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Essential notices about our site, your privacy, terms and other useful information

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Terms and Conditions of your Booking with SandyBlue

  1. Your Contract is with SandyBlue Lda

    These Booking Terms and Conditions, the Essential Information also referred to as Addendum A and Final Departure Information together with our privacy policy, our website terms and conditions of use and with any other written information we brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking, form the basis of your contract with SandyBlue Lda (“we” or “us”). Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. In these Booking Conditions references to “you” and “your” include the first named person on the booking and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made or any other person added or transferred to that booking.

    By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:

    • He / she has read these terms and conditions and has the authority to and does agrees to be bound by them.
    • He / she consents to our use of information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
    • He / she is over 21 years of age and where placing an order for services with age restrictions, declares that he / she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services.

  2. Your Holiday Contract

    A binding contract is made with us by payment of your reservation deposit, payment in full if you are booking within 12 weeks of departure and the completion of the booking form (which also confirms your agreement to our Terms and Conditions).

    These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by Portuguese law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of Portugal.

  3. Essential Information Regarding your Tenancy

    These terms and conditions must be read in conjunction with the Essential information regarding your tenancy herein referred to as Addendum A which forms part of your binding contract with SandyBlue.

  4. Paying for Your Holiday

    At the time of booking, you will be required to pay a deposit of 25% of the value of the accommodation. All deposits are non refundable. For some reservations with specific resorts you will be bound by their terms and conditions which may have different deposit requirements. We will advise this at the time of booking. All bookings are subject to a 2% service charge.

    The balance of your holiday price must be received by us no less than 12 weeks before arrival date. If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as a ‘cancellation’ in which case the cancellation charges set out in clause 11 will become payable.

    If you cancel after we confirm your booking, you must compensate us for losses, as we incur costs from the moment you make the booking. The closer your cancellation is to the departure date, the less likely we are to recover the costs by re-selling the holiday at the original price. Our cancellation charges therefore increase as the departure date approaches, and you must pay us the sums up to the maximum shown in Clause 11.

    Final departure access to property information will not be supplied until your holiday has been paid for in full, we have received any applicable refundable security deposits for the property and all passport information for all guests.

  5. Accuracy

    We endeavour to ensure all information, contract and booking conditions and prices both on our website and in our partner websites are accurate however occasionally changes and errors occur, and we reserve the right to correct prices and update and amend all information on our website or partner websites in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to our contract before confirming your reservation.

  6. Your Holiday Price

    All prices include VAT at the prevailing rate. If applicable, any Tourist Tax imposed by the local authority for your selected property will be added at the time of booking. We reserve the right to offer via our marketing: discounts that can not be retrospectively applied or used in conjunction with any other offer you may have had. We can also amend the price of unsold holidays at any time and correct any errors in the prices of confirmed holidays including any changes in costs such as services or amenities requested by the guest: extra cleaning, extra laundry costs, baby travel cots, foldaway beds, extra linens, or any other items that are separate to the rental of a property. For a SandyBlue Longer Stay of 28 nights or more, utility bills on selected properties are included. Where this applies, we operate a “Fair-Usage” policy which will be handled on a case-by-case basis. In the event large utility bills are judged to have arisen from excessive or neglectful use, we reserve the right to charge this excess to the guest. We reserve the right to amend the values of any applicable refundable security deposits at any time (See Clause 7).

  7. Damage to property and Security Deposits

    Accidental Damage Cover
    All properties are subject to Accidental Damage Cover (ADC) by a non-refundable charge of €7 per maximum occupancy, per week, which will be added to your booking value. This ADC charge covers you for accidental damage to the property during your stay up to the value of €200 per incident. This expressly excludes damage caused through negligence and/or vandalism.

    If there has been any accidental damage to the property that exceeds the value of €200, you will be notified by email within 10 days of your leaving date and we will discount the amount above €200 from your refundable security deposit. However, if SandyBlue believes that this damage was caused by negligence and/or vandalism, ADC will not apply and the full cost of any repairs or replacements will be deducted from the refundable security deposit. In the event of any damage, we ask that you notify us immediately regardless of value.

    ADC does not cover lost house keys which will be immediately charged if lost.

    Security Deposit
    Some high value properties and certain 3rd party agent properties can also be subject to a refundable security deposit. The security deposit is payable at least 4 weeks prior to arrival date or typically with the final balance payment of your holiday.

    The type of payment required, the amount and when it is payable will be confirmed to you at the time of booking. Security deposits are set by SandyBlue owners and agents and vary from property to property. We reserve the right to amend the value of the security deposit at any time.

    As with ADC, any damage caused to the property must be reported immediately and any damage cost will be deducted from your security deposit. Your ADC will cover the first €200 of any single incident.

    With both ADC bookings and those that require a security deposit, if any member of your party cause any damage to your holiday accommodation, any item in it or on its premises, you (the ‘lead’ booker) and/or your party will be required to pay for the loss and/or damage caused. We will hold you and each member of your party, jointly and individually responsible. We will issue you (the ‘lead’ booker) an invoice for immediate payment.

    We reserve the right to take photographic images of any damaged property at any time during the course of the tenancy or after departure as proof of damage.

    Following your departure, the property management team will inspect the property and you will be informed within 10 days of any issues identified. If no issues are detected, your security deposit will be returned in full within 14 days.

  8. Confirmation

    Please check your confirmation email, payment receipts, final departure information and all other documents you receive from us immediately on receipt. You must contact us as soon as possible if any information appears to be incorrect as it may not be possible to make changes later and it may harm your rights if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within a reasonable period of time.

  9. Changes to your booking

    Should you wish to make changes to any details of your booking following final confirmation, we reserve the right to charge a minimum €50 administration fee.

  10. Transfer of bookings

    If any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you and satisfying all the conditions applicable to the holiday booked) providing we are notified not less than 14 days before departure, all details of the new member of the party are provided to us in accordance with our booking procedure and you pay an amendment fee notified to you at the time your request the transfer, meet all costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers and the transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.

  11. If you cancel your holiday

    Once your holiday has been confirmed, any changes or request to cancel can only be made by the lead party. Please note that the number of nights on confirmed bookings is fixed and cannot be reduced under any circumstances. Cancellation date is determined by the date we receive your email and confirm we have received that email. In all cases the deposit for your holiday reservation is non refundable.

    Our cancellation charges increase as your arrival date approaches. The cancellation charge detailed is calculated on the basis of the total cost of the holiday payable excluding amendment charges which are not refundable.

