Martinhal Beach Resort & Hotel

3 Reviews

Star Travel Rating

5/5

Review type

Accommodation

Location

Date of travel

Sep, 2012

Product name

Product country

Product city

Travelled with

Wife

Reasons for trip

Relaxation

‘Finisterra’ means ‘end of the world’ in the native Portuguese and when you look at the map of Martinhal’s location, that’s exactly where it seems to be, tucked right down on the bottom left (that’s South West to those with a sense of direction) of Portugal. But this doesn’t mean it’s inaccessible by any means. Less than an hour and a half from Faro airport it offers that perfect compromise of seclusion and convenience.

Martinhal is without pretence a family resort. It doesn’t claim to be anything other than that, but at the same time it is a very high quality family resort, where we didn’t encounter many Britneys or Brandons, but an international mix of Harrys and Sophies. There was an eclectic mix of British, German, Dutch, Swiss, American and Italian families, each with a clutch of unusually well-behaved kids to be found, well I do generalise here; of course there had to be a few semi-brats injected into the mix for good measure, but on the whole the clientele was affluent and respectable. Martinhal has such an easy-going, casual atmosphere that is so easy to soak up and enjoy.

The overall standards are impressively high at Martinhal. The choice of three main restaurants, each with its own distinctive style, the ‘village shop’ the four heated swimming pools, all immaculately maintained, the carefully designed and landscaped grounds, the incredibly polite and helpful staff all added to the experience. If you want to indulge and be looked after but take the kids too then this is a great place to be.

The resort is split between the hotel and the numerous villas on the site. Some of the privately-owned villas are truly palatial, with huge gardens and infinity pools and these are interspersed with the hotel’s own villas and rooms. The main hotel building houses the ‘Terraco’ restaurant, which was our focal point each evening. The small but extremely efficient reception desk sits in the stunning huge glass foyer, which looks out over Martinhal Bay towards Sagres. Some of the hotel’s rooms are housed below the restaurant and each has its own private terrace overlooking the bay. The other rooms are in blocks set away from the main reception building: beach rooms, pinewood, ocean, and bay. Despite this the site is well laid out with easy access to all areas either on foot or in your car.

Nestling in the centre of the resort are the Village square, where you can find the Gambozinhos Italian restaurant, the kids club, the Village pool and gym, the well-stocked village shop and just few yards further in, the ‘Finisterra’ Spa.

What struck us most about Martinhal was the fact that it was so quiet and relaxing. Even the beautiful sandy beach offered the opportunity for a quiet walk from one end to the other and the two little beach bars offered the obligatory cold drink on the way back. It’s the sort of place where you can immediately feel at home yet not feel obliged to do anything in particular. There are activities galore for those who enjoy occupying their time exhaustively, but preferring the easy life, we were just content to sit back and enjoy the peace and tranquillity that was on offer.

The most impressive part of Martinhal for us was the food. Each restaurant prides itself on serving its own style of menu and we made the effort to try each of them. Our favourite was ‘O Terraco’, which offered traditional, but exquisitely prepared and presented meals with a daily special on each of the days we were there. The steaks were to die for! The wine list was extensive, with a huge collection of Portuguese regional wines and some imported wines for those who so desire. The restaurant staff were excellent, all achieving the perfect balance between attentive and personal service and the need to let you get on with enjoying your meal uninterrupted and taking in the atmosphere. They were also great with the many children who were dining while we were there, giving them as much attention as their parents, making sure they felt as welcome and important as anyone else.

The rooms were fitted out to an extremely high standard, with top quality local furnishings and décor, the latest technology, with flat-screen TVs, on-demand movies, free wifi internet access and some lovely ‘Voya’ toiletries in the bathroom. We were also very impressed by the ability to order daily newspapers each morning, which are actually printed on-site every day. It’s so unusual to be reading today’s British papers over breakfast in Southern Portugal at eight in the morning.

All in all we had a fabulous week at Martinhal. We were looked-after, pampered, left to our own devices and genuinely valued as customers. Even though it promotes itself primarily as a family resort we felt perfectly at-home as a couple and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We would have no hesitation in returning to what was one of our nicest relaxing breaks in a good while.

 

Mr-C

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