Strong, old pine tree branches cutting through a cloudless cerulean sky — a sight I find hard to beat. Throwing open the curtains at Pine Cliffs Resort in the Algarve, I wondered why I’d been away from Portugal so long.
Bleary-eyed, I reflexively photographed my first glimpse of the Atlantic from my Junior Ocean Suite’s balcony, seagulls cinematically swooping into the frame. Another vain attempt to capture the colors that always keep me coming back; the pictures somehow never as good as the real thing. I’d posted up from Tokyo gone dinnertime the previous night, just outfoxed by Japan’s famed pink sakura (2024’s late bloom meant I missed them by twenty-four hours). Waking up deathly early, I soaked away grizzly jet lag in my spacious room’s egg-shaped tub. Wafting through a maze of Azulejo tiles, green lawns and Moorish fountains to breakfast, my mood instantly lifted.
Everyone looked happy, and the sun was peeking out from behind a cloud, seemingly bashful about the storm that had raged days before I touched down. Chafing dishes keep huevos rancheros, pancakes and the like warm, but I set about locating a suntrap as close as possible to the outdoor fresh omelet stand. From 12 p.m., garden service begins and the cocktails start flowing. Parents were steeling themselves for the 168-acre golf course perched 200 feet above golden sands. The nine-hole golf course suits both beginners and advanced players. Par-three sixth hole, the championship tee, is known as the Devil’s Parlor, built over a ravine that requires a 197-meter carrying shot over the cliffs to a deep, but narrow green.
Meanwhile, their kids bonded over huge seagulls trying to steal their hash browns (“Who can blame them?” I heard one guest say. “They’ve found a five-star hotel”). If they had any sense, they’d aim for Corda Café’s outdoor terrace, where sizzling fajita platters and margarita pizzas fly out of the kitchen all day.
Writing about big resorts like this one (and I mean big: 217 rooms, suites and villas, eight pools and eleven restaurants and bars are spread across seventy-two hectares), I’m often irked by the same observation: couples sitting in silence. There’s just something about seeing two people in apparent paradise, with nothing to say to each other, that has the power to spiral me into existentialism. Pine Cliffs attracts a largely different crowd. It’s super family-friendly, overwhelmingly so — but grown-ups come here to play, too. People are here to have fun. The buildings are labyrinthine, the grounds sprawling — but they’ve got personality and afford space big enough for groups to spread out and choose their own adventures. As I checked in at the large lobby, a group of young couples headed out to the on-site Piri Piri Steakhouse, while a family cuddled on sofas watching soccer.
At first glance it could be hard to differentiate Pine Cliffs from other veteran golf hotels dotting the coast between Lagos and Faro, but there’s more to it than most rivals. Named “Best Family Resort in Portugal” six times by the World Travel Awards, you can immediately feel why. A walk over to the Annabel Croft Tennis Academy showed courts to be alive with energy, adventitious new friends playing polite doubles while teenagers took their dads to the cleaners. Tweens tried giant mini golf and chess, posed by the Games Room, or sat cross-legged on the golf course with takeaway fries, watching Grandpa tee up. Toddlers zipped between a bouncy castle and two full-sized pirate ships. There were some phone screens at dinner and on the sun loungers, because of course there were, but less than usual. There’s too much else to do.
You wouldn’t necessarily pitch Pine Cliffs as the best place to enjoy alone. But paddle lessons, a handful of chi chi boutiques, an espresso bar, gourmet food shop, on-site hairdresser and modish health food café Zest did much to help me recharge. Laptop firmly closed, I headed to the Serenity Spa — a blissful, cosseting and decidedly grown-up space, its Thermal Oasis filled with sensory showers, two saunas and a hydrotherapy pool. A state-of-the-art Kneipp pool features hot water on one side and cold on the other, to boost circulation and blood flow. I started one morning with the signature “Senses of the Algarve” massage, emerging fifty minutes later in a happy haze of orange blossom oil. Private experiences are well above average; I’d point every frazzled parent I know towards the stylish Japanese-style massage room, to have a trained professional walk across their aching back (ironically for me, the experience is sakura-themed). The Aurum Suite is unexpectedly sensual, a dimly lit, bookable private room complete with a jacuzzi, sensorial showers, Turkish bath, sauna and lounge area. A bottle of cold fizz on ice kicks things up a notch.
This being Portugal, the food is of a naturally high standard. The day’s catch dominates the menu at O Pescador, where I greedily decimated two scarlet shrimp cooked in brandy butter, safe in the knowledge nearby tables were distracted by games of “I Spy.” One sweet moment reminded me of the sheer joy of making new friends on vacation as a kid. A parent invited a group back to their private villa for an after-dinner hot cocoa, their little ones reacting as if Santa Claus himself might whip the cream. Another beloved man with a shock of white hair is causing a stir at the resort; Welsh singer Tom Jones is billed to perform at the Pine Cliffs Summer Gala on August 2, 2024.
By then, it’ll be peak time for sundowners at the Mirador Champagne bar, before jumping in the lift down to Falésia beach, reachable via a beautiful walkway, with those eponymous red cliffs rising terrifically either side. On my visit to Maré restaurant, fresh seabass was deboned at the table, while groups shared huge bowls of bulhão pato-style clams, mopping up garlic oil with hunks of local bread. It’s a slightly long (and steep) walk back to your digs after a few glasses of Vinho Verde, but happily a shuttle service takes guests from A to B (and C… and D).
On the subject of transport, a rental affords the luxury of exploring the rugged coastline and the bustle of nearby Albufeira at your own pace (I like Airauto, available right out of Faro airport). Open air mall Algarve Shopping is twenty minutes away from Pine Cliffs, stacked with every product you could wish for, but escaping modernity being the aim of this game, I’d recommend a boat trip along Ria Formosa Nature Park. Spend an afternoon cruising the canals and marshland, gathering mussels, oysters and razor clams sniffed out by trusty Portuguese Water Dogs, to be cooked in nearby Olhão. It’s a properly authentic old fishing town, full of character — whitewashed walls, smoking grills and locals rolling cigarette papers on plastic chairs. What I like about having the car is that when your day trip finishes, and your return flight rolls around, all you have to think about is a short, breezy drive. And keeping an eye out for almond blossoms, if you time things better than I did — they flower in February and March.
Never mind Japan, every year, the Algarve boasts its own luminous spring display. A card placed on my pillow told the ancient love story attached to Portuguese almond trees: Moorish Prince Ibn-Almundim once captured a beautiful princess, named Gilda (wait, it gets better), and they fell in love. Gilda was freed, but their happy ending was soon scuppered by the princess falling ill. A wise man advised the king to plant endless almond trees, their seeds spreading on the Portuguese breeze to mirror the snowfall of the princesses’ homeland. Gilda returned to full health, and now it snows in the Algarve every spring. I know I’ll be back to see it. Something about these parts does wonders for my own wellbeing. I’ll be sure to check the calendar first.
June 2024:
Two adults at Pine Cliffs Hotel: from €423 including breakfast in a deluxe room ocean view
Two adults and two children at Pine Cliffs Ocean Suites from €698 including breakfast in a two-bedroom Ocean Suite
October 2024:
Two adults at Pine Cliffs Hotel: from €270 including breakfast in a deluxe room ocean view
Two adults and 2 children at Pine Cliffs Ocean Suites from €554 including breakfast in a two-bedroom Ocean Suite.
United Airlines will launch the first direct flight link between Faro and New York/Newark in May 2025, operating four times per week.
Amy was a guest of Pine Cliffs resort.