    If you have to cancel for a reason covered by your insurance policy, you may be able to recover the cancellation charges from your insurance company. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned.

    When only some members cancel in a group that has booked a holiday together, the full value of the reservation must be bourn by the remaining members of the party.

    For all accommodation types, the following terms apply:

    • Cancellation anytime from date of booking to 63 days before arrival date - loss of deposit
    • Cancellation 56-62 days before arrival date - 50% forfeit on the total value of the booking
    • Cancellation 42-55 days before arrival – 75% forfeit of the total value of the booking
    • Cancellation 15-41 days before arrival – 95% forfeit of the total value of the booking
    • Cancellation between 0 and 14 days before arrival – 100% of the value of the booking is forfeited
    • No refunds will be given for guests not travelling or for any unused services

  12. If we change or cancel your holiday

    It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your confirmed travel arrangements or cancel them however we do start planning arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally, we may have to make changes and correct errors on the website and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed. In the event of minor alterations, we will do our best to notify you before you travel.

    If a ‘significant change’ (see below) or cancellation has to be made to your holiday property we will notify you as soon as possible. You may then: a) accept the changed property; b) accept an offer of an alternative holiday of comparable standard from us, if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value; or c) cancel your booking completely, in which case we will refund you all monies paid by you.

    Note: In the event that you choose an alternative property, if the substituted holiday property is of a lower price than the one originally booked, we will also refund the price difference. If the substitute holiday is of a higher price you will pay the difference to upgrade. The original terms of our agreement will transfer to the substituted accommodation.

    We will not pay you compensation where we make a major change or cancel before departure or in the event that we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care.

    The above sets out the maximum extent of our liability for changes and cancellations and we regret we cannot meet any expenses or losses you may incur as a result of change or cancellation.

    We will not pay you compensation and the above options will not be available if we make a minor change or cancel as a result of your failure to make full payment on time or where the change(s) or cancellation by us arises out of alterations to the confirmed booking requested by you.

  13. Force Majeure

    Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions we will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by any event which we or the supplier(s) of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. These events can include, but are not limited to war, threat of war, civil strife terrorist activity and its consequences or the threat of such activity, riot, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster and adverse weather, sea, ice and river conditions and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concern’s control.

  14. Building Works

    The law does not dictate that neighbours or resort management need to advise of building works or noise adjacent to and or near any property. Therefore we cannot be held responsible for any resulting disturbance. Any building work which may commence in the local area is completely outside of our control, this can include noise from landscaping, building and road works.

    Building works are legally allowed to place from Monday 8:00am to Saturday 6:00pm. These are the normal and legally recognized working hours in Portugal. Some building works can also take place with additional licence for longer hours and also on Sundays and bank holidays.

    However, should we become aware of any building work which may reasonably be considered to adversely affect the enjoyment of your holiday we will notify you as soon as possible, and if possible, will offer you the opportunity to transfer to an alternative available property at the published advertised price.

  15. Special requests

    If you have a special request that does not form part of the arrangements described on the website please inform us in writing at the time of booking. We will do our best to comply but cannot guarantee this.

    We regret that we are unable to advise prior to departure if special requests cannot be met. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.

  16. Disabilities and Medical Problems

    If you or any member of your party has any; health issue, medical problem or disability which may affect your stay, please provide us with full details before we confirm your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details. 

    If the medical issue becomes apparent when you are in tenancy we cannot accept any liability in any circumstances due to your non-disclosure of the medical condition at the time of booking.

  17. Holiday Insurance

    Travel insurance is essential. The policy should be valid from the time of confirming your booking. Your insurance should have cancellation cover as well as multi risk, medical and repatriation. We highly recommend that insurance purchased must have a 24-hour emergency telephone service. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover that you chose not to have for your holiday.

  18. Our Liability to You

    1. We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “accommodation provider” subject to these booking conditions, if we or our suppliers perform or arrange your contracted holiday arrangements negligently, taking into consideration all relevant factors (for example following the complaints procedure as described in these conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your holiday), we will pay you reasonable compensation. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.

    2. We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:

    1. The act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected; including non disclosure of medical conditions,

    2. The act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party who provides supplementary services for the accommodation, which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or

    3. Unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond ours or our supplier(s) control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or

    4. An event which either ourselves or suppliers could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.

      The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equal to the applicable excess in your travel insurance policy in total because you are assumed to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.

    5. Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you; or (f) any business losses.

    6. All decisions regarding any monetary values, refund or compensation of any description, is only with direct written confirmation and agreement solely between the leader of the party and the Director/s of SandyBlue Lda.

    7. We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our accommodation agreement. For example; any facility that is provided or maintained by a third party, any excursion you book, or any service including internet provider or facility including communal pools or similar amenities, tennis, golf or other similar leisure activities, chefs, child care, restaurants, transfer and taxi services which any other supplier agrees to provide for you.

  19. Conditions of Suppliers

    Some of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us.

  20. Additional Help

    If you or one of your party suffers personal injury, illness or death during the holiday through no fault of ours or your own, we will, at our discretion, give you general assistance. The offer of assistance is without prejudice.

  21. If you have a complaint

    If you have cause for complaint whilst on holiday this must be brought to the attention of a SandyBlue Lda. representative and relevant supplier immediately so that action can be taken at the time to rectify the problem. Should the representative/local agent/ supplier or property management company be unable to resolve the matter, details of the complaint must be notified to SandyBlue Lda in writing within 14 days of the end of your holiday. Failure to do so will affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint.

  22. Behaviour

    At all times during your holiday, you are expected to have consideration for your fellow travellers and other third parties. If in the opinion of ourselves, any service provider, accommodation owner or other person in authority, you are or appear to be behaving in such a way as to cause, or to be likely to cause, danger, distress, annoyance or damage to third parties or property either ourselves or the supplier concerned may terminate your holiday arrangements. In this situation, we will have no further liability to you and will not be responsible for meeting any expenses you incur as a result, making any refund or paying any compensation. Subject to clause 7, you and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the accommodation owner or other supplier prior to departure from the accommodation. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you. We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.

  23. Passports, visas and health requirements

    We are required by law to lodge all passport information with SEF Border Control. This information must be provided on your reservation booking form before we can release the Final Departure Information for your holiday.

    It is your responsibility to hold a valid passport, visa and/or entry permit. Your passport and travel documents must be intact: you may not be able to travel if they are damaged or have been tampered with. Passport, visa and health requirements are subject to change and it is your responsibility to check the up-to-date position in good time before departure. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.

