Having travelled extensively throughout Europe, and notching up an incredible 21 stars last year, my palette for good food is demanding to say the vary least.

I eat at Vila Joya last week with my partner, whist we were staying nearby on business.

I am unable to comment on the bedrooms, but if the food is anything to go by then you're in for a real treat.

I have to stay, for me, this was by far the best restaurant I have ever eaten in. The service was impeccable, the setting was ' paradise' as was the food.

A trip to the wine seller, was sublime, nothing was too much trouble. During our experience, the clientele was all German, which for me demonstrates quality. If its good enough for them.....!

I will certainly return, but next time, I will book a room.

Having holiday'd in Barbados for over 30 visits we wanted to find somewhere nearer to the UK and get rid of the long haul flight.
We went to VilaJoya for Sunday lunch whilst staying last year (2010) at the Villa Vermont, Quinta da Lago and Vila Joya enticed us back for a short 'taster' stay in November 2011 during which we suprisingly even managed a couple of days on the sundbed.
The staff, the food, the service, the setting,cleanliness and ambience were second to none!!
We are returning again in May 2012 and will try to ensure we manage to have at least 2 stays a year.
It is SO relaxing. If you are looking for somewhere to relax and be looked after then look no further.
Top Class!!

This is for sure one of the most special places in Portugal. Not only is still a different piece of Algarve, it has one of the best restaurants. We usually go for dinner on 29th August for my wedding anniversary and the endless number of courses in a delight for senses. The place with its priviledged location in the top of a cliff, is romantric, exclusive , peaceful. The service is extraordinary although we miss the previous butler which would greet us with: Welcome to paradise! The beach is wonderful and quite enough. This is a place forgotten from the rest of the tipycal busy Algarve.

Many pluses here, a few minuses.... Let's get the minuses out of the way quickly:

This is a very romantic place, though while we were on our honeymoon, I will admit that we felt 'underage' ... and we are not even the "go out and drink" type of young couple... we are much more low-key. So in some ways, this was the perfect setting (quiet, no clubs around, just great food and wine and the sound of crashing waves), even though during dinners we felt inexplicable out of place due solely to the other clientele staying there at the time (quite a bit older (and wealthier!) than we were). For this reason, I feel as though this may not be the best place to bring your kids. If you feel like having a romantic one-on-one getaway at a unique place with a KILLER restaurant, then this is the perfect place.

The rooms were FINE, though nothing particularly special (aside from their view). Our queen size bed was two smaller beds pushed together. Size was quite small, and not too many bells and whistles when it comes to amenities and luxuries.

But enough of the negatives... here are the positives...

Their restaurant is to die for. In fact, it was one of our best meals (if not THE best) of our 30 day, around-the-world honeymoon which included Fiji, New Zealand, Sydney, Hong Kong, London, Cairo, Madrid, and Lisbon.

ALSO, the location to the water and the access to the beach, etc are wonderful.

And MOST IMPORTANTLY, the entire staff is courteous, go out of their way to be helpful, and really make your stay pleasant and wonderful. A waiter recommended a glass of wine with dinner... and after I had returned to the USA, I still remembered that wine. I called the property months later and asked to see if they could locate that wine, and they did. Amazing, especially considering I had checked out months before.

THESE AFOREMENTIONED POSITIVES more than make up for the 4 stars, and definitely do not make me hesitate to rate this FIVE STARS....

Strictly from a property and amenities standpoint, I'm not sure about the value here... and even the food and drink on the property are fairly overpriced. They seem to price themselves closer to Paris or London standards (who knows, many of their clientele may come from there) and not so much Portugal standards. This place was one of the most expensive places we stayed during our entire honeymoon (including more than the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong or the Four Seasons in Sydney), so it's not for those looking to stay on budget.

If you can afford it, go for a bigger room. Ours was pretty small (one of the cheaper rooms). This property is rather a spare-no-expense type of price range, so if you CAN spare-no-expense, then this is a great and memorable option.

If you are counting your pennies, and are on a trip where you'd prefer to pick and choose your battles regarding when-to-splurge and when to save, I'd say this: stay somewhere else, but SPLURGE IN THE RESTAURANT.

The restaurant really was awesome. Two Michelin Stars.

Staff was superb.