James Villas review – an Algarve family holiday

A private pool, loads of space, plenty of flexibility: it’s no wonder I love family villa holidays – but after stays at some less than impressive properties, I was looking forward to our latest Algarve trip for this James Villas review.

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Because not all villas are made equal (whatever it says on paper). And after a seriously disappointing stay in Kefalonia booked via another company, the James Villas Algarve properties looked like a very tempting change.

EDIT: James Villas has sadly stopped trading since we stayed at this villa in the Algarve but you can still book the same villa with other companies, including Jet2Holidays

Our particular villa, Vivenda Gale Mar was newly renovated, a short walk from the beach, handily located to get out exploring and with room to spread out – which my daughter took full advantage of. So if you’re considering booking a stay at James Villas with kids, here’s my full review.

Our Algarve villa with kids: the essentials

There are a whopping 3,000 properties across 60 destinations worldwide, including villas in a dozen European destinations, as well as Egypt, the US and the Caribbean.

All in all, that means an impressive choice of places to stay from James Villas with kids – including a host of recent new additions in Mallorca.

Rates vary with the cheapest rates for smaller villas out of season – our villa sleeping seven costs from around £750 per person for a week in 2024, although inevitably peak season is pricier.

You can also find family-friendly offers, focused on villas with gated pools if you’re travelling with younger kids, as well as filtering on the website by ‘baby and toddler friendly’, plus the usual options to search by location, size, bedrooms, pool/heated pool, facilities and so on.

Some of the biggest villas will sleep up to 16 so it’s fantastic for multigenerational holidays, big families and groups of friends too.

The James Villas Algarve collection alone has dozens of properties along the coast, from glamorous Carvoeiro to chilled-out Gale, as well as Albufeira and Vilamoura, stretching as far east as Castro Marim on the Spanish border and in Santo Antonio near the westernmost tip at Sagres, not to mention some on the luxurious Pine Cliffs resort.

The company can also help arrange extras including transfers and car hire for you, although I arranged ours separately (via Zest Car Rental which had some great rates and can sort out transponders for the toll roads). There aren’t currently packages including flights.

Some villas will have a keybox so you can let yourself in, while others – like ours – include a pick-up location for the keys.

As the office was less than 10 minutes from the villa, and handily next to a supermarket (plus it had a keysafe/drop-off if you picked up or left outside office hours), it was a breeze to sort, even after a horribly early flight.

There’s an app to help access booking details and useful information, with a whole briefing pack sent including details on everything from maid service to WiFi.

James Villas also has a local rep to help while you’re there as well as people on hand to answer your questions in advance – in my case, could we check in early (yes), is there off-street parking (yes), will there be dishwasher tablets (should be at least a few – and there were) and what coffee pods does the machine take? All the essential pre-trip queries there!

You can also choose to order a welcome pack with some food basics, as well as cots and high chairs, plus different check-in dates and options to choose different lengths of trip, so you’re not limited to 7 days Saturday to Saturday (although you can certainly pick that too).

Check out my complete guide to Portugal with kids here

Vivenda Gale Mar review – our Algarve villa

After setting my alarm for 3.30am, braving the minor airport chaos marking the start of the Easter holidays, negotiating the roads from Faro airport to Gale, including a stop at the supermarket and to pick up the keys, I was on tenterhooks to finally get to the villa and relax by the pool.

And it definitely didn’t disappoint. Pristinely clean, it had everything we needed (including those dishwasher tablets) plus a welcome bag of pasteis de nata and sunshine gleaming on the pool.

After a big sigh of relief and a glass of wine at one of the two tables outside, we reached our first big decision of the trip… which bedroom to sleep in?

With four to choose from – a single downstairs with a bathroom nearby, and three doubles upstairs (two en-suite, the third with its own adjoining bathroom), we both decided that the room with its own small balcony and view of the sea was the winner.

My nine-year-old also took possession of the other en-suite double as her own personal playroom/place to retreat to in the mornings so I could have a lie-in (hurrah!).

If we had wanted cots or highchairs, those can also be provided free if you request them in advance.

Each had plenty of space to unpack, including cupboards for hanging, as well as air conditioning/heating in each room.

Visiting in April, the heating came in handy during the evening and on the one rainy day of our trip – tiled floors are beautifully cool during the summer months but the snug duvet and throws on the sofa were ideal if you’re visiting out of peak season.

There was also a big open-plan living/dining area with a few sofas and comfy chairs (plus the cushions for the pool loungers tucked into a corner), along with a TV and DVD player.

I didn’t even switch the TV on during our stay, making the most of exploring the area and relaxing with a book (or a bit of Netflix on my phone) but you won’t be short of mod cons if you want them.

There are lots of colourful touches, from the seaside-themed artwork to little ornaments, bright cushions and even candles dotted around too.

And along with the dining table in the living space, you’ll find two more tables outside – one big, one smaller.