  24. Use of electronic recording devices, photos and video

    SandyBlue reserves the right to use recording devices for electronic mail, texts and telephone calls and meetings. Specifically in the case of disputes for evidential purposes, the tenant permits SandyBlue Lda for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; the right to record with video the meeting and all conversations with the tenant/s and to be able to photograph the article / object / situation in dispute.

    All items disputed remain the property of SandyBlue Lda.

  25. Use of information you give us and communicating with you

    In order to process your booking and provide you with your confirmed holiday, we will need to collect and process personal information. For operational reasons, this data is held at various secure locations. When needed, we must pass on certain elements of this data to the companies, organisations or property owners who need them so that your holiday can be provided. For example, SEF - the Portuguese government border control authority requests all passport information for every guest. Others include resort accommodation providers, transport companies, banks or from our affiliated companies.

    Where you provide us with this personal information, you consent to this data being used as described in this clause. We would also like to send you information about our products and services that we think will be of interest to you. We may do this by post, telephone, SMS or email. We are entitled to assume you do not object to our doing any of the things mentioned above unless you email to us at info@sandyblue.com

Addendum – Book with Confidence pledge

Last updated 10th January 2022

The following terms replace terms and conditions above where appropriate.

From 12 weeks you will be expected to travel unless Covid 19 Restrictions* (as defined below) apply to your travel plans. We know that restrictions can be put in place at very short notice and you are likely to be concerned about this. We want to help and make your booking with SandyBlue an enjoyable experience. If Covid 19 restrictions* are applied at very short notice which makes your arrival impossible, we will work with you to find the best solution. We would want as much time as possible to resell your booking to another country of departure where restrictions might not be in place. If you cooperate with us by giving as much notice as possible, we will protect the money you have paid, less a charge, by issuing a voucher for use in a SandyBlue property to be booked by end December 2022 and for bookings before September 2023. The charge would be a maximum of 15% of the booking value.

* Covid 19 Restrictions are defined as:

  • You are prevented from travelling under newly imposed Government restrictions either in your country of departure or Portugal.
  • Your country of departure has placed Portugal on a “Red List”.

Travel Insurance

It is your responsibility (as the lead guest on the booking) to ensure that you and all other parties in your booking have travel insurance. SandyBlue is NOT liable for any costs you or any member of your party may incur due to travel restrictions, outside of the terms described above. SandyBlue is not a provider of travel insurance.

ADDENDUM A
Essential Information for Guests of SandyBlue

We sincerely want you to have a relaxed & enjoyable holiday. The purpose of this ‘plain English’ information is to clearly state what you can expect from your holiday accommodation with us.

The following information will help you find out about all aspects of your SandyBlue holiday, whether staying in a resort or private villa, from services within the accommodation to 3rd party service providers.

This essential information forms part of your contract with SandyBlue. By payment of your deposit you have accepted and agreed to the conditions outlined herein Addendum A and the Rental Terms and Conditions.

Should you require any further information regarding any of the matters below, please do not hesitate to contact our Reservation Administrators for clarification of any points of issue you might want to ask.

The Rental Accommodation

The properties featured on SandyBlue are privately owned and are furnished to the owner's taste, so the standards, styles and finish fixtures and fittings of property will differ. We endeavour to give an accurate description of each property with interior and exterior photographs, but sometimes an owner may update or change the décor/fixtures/fittings after you book your holiday. These changes would be considered upgrades and not to affect the overall enjoyment of your holiday.

We endeavour to represent as clearly as possible the features within each property. The properties featured operate to Portuguese safety standards, services and regulations. A change to the interior or exterior décor after you have confirmed and paid for your accommodation will not give grounds for cancellation or compensation of your booking.

The Time the Property will be Available

Access to the property is at 4pm and Departure from the property is 10am

Only those persons registered on the booking form may occupy the accommodation from 4pm on the date of arrival and all guests must vacate, including luggage, by 10am on the date of departure.

Failure to vacate the property by 10am on your date of check-out will result in further charges being levied and deducted from your security deposit.

In low season – November to March we will try to give immediate access and a late departure for the property. But we can not guarantee this unless it is specifically agreed on your booking reservation. Closer to the time of arrival we can confirm if this would be possible, please contact us to discuss.

In peak season – Easter to October, we welcome you to bring your bags to the SandyBlue office during business hours. All arrivals regardless of using airport transfers or private car hire all guests must wait until 4pm to gain entry into the property.

We can also send you the access code information by text or email when the property is ready if you do not wish to leave your bags at the SandyBlue office.

Access and Keys for the Property

Your final departure information will be sent to you generally 14 days before arrival this email will have information about how to access the property & we will request that you save it to your mobile device, and also print off driving directions and access codes.

On arrival at the property the keys can typically be obtained from the key safe which is located at the entrance of the property or maybe key collection at a Reception Desk / Office.  On your final day return the keys to the key safe, and leave additional keys on the dining table or return the keys to Reception services.

If you lose any of the keys you have been provided the cost of the replacement will be deducted from the security deposit. Replacement costs also include alarm remotes, gates & garage fobs or auto remote controllers for access to the property.

During your holiday you are responsible for ensuring you lock up the property when you go out, including the use of locks and alarms as provided and that you have your keys with you to be able to get back in. 

If you accidentally forget to take your keys with you and you have not left your emergency access key in the key safe so you can access a key (on properties that have a key safe). You will be responsible for the ‘call-out’ charge to unlock the property. Every call-out to open the property that you have locked yourself out of will incur a minimum fee of €75 per assistance. Call-outs will deduct from the security deposit. 

Some locks may require a locksmith to open and the cost of this is the responsibility of the tenant and will be paid directly to the locksmith or deducted from your security deposit.

Some sliding patio doors also have ‘auto’ locks when you slide them into closed position – they will lock automatically. Same for front doors – many of our properties have a dead-lock that if you leave the key in the back of the door you will not be able to get back in the property. When you arrive take time to walk around the property and take note of the type of locks in the property.

