My wife and I have just returned from our 4 week stay at Costa Sal which we have done for the last 5 years but this will be our last. We again stayed in a 2 bedroom villa (bungalow) which cost £3500 excluding flights. It is rated at 4 star, which it used to be, but now only deserves a 3. The villa itself is of a good size, the lounge / dining area is large but there is only a 3 seater sofa when 4 people can stay there. We had to ask for a lamp, which we got but had to use one of the bedside tables from the bedroom we were not using to put it on. There was a sideboard and a coffee table. For the size of the area it looked really sp****. The kitchen needs replacing as the doors did not close properly, there was laminate peeling off the drawers and doors and the cooker was filthy and the enamel above the oven door was blistered. The bedrooms are a good size with 2 large singles in one and a large double in the other. However, there was only one dressing table. The paintwork in most of the rooms, especially the bedrooms, was bubbling up and peeling off and a lot of the floor tiles where chipped. The cleaning did not seem as good as before but that maybe because the cleaners, who are very pleasant, look tired out. Are they overworked? But it has to be said that the reception staff and the gardeners keep the place immaculate, the only thing that is 4 star. The owner of one of the local cafes was telling us that most of the customers they have spoken to who were staying at Costa Sal have all said the same as us so something is wrong somewhere. Is it because they are trying to run an apartment complex like the hotels they have got. Anybody going there for the first time may think its great, but it is nothing like it used to be.