Le
Méridien Dona Filipa
Quinta do Lago in The Algarve, Portugal’s beautiful southern coast, is a playground for Europe’s rich and golf tragics. It’s almost a city unto itself with resort after resort hugging the coast, so much so that in summer it loses most of the local charm that does still exist in the off-season.
The Méridien Dona Filipa is set back a couple of hundred yards from the ocean and, you guessed it, has its own golf course, the superb and well-frequented San Lorenzo Golf Course (a member of the Audubon Co-operative Sanctuary System) designed by Joseph Lee, and, I’m told by those who know their golf courses, considered one of the best in Europe. The hotel and golf course both have enchanting views, in a tranquil setting, that shows nature at its best. While the hotel’s reception, restaurant and lobby are beautifully decadent, with rooms to match. Breakfast on the restaurant’s terrace provides the opportunity to take a dip in the pool between custard tarts or simply enjoy the ocean breeze.
Everything aims to please and impress from the friendly staff to the Hermès toiletries. If you go in winter, seriously consider booking the Presidential Suite a fabulously palatial home-away-from-home for a family of 4 or 2 couples with sweeping views over the golf course to the beach beyond.
Those interested in more than golf or lazing by the pool will enjoy the Quinta do Lago nature trails, part of the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, a wonderful 60km protected area of salt marsh, woodland and freshwater lagoon (on this otherwise heavily developed coastline) and home to an incredible array of bird life. A visit to the weekend food markets in Loulé and the fish markets beside the port of Quateira are a must for any foodie, as is a meal at the incredible Gigi Praia on the beach between the ocean and the lagoon, widely regarded as one of the best seafood restaurants in Europe. And remember that Spain is just over an hour’s drive away.
Val do Lobo, 8135-901 Almancil – Algarve
Tel.: +351 289 357 200