Guest Responsibilities

  1. The rental accommodation is reserved exclusively for the people named on the reservation confirmation and no other persons are permitted to stay at the accommodation unless this has been agreed with us in writing, the persons provide their passport information for SEF and insurance purposes and appropriate payments made (if applicable). Additional guests will be asked to vacate by SandyBlue staff, accommodation supplier or other person in authority.
  2. You and all members of your party also agree not to use the property for any illegal or commercial purpose, including subletting of the property.
  3. We will only provide bedding and towels equal to the number of confirmed guest names on the contract. Any additional bedding or towels must be confirmed and agreed on the booking. There is an additional cost for extra bedding and towels.
  4. All Properties are non-smoking. Smoking is not permitted in any property. Any breach of this condition will entitle SandyBlue to withhold the entire security deposit. Smoking may be permitted outside the property, but, if any cigarette debris is found the additional costs of cleaning will be deducted from the security deposit.
  5. No pets or animals are allowed in any property. Some resorts offer accommodation with pets but only with written confirmed agreement with the reservation.
  6. The rental property including the furniture, fittings and electrical items and effects, in or on the property, must be left in the same state of repair and condition as the commencement of the rental period. On arrival, all fixtures and furnishings are deemed to be in good working order and fit for purpose. Faults that are found during the rental period are to be reported to SandyBlue immediately. Failure to report any faults will be deemed to have been caused by the guests. The guest will be liable for the cost of the repair.
  7. Electrical appliances are all regularly checked but may stop working at any time of your holiday. Please call us and we will try to replace as soon as possible. Please note that machines that stop working may require the attendance of a technician who may not work outside of normal Monday – Friday hours. If this occurs with air conditioning units we will provide you with a room fan until repaired.
  8. Always rinse your plates before placing in the dishwasher. If the dishwasher breaks down because of food residue trapped in the drain we will charge you for the call out.
  9. Guests are requested not to use 'fake tan' whilst in the properties. 'Fake tan' damages soft furnishings and linens. If at the final inspection it is found that 'fake tan' has been used, the additional associated costs of cleaning, laundry or replacing the damaged linens will be deducted from the security deposit. All linen is deemed to be in perfect clean unmarked order on your arrival. If the linen is not in perfect conditions – contact us immediately.
  10. On departure you agree to complete the following before departing the property: accommodation in a reasonably clean condition, wash and dry up any used kitchen items and return to the cupboards, lock up all doors and windows and set the alarm. If additional significant cleaning has been necessary after your departure this will be deducted from your security deposit.

All our Properties are Self-Catering

In the local area there are several supermarkets including: Apolonia, Pingo Doce, Lidl, Aldi, AliSuper, Jaffers, Mini Preco and some smaller localised shops. Apolonia and Continente offer a shopping delivery service. You can read more about this on their websites. www.apolonia.pt and www.continente.pt

Safety deposit boxes

Please note that safes are not provided in all properties and should you require a property with this facility please ask our Reservation Administrators at the time of booking.

Maid and Property Services

During your stay it is necessary for the maintenance team, pool team & gardeners to carry out their duties at the rental property, including cutting grass, general garden duties, pool maintenance and urgent property maintenance. While we don’t want to disturb your holiday these duties are essential to keep our properties to a high standard.

Please read this link to understand what generally will be the maid services provided to you on holiday: SandyBlue What To Expect From Your Maid Service [pdf]

Electrical Infrastructure

Portugal is a developing country and there is major infrastructure work being done to bring electrical and water supply up to a Northern European standard. There may be times that the supply will be disrupted. We have found over the years that EDP / Camara (Council) will try to have normal supply reconnected within a few hours. Unless there is a specific problem with the property there is nothing else that we can do but communicate to you of the situation.

Note that all properties are allocated a ‘volume’ of electricity by EDP this varies from property to property. Generally, we have requested and upgraded all our electric circuits to the maximum voltage we are allowed to have. But given the demands on the property and the electrics in the property it may short out if too many appliances are on at once.

If you have too many gadgets – including air conditioning, tv, oven, ipads, mobile phones, laptops, hob, entertainment system, washing machine, hairdryer, kettle all on at the same time you will probably blow a fuse. Turn off some of the electronic items and reset the fuse box.

To reset the fuse box: open the front panel – look to see which switches are not facing the right way. Reset any wrong switches. Properties vary and there will be additional instructions in the information manual for the property or contact the Property Manager if you cannot reset the fuse box.

Drains & Toilets

Portuguese sewerage standards are not to the same standard as your home. In most restaurants, shops and beach facilities you will see signs requesting you not to put paper in the toilet but in the bin beside. Many properties do not have mains sewerage.

You may put toilet paper in the toilets in most of our properties (except for some villas which will be advised). Apart from toilet paper, no other items can go in the toilet whatsoever – this includes, Kandoo, baby wipes and sanitary products. If a toilet system blocks during your tenancy and the blockage is something other than toilet paper, we will deduct the cost of the clearance of the blockage from your security deposit.

You may find that sometimes a ‘smell’ comes from drains and toilets, this is because of the way the sewerage is constructed. Portuguese building regulations do not require ‘soil stacks’ the tube that takes the smells above the roof. The plumbing is under the floor of the bathrooms and you will see a silver round ‘plate’ on the floor. Sometimes there is a build-up of odour, particularly in summer. This is normal. Generally, if you flush the toilet and run a tap for a minute or so the smell will dissipate.  The pipework for the drains in the shower and bath are much smaller than European standard and it will take longer and be a bit slower for the water to drain away.

Hot Water

The boilers in the properties are generally electrical immersion heaters and are of sufficient size for the capacity of guests we allow to stay in the property. Some properties have gas boilers and these will either be fed from ‘bottled gas’ which of course can run out (or main feed – only available in larger resorts) generally in the outhouse of the property there will be another bottle and you can change the regulator over to the new bottle.

If you overfill a bath or take a shower for a long time, you may find that the hot water runs out. Please take shorter showers or smaller / shallower baths to ensure that you can all have hot water available for your use. If you use up all the water it will take several hours to re-heat a full tank of water.

Rubbish Collection

There is no door to door rubbish collection. You will have to take your own rubbish on a daily basis to communal bins. Large dumpster-style bins will be located on roadsides and in resort developments there are recycling points to dispose of your rubbish.

Summer Air conditioning

We ask that you do not leave air conditioning units on when you are not in the property. We specifically request you do not leave doors and windows open and the air conditioning units on. If we note that the above happens we reserve the right to remove the air conditioning remotes from the property

When accommodation is equipped with air conditioning or heating system this will be detailed accordingly.  It could be on arrival you see additional infrastructure in the property but unless we have specifically offered this infrastructure with the rental contract it is not available for your use. It could be that it may be available in exceptional circumstances and a charge will be payable locally to use the infrastructure.

Winter Heating

Please note that the majority of our properties are not equipped with any form of heating facilities, however where available, it will be indicated in the description and these objects will be the only heating available.  

In some properties there is an extra charge for the use of air conditioning/heating systems and this charge will be on the website information for each individual property.

When a property has a wood-burning fireplace we do not supply wood, you must buy this yourself.

