Hotel Casabela

The Casabela is in the heights of Ferragudo, a charming little preserved fishermen village. The main city, Portimao, is 3 miles away, Faro international airport 43 miles east (allow 1 hour by car).

The hotel is isolated on the heights of Ferragudo. Public buses pass many times a day except for weekends and holidays. They serve Ferragudo and Portimao.
The Casabela is managed by a charming German-Portuguese couple who speak perfect French.

The Casabela has a charming hacienda look with its tiled roof, white walls and three turrets. As a relaxation hotel, it has a large carefully maintained garden , crossed by a little path leading down to the beach There is a nice oval swimming pool (with showers and toilets) beside a little snack bar. A pity : the decoration on the inside does not fulf?ll the promise of the façade.

Almost all of the 63 rooms have a sea view. They are small (18 to 22 m²), simply equipped and lacking character. They are equipped with central air conditionning ( a little noisy), television (11 channels with uncertain transmission), international direct telephone (1 in the bathroom) and a safe (extra charge). No minibar. The bathrooms have a bathtub and hair dryer but are lit by sad neon fixtures. A small soap is the only welcome product.

The restaurant is in a bright room (with neutral decoration) overlooking the garden and the Atlantic. It has Portuguese and International inspired dishes in the evening only. Options are light - soup, salad, cod croquettes, grilled meat or tuna with onions, home dessert. Breakfast is served buffet-style and is correct. It is prepared for the tastes of English and German clientele (cold meats, boiled eggs, tomato beans). But there are neither croissants nor scrambled or sunny side up eggs.

Praia Grande's long beach stretches more than one mile along small cliffs. It is wild and bordered in some places by perennials. From the hotel it is accessible in two minutes by way of a fine shaded little path crossing a corner of the garden planted with fruit trees. Several water sports are possible here. They have windsurfing, sailing, pedalo and kite surfing. The part of the beach where you can rent deckchairs is supervised.