As each one got the sun at different times of day, I got into a very satisfying habit of breakfast at one and lunch at the other (which handily had some shade too, if you’re visiting in July and August).

Plus half a dozen loungers and a few extra bench seats in the garden, so no-one is squabbling over space there either. Pool towels are also provided, along with the lounger cushions.

To one corner, there’s a built-in barbecue and handy sink, along with the fully equipped kitchen inside – a washing machine as well as that dishwasher, oven and hobs, microwave, big fridge freezer, Dolce Gusto coffee machine, kettle, toaster, and plenty of pots, pans, crockery, glassware and cutlery (including a bottle opener: I’m so used to screw caps on wine in the UK but Portugal’s are unsurprisingly cork).

You’re asked to take the bin out regularly (ideally daily during high summer) and there are both recycling and rubbish bins a few minutes away on the way to another big supermarket, which is only around a five minute walk away.

It’s worth knowing that you’re also asked not to flush any paper/wipes etc in the toilets to avoid blocking it – I also admit that I completely forgot this until part-way through the week and thankfully we hadn’t caused a problem.

On the practical side, there is a safe, basics like soap and loo roll, and some extra cleaning products – we had an unexpected visit part-way through the week (while out) and returned to discover we’d had a bonus clean (and the burglar alarm set, which came as a bigger surprise!)

And while you’re asked not to try to stream using the WiFi, it was easily fast enough to send and receive messages, and check social media – we didn’t try video calling, but worth downloading any books and TV in advance.

Needless to say, Minnie was not busy checking into cupboards for the boring basics (which still make a big difference if you’re missing them, as anyone who’s checked into self-catering accommodation to discover no soap or loo roll can tell you) – her eyes were fixed on the pool.

And what a gorgeous pool it was: steps down for kids to splash about on, deep enough to swim and plenty of room for lilos and pool toys. The only drawback was that it wasn’t heated.

We knew this was the case – it’s not standard in Portugal, although there are some villas with heated pools in the James Villas Algarve collection (for an extra fee, payable in advance) and I’d even bought a my daughter a half wetsuit as a precaution.

In August, it wouldn’t have been an issue as the sun would have warmed it beautifully. At the very start of April, it was definitely too chilly for me – and even Minnie, though determined to go in, didn’t stay in for long.

But it was glorious to relax on a lounger next to it and listen to the water lapping gently. Plus the beach was less than 10 minutes’ walk away – in fact, there were several little coves to choose from – and the sea was distinctly warmer so the wetsuit still got plenty of use!

Incidentally if you have younger kids, the villa pool isn’t gated, but there’s only one door leading onto the patio so it’s easy to keep closed, while there are gates to the drive and garden too.

The downsides? Well, they were few and far between – the villa was on the main road into Gale, although with hardly any traffic so it’s not exactly a busy main road! You did get the occasional motorbike speeding along, and it’s a tight turn into the drive, although with our small Peugeot, I soon got the hang of it.

If you’re hoping to sit out on the balcony, that’s also above the road – it’s not that big so in reality, you’re far more likely to make the most of the lovely patio and pool area.

But quite honestly, that definitely feels like nitpicking. There were as many little details I could pick out as bonuses – from non-slip mats in the baths to bedside lights, lovely silky blue and white cotton duvet, the small safe, the welcome box of coffee pods…

Location-wise, it was fantastic too. Gale itself is part-way between Albufeira and Portimao, less than 45 minutes from Faro airport and only an hour from Olhao to explore the Ria Formosa.

For more ideas of things to do in the Algarve with kids, check out my top picks

Albufeira itself was only around 15 minutes away, Lagoa (home to Slide and Splash waterpark, and Sand City) around 20 minutes, Portimao around half an hour so we were in the perfect place to explore without me facing too much driving – although in April, both the toll roads and the smaller roads along the coast seemed blissfully quiet.

You’re only 10 minutes from Guia – the birthplace of piri piri chicken – although Gale has some great places to eat within walking distance of our villa too, including pizza at Massa Fina pizzeria and several more options on the beachfront itself at Praia da Gale, as well as the nearby Apollonia supermarket for self-catering.

Algarve villa with kids: my verdict

Quite simply, it was exactly what we wanted. Not just a fantastic location and all the facilities, but high quality too from the decorative little touches to the welcome pasteis de nata and the fact that everything was in great condition.

On paper, both this lovely villa in the Algarve and our previous villa stay in Kefalonia (not booked through James Villas!) looked pretty similar – in practice, the Greek property was often basic and occasionally fraying at the seams, while the only regret I had about our home away from home in Gale was that we had to leave!

When it comes to our next family villa holiday – or another dose of sunshine in the Algarve – James Villas will be top of my browsing list.

Check out my complete guide to Portugal with kids here

Disclosure: Our trip was free for review from James Villas – all opinions in this James Villas review (and fair-weather swimming tendencies) are my own. This post contains affiliate links – any purchases you make are unaffected but I may receive a small commission

Images copyright MummyTravels

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