Beachfront Apartment | Apartment in Vila Praia de Ancora, Viana do Castelo District

Positive: A beautiful, relaxing apartment mere minutes from a gorgeous beach. Lovely furniture and a great kitchen.

Positive: The apartment is newly renovated and is both attractive and comfortable. It is on a side street only a few steps to the beach. The main living space is large and nicely furnished with a sectional sofa and a large dining table. The outside patio is also also large with a table for 4, two lounging chairs, and a clothes drying rack. There is only a small view of the beach from the apartment and the deck. Everything was spotlessly clean and fresh. The kitchen is fully equipped with new Bosch appliances including an induction cooktop (hob), full-size refrigerator, dishwasher, and a washing machine with a drying function. There is very little counter space. We had to use the cooktop as a prep area. There are plenty of pots and pans and almost any kitchen gadget you would need. There are no cooking basics like oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Plan to bring these with your food if you want to cook. There's a small store less than 100m away if you need something. The apartment is entirely air conditioned, something that was very welcome during an unusually hot few days during our stay. The AC in one of the rooms was not working. We notified the owner who was very responsive and had a service person there promptly. The problem did not affect our stay. We had a great stay and were very happy. Vila Praia de Âncora had some wonderful restaurants and the fish was excellent. The beach is large and beautiful. It wraps around and away from the esplanade. Even in August, by walking a few more meters we had space to ourselves. The beachfront apartment was a great place to stay. We would gladly stay there if we return to Vila Praia de Âncora.

Negative: While the the rooms in the apartment are big, the bathrooms are not. The two en-suite bathrooms and the half-bath in the living area are very small with very little room around the sinks and tiny toilet spaces. Don't expect to have two people in the bathroom unless one is in the shower. We had to keep moving the toilet paper holder to get around. The new windows contribute to the fact that the apartment is isolated from much of the outside noise. The neighbors in the building can be noisy at times including one dog that likes to bark as people go up and down the steps. By far the biggest drawback is the stairs. The apartment is on the third floor. The stairs are not uniform and each of the landings is a different shape. It is easy to misstep; something that both of us did at least once. The stairwell is also dark, both day and night. There are light switches on each floor. Press them on each floor as you go up and down or the lights may turn off half way through your climb.

Positive: This was a great apartment in the perfect location - close to beach , restaurant and all facilities - for those interested the surf school is just along the road and easy for bookings. Isabel is a great house and the apartment is spotless - with some lovely design touches. In all a great stay and well suited to families.

Negative: Excellent all round -