Portugal navigated some extremely rough seas during the recent global recession, but now, a new generation of savvy hoteliers has made the country a favorite of sophisticated travelers once again. Many hotel debuts are in the Alentejo, the majestic swathe of the country from Lisbon south to the Algarve. On the Mediterranean, the Algarve has also gone upscale, with several charming new properties. Last summer, I took a delightful 10-day driving tour on well-maintained roads, savoring fine cooking and good but little-known wines along the way.
On the far side of the bay, emerald fields of rice dotted by white cranes soon gave way to vineyards and a biscuit-colored landscape baking under the summer sun.
After a weekend in Lisbon — a city I appreciate more and more as a European capital not homogenized by global brand names — we headed south over the spectacular Vasco da Gama suspension bridge, which crosses the broad estuary of the Tagus River from Lisbon to Samouco. On the far side of the bay, emerald fields of rice dotted by white cranes soon gave way to vineyards and a biscuit-colored landscape baking under the summer sun. After 90 minutes, we arrived at the 22-room L’AND Vineyards resort, set in countryside just outside of Montemor-o-Novo and about 20 miles from Evora, the best-known town in the Alentejo.
Designed by Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan, it comprises a striking modern main building and independent villa rooms situated around the adjacent swimming pool and among the vineyards. Popular with Lisboans as a weekend getaway because of its Caudalie spa and Michelin-starred restaurant, it has also become a destination favored by discerning northern Europeans.
Arriving at our Sky View Suite, we found a gas fireplace on the front terrace next to a pair of wood-and-leather armchairs. This turned out to be a pleasant place to sit after dinner, since nights are cool in the Alentejo even in the middle of summer. On a hot afternoon, however, the shadowy coolness of our spacious accommodations was very welcome. The comfortable set of rooms came with white walls and locally woven wool rugs. A wonderful bedroom had an electrically operated roof over the bed. This delightful feature enabled us to gaze up at the stars and to breathe cool, clean country air. A spacious bath with black slate walls was equipped with an enormous soaking tub and a separate shower.
At the excellent restaurant, you can dine outside on a sheltered terrace with fine views over the surrounding countryside. Chef Miguel Laffan has a talent for using Portugal’s superb produce in appetizing and original dishes such as a game pie accompanied by a warm salad of cep mushrooms, a starter; and roasted Alentejo pork tenderloin with cauliflower and asparagus gratin, peas and black pudding sausage.
The screened sleep-under-the-stars skylight is one of the best hotel amenities I’ve found in a long time; excellent restaurant; spacious, attractive rooms.
Service needs fine-tuning. A rural property of this caliber needs a charming, omnipresent general manager to oversee staff and interact with guests.
L’AND Vineyards wines are exceptional.
After a hearty and well-served breakfast, we headed to Evora, the UNESCO-listed walled city developed as a garrison post by the Romans. At its heart stands the imposing Temple of Diana, constructed in the first century A.D. Evora hasn’t been emptied out by shopping malls or misconceived modernization schemes. Instead, its cobbled streets are a pleasure to walk, perhaps stopping for a coffee on a shady terrace after an excellent lunch at an honest, old-fashioned place such as Restaurante 1/4 Prás 9, where we enjoyed a superb meal of pork and clams cooked with coriander, a classic of the Portuguese kitchen.
Quiet and private, this is a perfect place to rest and to be pampered.
After lunch, we drove three miles to the 92-room Convento do Espinheiro, a Starwood Luxury Collection property, which the American group created from a 15th-century convent nine years ago. The rooms include those in the old building — which I prefer for their authenticity — and newer ones, which are smaller and mostly located in a wing just upstairs from the spa. Our Heritage room, a former nun’s cell, came with tea-colored plank floors, oil paintings on whitewashed walls, and dark wood furniture. Nearby, we discovered the most spectacular feature of the hotel: a gorgeous azulejo-tiled chapel. The Convento is an excellent base from which to tour, but it is also a fine place in which to relax, since in addition to a huge outdoor pool and courts for tennis and paddle tennis, there is a sizeable indoor saltwater pool, plus the spa, which uses ESPA products. Quiet and private, this is a perfect place to rest and to be pampered.
While L’AND Vineyards expresses the energy and creativity of contemporary Portugal, the Convento do Espinheiro embodies the country’s long history. The service is better at the Convento, but the restaurant at L’AND is superior, and the Sky View Suites are very special. So you might wish to spend a night or two at each.
Historic charm; friendly, professional service; terrific swimming pool.
The food is slightly prosaic, and the wine list is dull.
Some of the most interesting wines in the Alentejo are made at nearby Cartuxa; ask for directions at the front desk.
One of the many pleasures of traveling in Portugal is that it is somehow impossible to rush. So the following day, after a leisurely breakfast, we took quiet back roads to our next destination. The Alentejo landscape shimmered in the midday heat. Golden grass covered the wild rolling savannah, which was strewn with huge round bales of hay and dotted with silvery-green cork oaks. (Portuguese trees supply more than half of the world’s annual requirement of wine corks.) While Alentejo estates once produced mostly wheat and cattle, many have recently taken to planting vineyards, and the quality of the wines is making this one of the most interesting up-and-coming wine regions in Europe. Many travelers now visit the Alentejo out of oenological curiosity, just as they might Burgundy or Tuscany.
