This is a beautiful villa, very well laid out and furnished to a very high standard. It is located in the Praia del Rey resort 5 minutes walk from the Marriot hotel and 10 minutes to the Golf Club, both useful places to eat. The day we arrived was bright blue skies and Force 8 gales. The view from the villa was spectacular. The rolling waves breaking on the coastline were amazing. Given the wind I was surprised that it was still possible to sit out by the pool but this was down to the thoughtful layout of the property, one wing of the villa providing shelter from the prevailing wind, creating a real sun trap.

The facilities at the villa are excellent - all you would expect and more. I was particularly appreciative of the pool toys and equipment as we travelled with two five year olds who spent a lot of time in the pool. The kickboards and body boards provided kept them entertained for hours.

As I mentioned this villa has been laid out very well. The kitchen/family room was the hub for us during the day. It is possible to keep an eye on the children in the pool/garden from the kitchen. There is the option of having a pool fence around the pool. We choose to have this and it gave us great peace of mind.

The Drawing Room is a lovely room for relaxing in particularly once the children had gone to bed - a very adult space. As we were there end of March it was nice to light a fire and relax.

All the bedrooms are en-suite with two on the first floor and three on the ground floor. This arrangement is good particularly if, as in our case, two families travel together.

Praia del Rei is a very good base with lots of options to chose from - a visit to the walled town of Obidos was really interesting, enough to entertain without being too touristy. Lisbon is within easy driving distance and we spent a day at the Oceanarium and waterfront parks. Obviously there is golf, which we didn't avail of this time, but the clubs provided at the villa did make us think twice. I gather the courses are challenging as is the way with links perched on an Atlantic coastline.

The fact file provided by the villa owners was a mine of information and we took some of their recommendations particularly a restaurant Mae d'Agua which we visited twice. Plenty of vineyards to visit also.

All in all a very beautiful villa very well situated and kitted out to a very high standard. One we would definitely consider returning to.