During winter the temperature will drop very quickly after 3:30pm. Do not leave any windows open when you go out during the day as you will find the property will be cold on your return and will take a long time to get warm again.

We recommend that you leave the oil heaters (when provided or if you have paid the hire) at least on low all the time to maintain the warmth. The air conditioning is also reverse cycle – which means that it can heat the rooms.

Assistance while on Holiday

When you are on holiday we intend to respect your privacy. Our office is based in Almancil if you want to pop in and meet us. Our team are available to help via emergency@sandyblue.com  

An emergency is defined as: ‘an unforeseen, unexpected or sudden occurrence, a serious situation especially of a danger - demanding urgent and immediate remedy, action or assistance.’ If you call outside of business hours and it is not a problem as described above we will respond to you during normal business hours.

All serious emergencies – please dial 112 for Fire / Police or Ambulance

Aircraft noise

In certain resorts, especially those closest to the airport, it is not uncommon to experience aircraft noise. This may be more noticeable during peak season due to the increase in flights.

Out of Season and Public Holidays

There may be limited facilities available during Low season which can be from the end of September through to May in the Algarve. Consequently, we recommend car hire during these times and to check before you book your holiday what amenities and facilities are open in this season.

Extra items for babies and toddlers

Please read this link for the available extras we can provide: SandyBlue Extras Information [pdf]

If after your arrival you would like any additional extras for your holiday. We can organise this, subject to availability and delivery charge.

Satellite navigation systems - GPS

The GPS satellite navigation system is fairly reliable here and is useful in locating places of interest during your holiday. We try and provide as accurate as possible GPS codes but you must also use any of the additional specific directions provided in your travel information pack when travelling to your property, to avoid any difficulties.  

Lost Property

Please ensure all personal possessions are packed when departing your holiday property. Whilst we will endeavour to assist when items are left, we are unable to guarantee the return of any items which have been left unattended and will not be liable for any items lost or damaged in transit. Postage, packaging and handling fees may be applied for the return of lost property.

Passports and ID while on Holiday

It is your responsibility to ensure you have a valid passport and visa (if applicable). Passports should have six months validity by your return travel date.

If your travel requires a visa – and you require additional supporting documentation from us there is an administration charge of a minimum €50 per person per document for the additional supporting paperwork for your visa application.

By law in Portugal you should always carry your passport, ID and car hire documents with you at all times. There are regular police checks on cars and they will ask for your ID and car hire paperwork. We also recommend you photocopy or, save on your phone, your important documents/credit card (face only) and also have the telephone number of your Bank written down if you need to make an emergency call. Put these documents in a sealable plastic bag then you have duplicates/emergency numbers if you need them.

Personal Health and Safety

The Algarve is generally a safe place. But this does not mean that you should not be cautious. Do not leave valuables in your car. Close windows in properties that face public areas. Always lock all windows/doors/shutters when you go out of the property and if there is an alarm always set it. Always shut all doors, windows and shutters when you go to bed.

If you lose any items of value while on holiday through theft, you must report the facts immediately to the local police and obtain a written report (they will ask for a payment to make a report and it can take several hours). If a report is not obtained, you may not be able to claim back on your insurance policy.

Pools, Garden and General Maintenance – Third-Party Suppliers

All our properties are maintained by the staff that have access to the property. Gardens have to be maintained on a weekly basis. Pools are normally checked and cleaned twice a week and this is normally carried out early in the morning. Pools require salt and chlorine to keep them balanced and the pool person will advise if this has been done and that maybe the pool will not be able to be used for a short amount of time, this is a normal procedure.

Pool and garden personnel do not have fixed hours, so it is not possible for us to advise you of the exact date or time of their visit. We ask for your cooperation when these people visit.

Please read this document about swimming pools: SandyBlue Essential Information Swimming Pools [pdf]

Resorts – Third-Party Supplier

Although every effort is made to ensure the information contained within the various resort details is correct, this information has been provided by the specific resorts and therefore SandyBlue Lda cannot take responsibility for its accuracy. All the facilities listed are provided by the resort, and the management of the resort is responsible for the quality and provision of facilities, services and staff. Unfortunately, some facilities may not be available at certain times of the year, or at times when maintenance work is required or events are being held. In addition, local charges apply for resort facilities.

Airport / Taxi Transfers - Third Party Suppliers

Unless specifically included on the booking form, no transfers are included in the cost of the holiday accommodation. We can organise airport transfers for you at an additional cost. You can be transferred to any destination from the airport upon arrival, but not the rental property. Access to the property is only after 4pm.

All Facilities, Restaurants, Attractions, Leisure Sports etc. – Third-Party Suppliers

Activities booked on your behalf such as sports activities, tennis and golf, the provision of the service and facility is a Third Party Supplier and SandyBlue cannot guarantee the service or availability of the amenity, service level or quality. All local attractions referred to are independent and provided by third party suppliers and not SandyBlue Lda. All complaints with the services of Third Party Suppliers should be directed to the supplier not SandyBlue.

Some facilities, activities and excursions could involve an element of risk and are not controlled by SandyBlue Lda. If you wish to participate, purchase or make use of any optional activities, facilities or excursions SandyBlue Lda cannot accept liability in relation to these. The contract for the provision of that activity, facility or excursion will be between you and that provider. The discretion to partake in any such activities, facilities, or excursions is entirely at your own risk. You are responsible for taking sensible precautions for your own safety and for the safety of any children or family members for whom you are responsible. Please liaise with the supplier of the facility, activity or excursion for the Terms and Conditions of your activity, facility or excursion which will govern your contract with the supplier.

Telephones – Third-Party Supplier

Unless otherwise stated, telephones are not provided in our properties. In Portugal, it is not uncommon that it can take several attempts to ‘dial out’ of the country. If this happens just keep trying.

TV system – Third-party Supplier

All SandyBlue properties have a great selection of TV channels available but the service does vary from property to property. The Property Information Guide in each property has detailed information on how to use the entertainment system(s) available.

Internet - Third Party Supplier

Please read this document about the internet: SandyBlue Essential Information Internet [pdf]

Car Hire – Third-Party Supplier

We can organise car hire for you. The terms and conditions of the car rental is with the provider not SandyBlue Lda.

You will need a credit card, a full driving licence which has been held for at least one year. All drivers must have a licence. If you hold a photo-card licence you will require the accompanying paper documentation. Photocopies will not be accepted. Child seats can be provided. Cars can be collected from the airport or delivered to your property.

Insects Animals - Third Party Invaders!