After wandering around the pretty little town of Beja, we headed south for 20 miles to the enchanting 10-room Herdade da Malhadinha Nova. Herdade means “homestead” in Portuguese, but in this case, a more accurate term might be latifundio, the Spanish word for a vast estate that has been handed down from generation to generation. Driving past the manor house, winery and restaurant, we came to a low hill with the traditional white stucco farm building that the wealthy Soares family converted into a hotel in 1998. To be sure, this is not a true luxury property, but rather a delightful country hotel with friendly service, beautifully decorated accommodations and public spaces, a small spa, a swimming pool surrounded by lush lawns and olive trees, and gorgeous views over the surrounding countryside.
After settling into our room, which had a door that opened directly onto a veranda running the length of the house, we inquired somewhat hesitantly if an afternoon snack might be possible. “Of course!” came the reply, and a half-hour later, we were enjoying a salad and a bottle of the estate’s rosé while relaxing in the shade. We had been keen to visit the Roman ruins north of Beja, but were soon overcome by the hypnotic peace of the place and instead spent a blissful afternoon reading in a handsome lounge filled with bouquets of fresh flowers, low tables heaped with art books, and overstuffed furniture with white canvas slipcovers.
At dinnertime, a Range Rover transferred us from the lodge to the winery, where the hotel’s main restaurant is located. There, we enjoyed an excellent meal of contemporary Portuguese cooking, including delicious grilled pork (from pigs raised on the property) with a bottle of the estate’s superb Menino António 2012 wine. The little purple footprint on the label told a story, too, since this wine is still made according to the old tradition of crushing the grapes underfoot. We left Herdade da Malhadinha Nova with real regret and fully intend to return.
Magnificent setting; peace and quiet; patrician hospitality.
The lack of screened windows in bedrooms. It would be nice to enjoy the cool night air in the countryside.
It is well worth buying a bottle or two of the wines made on the estate, especially the Menino António 2012, which will beg for a steak back home, or the Monte da Peceguina, a rosé that’s ideal with grilled salmon.
Driving south the next day, we traded the immense oat-colored plains of the Alentejo for the whitewashed, bougainvillea-smothered villages of the Algarve.
Driving south the next day, we traded the immense oat-colored plains of the Alentejo for the whitewashed, bougainvillea-smothered villages of the Algarve, the southernmost region of Portugal. Rather like the French Riviera, the Algarve is heavily developed in places — notably the stretch of coastline from Faro to Portimão — but yields up its charms after some careful editing. Our first night in the area was spent at the 21-room Vila Joya, a hideaway set in landscaped gardens overlooking the sea just outside the city of Albufeira.
Originally a private house, the building has been remodeled and expanded through the years to encompass additional rooms, a spa and a Michelin two-star restaurant. From the dining room, we could enjoy fine views of the Atlantic breakers on the beach below. Austrian-born chef Dieter Koschina has created a remarkable kitchen that applies the refined gastronomic techniques of northern Europe to outstanding Portuguese produce. Among the dishes we particularly enjoyed during a long and impeccably served lunch were monkfish with smoked tuna belly, and pigeon with lentils, smoked eel and duck foie gras.
Later in the day, we took a swim in the hotel’s small oval outdoor pool, enjoyed a massage in the spa, then relaxed on the large seaview terrace of our comfortable and elaborately furnished Deluxe Double room to enjoy the sunset. Because it contains one of the great restaurants of Europe, the Vila Joya should not be missed during a trip to southern Portugal, and since no one even thinks of driving after an indulgent meal here, an overnight stay is highly recommended.
Superb restaurant; fine views of the Atlantic; garden setting.
Though rooms are pleasant and comfortable, they don’t quite justify the hefty rates.
The splendid Royal Suite Joia features a sundeck with an ocean-facing whirlpool.
Ever since I first read about him many years ago in a high school history book, I’ve been fascinated by Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), the seafaring prince who established one of the world’s earliest schools of maritime navigation and mapmaking at Sagres, the town at the westernmost point of the Algarve, in the 15th century. The caravel, the small, highly maneuverable sailing ship that made Portuguese exploration of the coast of Africa possible, is also said to have been designed by Sagres shipbuilders with Henry’s encouragement.
The Martinhal Beach Resort & Hotel, located less than two miles northeast of Sagres, bills itself as Europe’s “Finest Luxury Family Resort” and has become a favorite of several English friends since it opened in 2011. The property is surrounded by Portugal’s Costa Vicentina national park, and on arrival, I was reminded of wild and beautiful places such as Montauk and Big Sur.
