the staff were very helpful if you required anything else. Overall we had a happy and comfortable stay and would recommend the garden apartments for any one with children as these were perfect for playing. The beaches are a 5 minute walk from the apartments and were lovely and safe for children. A few restaurants near by which are good for a week stay but if you you are staying for 2 weeks and wanted to try someting different everynight you may need to drive.

Just got back from a weeks stay at the Pestana Porches with my parents & my two & a half year old daughter.
After reading the fantastic reviews on Trip Advisor we booked a two bedroom apartment with sea view on a b&b basis and we were not disapointed.
The accomodation was superb and of top quality. The towels & linen were changed daily and the apartment was very modern & spacious(almost like a hotel suite!.) The large terrace overlooked the ocean & was within walking distance of all the hotel amenities.
In the hotel complex itself there are two restaraunts & also a poolside bar serving food. Outside the hotel there are four or five restaurants within walking distance including a brilliant sea food restaurant on the beach directly below the aparment. The hotel has a free kids club which is for 4-10 year olds but you can take younger children in as long as you stay with them ( something that my daughter really enjoyed.)
The location of the complex is pretty quiet so not the place to stay if you are looking for very lively evenings out but great for a relaxing & laid back holiday.
We spoke to other guests who were staying in the hotel itself & their rooms were small in comparison to our luxury apartment .
There are two excellent beaches within walking distance but both are reached down steep hills so not great for the less mobile.
Overall a wonderful family holiday. Would highly recommend these apartments & would love to go again.

Booked these apartments only 6 weeks before going, was a bit disappointed as we wanted a sea view apartment and could only get a garden view apartment but was really pleased when we arrived! The Garden View Apartment was on the ground floor and you opened the patio doors onto a lawned area outside which was great for the kids to play on in the evening. We met friends who had a sea view apartment and they only had one bathroom whereas we had two so the garden view seemed to be bigger. We booked a one bed apartment for a family of 4 and that was plenty. We had two bathrooms, one with bath and shower and one with just shower in, a separate kitchen fully equipped with dishwasher, cooker etc which was great as my son is a Coeliac so it meant I could prepare all his food and not wash up!! The hotel facilities were good, the breakfast was fine, just don't eat outside if you don't like flies! The main pool area was salty water whicih the children didn't like so we used the pool by the apartments which was great, never a problem getting a sunbed and you can use the hotel towels, even better. I would definitely go here again, you need to use a taxi or hire car if you want to go into the main resorts as it is out of the way but for a quiet, relaxing family holiday it was superb.