The Algarve has mosquitoes, ants, cockroaches and other creeping and flying insects. Ants are common and if you leave food out or forget to clean down tables, sweep floors and serving areas, the ants will have wandered in and happily start eating up your leftovers. If this happens remove the leftover food and wipe down the affected area. If the ants persist we can provide ant powder as a repellent.

The properties are surrounded by gardens and countryside and field mice and other rodents are common, along with local farm animals, dogs and cats. Some of these animals make noise. We have no control of any animals that belong to neighbours or non-domesticated animals who make noise or may be roaming around, so we ask your understanding in this matter.

Safe Working Environment

SandyBlue accepts the responsibility under the regulatory framework of Portuguese law for the provision of a safe working environment for our staff. 

All SandyBlue employees and SandyBlue service providers should be entitled to perform their duties free from the threat of overt stress, harassment, intimidation or physical violence.

SandyBlue will not tolerate any abuse of its employees or service providers including:

  • Physical violence – including kicking, spitting, hitting or pushing, or use of a weapon.
  • Verbal abuse – including intimidation, shouting, swearing or insults, racial or sexual abuse.
  • Threats and intimidation via telephone, text, electronic mail and normal mail.
  • Threats of extortion by means of writing bad and false reviews for financial gain.
  • Aggressive behaviour, abuse or threats to gain improved or quicker service provision.

In everyday life things can and do go wrong and you have the right to discuss any aspect of your holiday with us. We request that it is done in a calm manner in accordance with our service provision policies and will look to rectify any issue which we believe needs rectifying in a realistic timeframe.

Website

We make every effort to ensure that the information and photography contained on our website and our associated websites are accurate. However, many individuals are responsible for the provision of your holiday arrangements and they may alter or temporarily withdraw some of the advertised facilities or services without prior notice to us. Unfortunately, errors can occur and prices may alter, however, we will always endeavour to advise you of any changes at the earliest opportunity. The distances to amenities, beaches, restaurants, supermarkets and pool measurements we have provided are approximate and if floor plans are displayed these are a guide and are not to scale.

Privacy & Cookies Notice

Dated: August 2023

Guests – if you have made a booking, enquiry or visited our website

1. About this privacy notice and who we are

This privacy notice provides information on how SandyBlue Lda (“we” or “us”), part of the Awaze group of companies, process your personal information when you make a booking or booking enquiry through us, visit our website, contact us or use our services. We are a controller in these situations and can be contacted about data protection issues by email to privacy@sandyblue.com.

We keep our privacy notice under review and we will place any updates on our webpage. We will contact you to let you know about any significant changes.

2. What personal information we process and why?

We will only process personal information about you when we need to and this may include:

  • Personal details such as your name and contact details (phone number, email address and home address)
  • Payment details such as payments made to and from you and partial payment card details
  • Booking details such as properties booked through us, booking references and travel dates
  • Identification details such as passport details where this is required under local tourism laws
  • Contact history such as emails, letters, messages and social media messages to and from you
  • Usage details such as IP address, device type, how you use or interact with our website, emails, content or ads (e.g. pages visited, links clicked and properties viewed). Please see section 8 for more information about this.

We don't typically collect special categories of personal information, but on occasion this may be required to provide our service to you, for example, where you provide us with health information, including any difficulties with mobility, for us to ensure that your requirements can be met. This may also be necessary for insurance or legal purposes for example, if you have an accident at a property you have booked through us and medical data is required as part of the claim.

The provision of some personal information is a legal or contractual requirement and if you do not provide it, we may not be able to enter into or perform the contract with you and may therefore cancel your booking. We will tell you if this is the case and will not be liable to you.

We generally collect personal information directly from you, but we may also receive your data from third parties. For example:

  • If you book via one of our booking partners
  • Other guests in your party
  • If you enter a competition relating to us via a third party

If you provide information about other people when making a booking, this privacy notice will apply to all personal information you have provided about them and you should bring this privacy notice to their attention.

We may use your personal information for any of the purposes explained below, depending on how you interact with us.

Purpose for processing Personal data used Lawful basis for processing
To enable us to complete and manage your booking or related travel arrangements, including taking payment and giving refunds Personal details, payment details, identification details Contract
Consent
Keep a record of any financial transactions with you Payment details Legal obligation
To invite you to leave a review about our services Personal details, booking details Legitimate interest in understanding the perception of our business and improving our services
To send service messages, including booking updates and changes to our terms and conditions Personal details Contract
Legitimate interest in keeping our customers updated
Manage your participation in any promotions, offers or competitions you choose to participate in Personal details Consent
To provide details or information you may have requested Personal details Consent
Provide and improve our customer service and support, including quality control, training and resolving complaints Personal details, booking details, contact history Legitimate interest in improving our service, staff training, record keeping and resolving issues
Legal obligation
To personalise our services to you, for example, where allowed, we may identify you when you visit our website so that we can remember your preferences and previous actions e.g. properties you were looking at on our website. Usage details Consent
Legitimate interests in providing the best browsing experience
Monitor our website, including its performance and security and, where allowed, analysing the behaviour of visitors to our website so that we can protect and improve our website. Usage details Consent
Legitimate interest in maintaining the integrity and security of our website and providing the best browsing experience
To carry out marketing activities Personal details Consent
To provide your contact details to a third party to provide you emergency assistance in the event of a travel crisis or other unforeseen travel incident. Personal details Legitimate interest in protecting our business and customers
For analytics and product improvement. This includes testing, addressing security or technical issues, data analysis, statistics, improving our website and communications, and developing new products and services. We use anonymised data to do this where possible, but may need to use personal data on occasion e.g. if you are experiencing a technical issue with our website, we may need to use information about your device. All data Legitimate interests in evaluating our range of services and improving our business
For legal purposes. This includes handling legal claims, ensuring compliance with our booking conditions and other agreements, complying with government advice, regulatory requirements and legal obligations and detecting, preventing and reporting crime. All data Legal obligation
Legitimate interest in protecting our business and assisting law enforcement and government bodies

Where special categories of personal information are required for any of the above purposes, we use this where we have your explicit consent, where you have made the information public or in relation to legal claims.

3. Sharing your data within the Awaze group

We are part of the Awaze group of companies (listed at www.awaze.com) and we sometimes use joint technology and may share your personal data with other companies in the Awaze group, their employees, contractors and service providers. This does not affect the purposes we use your personal data for and, includes:

  • managing your booking,
  • providing customer service,
  • detecting, preventing and reporting crime,
  • monitoring our website; and
  • marketing activities where permitted.