The majority of the resort’s 153 accommodations are in villas and Village Houses, with 37 rooms and suites comprising the Hotel Martinhal. Our Beach Room, located in a clapboard-sided bungalow weathered gray by the salty air, had an appealing California sea-shack ambience. Inside, we discovered teak floors, modern oak furniture and retro touches provided by the turquoise, orange, cobalt-blue and lime-green throws and accessories. Sliding French doors led to a spacious private deck with a pair of chairs and a table, as well as fine views over the long golden beach beyond a stand of pines. The bath, with separate tub and shower, was stocked with piles of fluffy Portuguese-made cotton towels and Irish seaweed-based VOYA toiletries.
Watching teenagers windsurfing and children and their parents splashing in the pool, it was easy to see how this property would appeal to families. For two days, we enjoyed beachcombing and treatments at the hotel’s excellent spa. The resort also offers a large, well-equipped gym; tennis; horseback riding; and a range of boating activities. Regrettably, the cooking at the resort’s three restaurants proved uninspired, and service was slow and disorganized, so we went out for meals aside from breakfast. This didn’t pose a problem, however, since there are many reasonably priced seafood places nearby. The hotel would also be improved by having a proper adults-only bar. Otherwise, it’s a pleasant place to spend a few days during a family trip to Portugal, or as a base from which to explore Sagres and the magnificent coastline.
Well-designed rooms with spectacular ocean views.
Lackluster restaurants.
There is great dolphin-viewing in the waters off of Sagres.
Like neighboring Andalusia in Spain, the Algarve was ruled by the Moors for many centuries — its name derives from Al-Gharb, or “The West” in Arabic — and their imprint on the region is still visible in the architecture of many towns. On our way to the eastern Algarve, we stopped to visit Silves, the old Moorish capital. It is one of those quiet, dreamy places where time seems to have stood still, and on a sunny morning, we had the little town almost to ourselves as we inspected its still-formidable red ramparts and the spectacular castle that finally fell to the Portuguese in 1249.
The eastern Algarve begins at Faro — the region’s largest city and the location of its principal airport — and extends for 40 miles to the Spanish border. This is where the Portuguese themselves come on holiday, because they love its charming old towns and the miles of empty beaches on offshore barrier islands reached by ferries and water taxis.
We stopped for a wonderful lunch in Olhão, a fishing port that is just starting to see itself as a resort town. Across the street from the handsome old waterfront market, a row of fish restaurants displayed their wares on trays of crushed ice. We chose O Bote and ordered fresh shrimp cocktails and grilled John Dory accompanied by French fries, rice and salad. These arrived in such generous portions that we almost panicked. The bill for two with wine amounted to a princely $35.
Halfway between Olhão and the delightful port of Tavira, the 10-room Fazenda Nova Country House opened two years ago, having been the dream of a successful London couple, Tim and Hallie Robinson — he was in construction, she ran a high-powered public relations company — who wanted to give up the rat race and start a new life on the Algarve. They found an abandoned 19th-century farmhouse on a 20-acre estate with its own orchard and vegetable and herb gardens, and decided to renovate it. Their ambition, according to Tim, was to create “a small, friendly hotel with a lot of authenticity and a point of view.” This explains the chic public rooms furnished with antiques, piles of art books and comfortable furniture, as well as the exceptionally warm welcome we received from a delightful Portuguese woman (who, it turned out, had previously lived in Colorado). Having served us a welcome iced tea, she showed us the honor bar, the rooftop terrace and the pool. “The idea of this hotel,” she said, “is that it’s like a quiet, well-behaved house party. We want you to feel really at home. After all, we’re in the Algarve countryside, not on Park Avenue, so being here is all about relaxation.”
Although Fazenda Nova is a lovely property, the key to happiness is getting the right room. So avoid the apartments with their superfluous kitchenettes and book a Garden Suite or, ideally, the Terrace Suite, which has a large private patio and a staircase that leads directly down to the hotel’s saltwater swimming pool. This is very much a hotel for couples — children are only welcome three weeks of the year — which means it is often quiet during the day, since many guests head to the beach or to Tavira, nine miles away. A buffet dinner is offered five nights a week. Otherwise, there are numerous restaurants in Tavira, as well as in Moncarapacho, just four miles away.
There are times when simplicity lies at the heart of true luxury.
Fazenda Nova seems to attract an especially pleasant international clientele. One evening before dinner, we shared a bottle of wine in the garden with a delightful Cape Town banker and his amusing wife, and it was thanks to them that we discovered Cacela Velha. A tiny seaside village of whitewashed fishermen’s houses with a ruined 18th-century fort perched on a cliff overlooking a shallow azure lagoon, it faces a barrier island of white sand. Following their instructions, we packed towels, a beach blanket, an umbrella and plenty of water, and found a boatman to row us across the lagoon. On the island, the only thing that broke the Robinson Crusoe fantasy was a bamboo-and-driftwood café that served us a lunch of grilled fresh lobster accompanied by a bottle of chilled white wine. There are times when simplicity lies at the heart of true luxury.
Peaceful rural setting; the eclectic rustic-chic of the décor in the rooms and public spaces.
The breakfast buffet is unimaginative.
The Algarve is extremely crowded in July and August; June and September are preferable.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of the February 2015 Hideaway Report under the title "The Pleasures of Southern Portugal."
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