Hotel Martinhal Sagres

Rooms

The hotel colour scheme is a dreamy, sea-friendly palette of turquoises and baby blues - from the carpets to the stripy woollen throws and cushions on the beds. There are lots of funky touches, including huge Mongolian beanbags on the floor, oversized cream wicker lamps and giant round wooden hooks on the walls. Every room has sea views of some sort (you pay a bit more for the best ones), and bathrooms are spoiling with walk-in showers (some have tubs too), Voya toiletries, and bathrobes for padding down to the pool.

Attention to detail is impressive: there are flip-flops in both Medium and Large; Nespresso coffee machines; well-priced and delicious snacks in the minibar (eg roasted fig and salted almonds) plus free soft drinks; and iPod docks and electric blinds.

The rooms are in 2 locations: Terrace Rooms on the ground floor of the main hotel building, and Beach Rooms in their own separate wooden-clad clusters beside the hotel (4 per cluster). The 2 clusters nearest the cliff front contain a pair of top-of-the-range Beach Suites, each with super-private sun deck and split-level interiors that can connect to the adjacent Beach Room. We stayed in a Terrace Room and loved the sense of space, and relaxing on our slice of lawn, with sunloungers gazing out to sea.

The resort is also home to dozens of self-catering villas, clustered round about the hotel.

Features include:

• Bathrobes
• Fan
• Hairdryer
• Minibar
• Safe box
• WiFi

Eating

There are 3 restaurants to choose between. Fine dining O Terraço, a smart venue on the first floor of the hotel, offers classic Portuguese dishes with a contemporary twist, using bountiful local produce. Perhaps sea urchins stuffed with scrambled eggs, or pork loin sautéed with clams and coriander. All is light but sophisticated and there's an impressive Portuguese-only wine list.

The more relaxed As Dunas is a stylish beach restaurant by the pool, which specialises in fish and seafood. We enjoyed our meal of fresh John Dory here. Os Gambozinos is a casual Italian restaurant in the Village Square, overlooking the playground. We liked the arancini, and the Sea and Farm Rigatoni, with clams, shrimps and fresh courgette, was very good. The service, however, was painfully slow.

Breakfast at O Terraço is slightly hectic but the buffet is amazing. We ate delicious fresh fruit - mangoes, local oranges, the sweetest pineapple and cherries - as well as a selection of cold cuts and cheeses including a divine local black pork (like Serrano ham or Prosciutto only nuttier). Finish on a high with pasteis de nata, the melt-in-the-mouth Portuguese custard tarts.

For a change of scene, try the surf-style M Bar which serves breakfasts, afternoon teas, and light lunches (Sushi or Bento box). Or the nearby pop-up grill 'The Wolf@Martinhal', which serves delicious-smelling Josper chicken quarters and various sides. In the evening the bar is abuzz; we loved its 1970s VW camper van, for kids to play in.

Features include:

• Bar
• Coffee maker
• Kids' meals
• Organic produce
• Restaurant
• Restaurants nearby
• Room service
• Vegetarian options

Activities

• Laze by the pools on the Fatboy beanbags or comfy loungers. There's a bar by the main pool
  
• Indulge in a sea-based spa treatment at the Finisterra Spa. We loved the sound of one- and two-night Ayurvedic detox retreats, bladderwrack body glows, organic coral wraps and smoothing sand scrubs
  
• Active types can try the wind-related activities on offer in the bay, from windsurfing to bodyboarding, parasailing to blokarting (land yachting), and the fitness circuit with 10 different stations around the resort
  
• Stroll along the fabulously unspoilt Martinhal Sagres beach (from which the hotel gets its name) to the fishing port of Sagres. It takes around 15 minutes and there isn’t very much to see once there, but the walk is lovely
  
• There are, apparently, 12 other beaches within a 15-minute drive
  
• Play tennis (there are 2 artificial grass courts) or try the new Padel tennis, a mix between squash and lawn tennis, with plastic bats
  
• Hire mountain bikes from the hotel and cycle to the really windy side of the point that faces due west, straight out at the Atlantic: totally exhilarating
  
• The hotel can arrange deep-sea fishing, riding, jeep safaris, nature walks, gourmet picnics and scuba diving
  
• And yes, you can play golf if you must; the Martinhal has preferential rates and tee-time deals with 5 local courses, the nearest of which is just 10 minutes away at Parque de Floresta
  
• Go on a boat trip to see dolphins, but remember sea sickness tablets if you're not a good sailor – the ocean can get pretty choppy
  
• Visit the ruins of Henry the Navigator's fort, the Cape Canaveral of the 15th century

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Boat trips
• Cooking classes
• Cycling
• Fishing
• Golf
• Historical sites
• Horse riding
• Kitesurfing
• Mountain biking
• Pool table
• Sailing
• Scuba diving
• Surfing
• Swimming
• Table tennis
• Tennis
• Tennis coaching
• Well being
• Windsurfing
• Wine tasting

Kids

The hotel welcomes children of all ages, and all extra beds and cots are free (including breakfast). You can book a pair of connecting rooms at reduced rates, or the Terrace Rooms can fit an extra bed and a cot - which makes a very competitively-priced option for a couple with 1 child and/or 1 baby who don't need lots of space. If you want more space (including a kitchen and living area), you might prefer to stay in one of the resort's villas instead, which are brilliantly kitted out for kids, and range up to 3 bedrooms.

Best for:

Babies (0-1 years), Toddlers (1-4 years)

Family friendly accommodation:

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

Distances:

• Airport: 1.5 hours (Faro)
• Medical treatment: on site
• Nearest shop: on site

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Hotel Martinhal Sagres overlooks Martinhal beach and a small collection of islands. It is just round the south side of the point at the most south-westerly tip of Portugal, in the western Algarve.

By Air
Fly into Faro (115km) then hire a car.

Detailed directions will be sent when you book through i-escape.