We also share anonymised data for analytics and product improvement. We rely on our legitimate interests in providing a good service, improving our service and protecting our business to share within the Awaze group. Group companies either act as our processor or joint controller and we have an intra group data sharing agreement in place to ensure the data is secure and handled in line with applicable laws.

4. Sharing your data outside the Awaze group

To effectively provide our services and run our business, we may share your personal information with:

  • if required, owners or agents of the property you have booked
  • service providers, acting as processors, who provide IT, system administration, website hosting and support, marketing, customer support, cleaning and maintenance and customer review services
  • professional advisors, including bankers, lawyers, auditors, accountants and insurers who provide us with services
  • our preferred insurance provider(s) (if you purchase any insurance policy we offer)
  • credit/debit card companies
  • payment service providers
  • government agencies, regulators and other authorities
  • third party booking or distribution platforms, travel agents and booking partners
  • third parties that we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our assets or business to or with and businesses we acquire or merge with
  • third parties you have authorised us to speak to

Third parties are required to process your personal information in line with data protection legislation. Where a third party is acting on our behalf, we do not allow them to use your information for their own purposes and we ensure they have appropriate security measures in place to protect your information.

5. International transfers

We are a global business and use suppliers located across the world. This means that sometimes we need to transfer your personal information outside of the UK and EU. We only do this where we are satisfied that there are adequate measures in place to protect your personal information in a way that is consistent with, and respects, UK and EU data protection legislation. We will ensure at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

  • an adequacy decision; or
  • approved contractual measures and where necessary, supplementary measures.

If you would like further details of the applicable transfer mechanism, please contact us.

6. How long we keep your information for

We will only keep your information for as long as necessary based on the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal information, the purposes for which we process your personal information, any legal or regulatory requirements and any relevant industry standards or guidelines. Where your information is no longer required, it is disposed of or deleted in a secure manner or anonymised so that it can no longer be associated with you.

7. Your rights

Under certain circumstances, you have the right to:

  • Request access to a copy of the personal information we hold about you (commonly known as a "subject access request").
  • Request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information that we hold about you. Remember, you can update your contact details through the booking portal.
  • Request that we delete your personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it (commonly known as the “right to be forgotten”).
  • Object to us using your data for direct marketing or, in some circumstances, using it for our legitimate interests.
  • Request restriction of the processing of your personal information. This allows you to ask us to limit the way we process your personal information, for example if you dispute the accuracy of the information we hold about you.
  • Request data portability, whereby we transfer the personal information you have provided to us, either directly to you or a third party.
  • Withdraw your consent where we rely on your consent to process your information.

There is no fee to exercise your rights, unless your request is unfounded or excessive, in which case we may charge you a reasonable fee or refuse to comply with the request. We may need to request information from you to help us confirm your identity and identify the information you are referring to.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us. We aim to respond to requests within one month, but where permitted we may extend this by two months and will notify you of this.

You also have the right to raise concerns about our use of your personal information with the relevant supervisory authority, such as the Information Commissioner in the UK (https://ico.org.uk), at any time, but we encourage you to contact us in the first instance so that we may discuss your concerns.

8. Cookies

Cookies and other similar technologies (collectively referred to as cookies) are small text files placed on your device when you visit some websites. Cookies help make the website work optimally and enable us to make improvements to the site and enhance your browsing experience.

Our website uses the following types of cookies:

  • Strictly necessary cookies – these are essential for the website to work and cannot be switched off, such as remembering what you might have added to a shopping cart.
  • Functional cookies – these are used to remember choices you have made, such as what language you want displayed on the website.
  • Performance cookies – these are used to understand how our website is used, such as which areas of our website are visited most often.
  • Marketing cookies – these are used to make our advertising more relevant to you.

By clicking ‘accept’ you consent to our use of cookies. You may at any time block specific or all cookies completely by changing the browser settings on your device. The location of these settings will depend on the browser you use. The duration of each cookie can also be found in your browser settings. However, you should be aware that if you block some cookies, there may be functions and services that you will be unable to use on the website.

For more general information about cookies and how to disable them through your browser, visit allaboutcookies.org.

Owners – if you let, enquire about letting, or have been contacted by us about letting your holiday property through us or visited our website

1. About this privacy notice and who we are

This privacy notice provides information on how SandyBlue Lda (“we” or “us”), part of the Awaze group of companies, process your personal information when you make a booking or booking enquiry through us, visit our website, contact us or use our services. We are a controller in these situations and can be contacted about data protection issues by email to at privacy@sandyblue.com.

We keep our privacy notice under review and we will place any updates on our webpage. We will contact you to let you know about any significant changes.

2. What personal information we process and why?

We will only process personal information about you when we need to and this may include:

  • Personal details such as your name, contact details (phone number, email address and home address)
  • Financial details such as payments made to and from you, your bank account details and tax identification number where required
  • Letting details such as the contract to let your holiday property through us, details about your holiday property and a license/registration/permit number or similar in locations where this is required  
  • Contact history such as emails, letters, messages and social media messages to and from you
  • Usage details such as IP address, device type, device ID, how you use or interact with our website, emails, content, ads or app (e.g. pages visited, links clicked and properties viewed). Please see section 8 for more information about this.

The provision of some personal information is a legal or contractual requirement and if you do not provide it, we may not be able to enter into or perform the contract with you and we can cancel our service to you. We will tell you if this is the case and will not be liable to you.

We may also collect and process the contact details of any third party that you appoint, such as a property caretaker or cleaner, that you share with us. If you provide such information to us, you must ensure that you have brought this privacy notice to the third party’s attention.

We will generally collect personal information directly from you. We may sometimes collect personal information from someone who you have agreed to refer you to us, the accommodation owner (for example, if you are appointed as a caretaker or cleaner) or publicly available sources.

We may use your personal information for any of the purposes explained below, depending on how you interact with us.

