The resort property is amazing: plenty of pools to choose from, a mini market with all your basic needs just a minutes walk away, and easy access to one of the most beautiful beaches I've seen.
The rental itself is just OK. It's a place to sleep, though not comfortably as the mattresses and pillows were pretty hard and worn.
A real downside was the lack of communication with the host. We booked on May 20 for Sep 1-4. Aug 5 I had not heard from this owner (while I HAD from our hosts in Porto and Lisbon), so I messaged through VRBO. By Aug 29 I still had not gotten a response, nor any type of check-in directions, so I messaged again. I gave it 24 hours, and not getting any response still, I called VRBO. They put me on hold and tried to contact the host, but had to leave a message. They instructed us to just go the property as planned, and if we could not get in, to call VRBO back, as they have a 100% booking guarantee.
So we boarded the train and headed to Albufeira, not sure if we'd even have a place to stay once we got there. The listing states that "Santa Eulalia" is the location of the rental, so we took an Uber there. That resort did not have any connection to this owner or property, but did tell us he thought we were looking for a place further down the road (there's another Santa Eulalia perhaps half a mile away). At that point, I tried the host myself with the contact info on VRBO and luckily got through. She gave me the property manager's contact info and speaking to him, we were guided another mile down the road to Alfagar, which is where the property is actually located. We had to wait 30 minutes or so while the rental was readied (we arrived around 7pm, so I'm not sure why it was not ready, or why we were not contacted about our expected arrival time like the previous VRBO hosts have done).
In the end, it got worked out, and when I asked for an extra half hour of check out time, it was granted. The property manager had a family emergency the day of our arrival, and we are understanding that things happen. But being so far from home, and not knowing if we would have a roof over our heads for the last leg of our journey was very stressful.
Overall, we do not regret our choice, as again, the location itself was beautiful. If the beds/pillows could be improved, and communication more clear, we would recommend.