Purpose for processing Personal data used Lawful basis for processing
To enable us to let your holiday accommodation, including making payments and provide related services such as referring you to a hot tub supplier with your agreement Personal details, payment details, letting details Contract
Consent
Keep a record of any financial transactions with you Payment details Legal obligation
To send service messages, including booking updates and changes to our terms and conditions Personal details Contract
Legitimate interest in keeping our customers updated
To provide details or information you may have requested Personal details Consent
Provide and improve our customer service and support, including quality control and training and complaints Personal details, letting details, contact history Legitimate interest in improving our service, staff training, record keeping and resolving issues
Legal obligation
To personalise our services to you, for example, where allowed, we may identify you when you visit our website so that we can remember your preferences and previous actions e.g. language settings. Usage details Consent
Legitimate interests in providing the best browsing experience
Monitor our website, including its performance and security and, where allowed, analysing the behaviour of visitors to our website so that we can protect and improve our website. Usage details Consent
Legitimate interest in maintaining the integrity and security of our website and providing the best browsing experience
To carry out marketing activities. Personal details Consent
Legitimate interests in working out which of our services you may be interested in and telling you about them
For analytics and product improvement. This includes testing, addressing security or technical issues, data analysis, statistics, improving our website and developing new products and services. We use anonymised data to do this where possible, but may need to use personal data on occasion e.g. if you are experiencing a technical issue with our website, we may need to use information about your device All data Legitimate interests in evaluating our range of services and improving our business
For legal purposes. This includes handling legal claims, ensuring compliance with our rental conditions and other agreements, complying with government advice, regulatory requirements and legal obligations and detecting, preventing and reporting crime. All data Legal obligation
Legitimate interest in protecting our business and assisting law enforcement and government bodies

3. Sharing your data within the Awaze group

We are part of the Awaze group of companies (listed at www.awaze.com) and we sometimes use joint technology and may share your personal data with other companies in the Awaze group, their employees, contractors and service providers. This does not affect the purposes we use your personal data for and, includes:

  • to enable us to let your holiday accommodation, including listing your property on different Awaze group booking platforms;
  • providing customer service;
  • detecting, preventing and reporting crime;
  • monitoring our website and app; and
  • marketing activities where permitted.

We also share anonymised data for analytics and product improvement. We rely on our legitimate interests in providing a good service, improving our service and protecting our business to share within the Awaze group. Group companies either act as our processor or joint controller and we have an intra group data sharing agreement in place to ensure the data is secure and handled in line with applicable laws.

4. Sharing your data outside the Awaze group

To effectively provide our services and run our business, we may share your personal information with:

  • if required, individuals who may be renting accommodation from you
  • service providers, acting as processors, who provide IT, system administration, website and app hosting and support, marketing, customer support and cleaning and maintenance services
  • professional advisors, including bankers, lawyers, auditors, accountants and insurers who provide us with services
  • third party advertising partners and travel agents
  • credit/debit card companies
  • payment service providers
  • government agencies, regulators and other authorities
  • third parties that we may choose to sell, transfer, or merge parts of our assets or business to or with and businesses we acquire or merge with
  • third parties you have authorised us to speak to

Third parties are required to process your personal information in line with data protection legislation. Where a third party is acting on our behalf, we do not allow them to use your information for their own purposes and we ensure they have appropriate security measures in place to protect your information.

5. International transfers

We are a global business and use suppliers located across the world. This means that sometimes we need to transfer your personal information outside of the UK and EU. We only do this where we are satisfied that there are adequate measure in place to protect your personal information in a way that is consistent with, and respects, UK and EU data protection legislation. We will ensure at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:

  • an adequacy decision; or
  • approved contractual measures and where necessary, supplementary measures.

If you would like further details of the applicable transfer mechanism, please contact us.

6. How long we keep your information for

We will only keep your information for as long as necessary based on the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal information, the purposes for which we process your personal information, any legal or regulatory requirements and any relevant industry standards or guidelines. Where your information is no longer required, it is disposed of or deleted in a secure manner or anonymised so that it can no longer be associated with you.

7. Your rights

Under certain circumstances, you have the right to:

  • Request access to a copy of the personal information we hold about you (commonly known as a "subject access request").
  • Request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information that we hold about you.
  • Request that we delete your personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it (commonly known as the “right to be forgotten”).
  • Object to us using your data for direct marketing or, in some circumstances, using it for legitimate interests.
  • Request restriction of the processing of your personal information. This enables you to ask us to limit the way we process your personal information, for example if you dispute the accuracy of the information we hold about you.
  • Request data portability, whereby we transfer the personal information you have provided to us, either directly to you or a third party. 
  • Withdraw your consent where we rely on your consent to process your information.

There is no fee to exercise your rights, unless your request is unfounded or excessive, in which case we may charge you a reasonable fee or refuse to comply with the request. We may need to request information from you to help us confirm your identity and identify the information you are referring to.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us. We aim to respond to requests within one month, but where permitted we may extend this by two months and will notify you of this.

You also have the right to raise concerns about our use of your personal information with the relevant supervisory authority, such as the Information Commissioner in the UK (https://ico.org.uk), at any time, but we encourage you to contact us in the first instance so that we may discuss your concerns.

8. Cookies

Cookies and other similar technologies (collectively referred to as cookies) are small text files placed on your device when you visit some websites. Cookies help make the website work optimally and enable us to make improvements to the site and enhance your browsing experience.

Our website uses the following types of cookies:

  • Strictly necessary cookies – these are essential for the website to work and cannot be switched off, such as remembering what you might have added to a shopping cart.
  • Functional cookies – these are used to remember choices you have made, such as what language you want displayed on the website.
  • Performance cookies – these are used to understand how our website is used, such as which areas of our website are visited most often.
  • Marketing cookies – these are used to make our advertising more relevant to you.

By clicking ‘accept’ you consent to our use of cookies. You may at any time block specific or all cookies completely by changing the browser settings on your device. The location of these settings will depend on the browser you use. The duration of each cookie can also be found in your browser settings. However, you should be aware that if you block some cookies, there may be functions and services that you will be unable to use on the website.

For more general information about cookies and how to disable them through your browser, visit allaboutcookies.org.

Do you accept cookies?

  •    Yes   
  •     
  • Important: To use our site in full, you must accept cookies. Click the "Yes" button to accept the use of cookies and continue to the site.

Important Guest Information

Please read our pdf regarding all aspects of your SandyBlue holiday.

For help booking your holiday or assistance while you’re staying with us, call:
UK: +44 (0)207 183 0412
PT: +351 289 392 236 *
* national landline call
Luxury Lifestyle Awards

 Rua do Comércio 274/276, Edificio Palma Bloco A - R/C Esquerdo, 8135-127 Almancil

Office Hours 9am - 6pm, 7 days a week. Let's talk about Your Holiday!

Online Complaints Book

        

In the event of a dispute, the consumer may refer to: RAL - Centros de Arbitragem

Avª. 5 de Outubro, nº. 55, R/C Dtº. 8000-075 Faro, Portugal  |  Tel: +351 289 823 135 *

* national landline call

E-mail: info@consumoalgarve.pt|  www.consumidoronline.pt  |  Mon to Fri: 9:00 - 13:00 / 14:00 - 17:00