I feel that after two visits to Martinhal Sagres and answering the countless questions people have asked, I should be well placed to write some top tips…
In a nutshell: we love a self-catering holiday, but we also love a bit of 5* hotelling too. Martinhal have blended the two perfectly without charging a ransom. Centred around the needs of a family but not leaving the adults to want for anything either. In all our travels (and there have been a lot), Mr P and I have only stayed more than once at 4 places: Gitcombe, Chewton Glen, Cliveden House and Martinhal Sagres! It’s in incredible company!
Food and drink
Breakfast is fabulous. If you do one thing, book B&B. It’s an event in itself and time needs to be committed! It doesn’t matter that the house has a kitchen, cook other meals in it! So popular is breakfast you need to book a table! It’s the only time it’s noticeable that the resort is fully booked!
Finishing your meal as take out from the restaurants is totally normal. There is so much for the kids to do at mealtimes with play areas and play stations, that sometimes they may run out of steam. Food is magicked into brown boxes in seconds to take back to your house!
There’s a kids buffet at Gambozinos. If your child is a big eater of fast food type choices, this is a good choice for them!
Babysitting is available. If you are there in a group it would be a fabulous evening to dine in one of the restaurants later on after the children have gone to bed!
Plan to eat later than you would at home. Because of the play areas and the BFFs our son made, we always eat later than normal. There’s always a mini party with Rafi the Fox mascot at 5pm in the playground!
Pre book for all meals, so that you can get the time that works for you. The resort will be fully booked in peak weeks and the only time you might notice is if you don’t have a booking – all British kids seem to eat at the same time!
Wine is expensive on site (compared to literally everything else), but there’s a Lidl and a Carrefour close by so I’d definitely say balance the onsite with the better value. The shop on site is excellent and has everything you could need, including Usbourne puzzle books! The kitchens are proper kitchens.
Packing
So much storage space in the houses, with wall to wall wardrobes. It’s worth packing for all seasons! There’s a fleet of golf buggies so you won’t need to lug the baggage around yourselves either!
Dry robes are definitely worth taking if you’re there in the shoulder season. The air is warm, the pools are warm (especially the main one), but just like British summertime there’s an edge to it when you get out of the pool.
Wetsuits if you have them are great for splashing in the surf. And since this is surfing country kids are going to want to splash in said surf for a long time!
Halloween is big! If you’re there for Halloween then do take fancy dress with you for the children, otherwise you will be fashioning an outfit from a bin bag… I suspect the same for other events.
Pools
There are 4 main pools, and 3 little pools alongside the larger/deeper pools. The one with the sea view is the warmest and has a great vibe, including pool bar and restaurant. There’s also a lap pool at the far end of the resort. There’s one in the centre of the resort that we didn’t actually use. And then there is the indoor outdoor pool which has you covered for all weather.
As well as these, Villa’s Mimosa have their own and many of the villas have their own pools too.
Activities
Kids club is superb. We had to book Bertie in to more sessions his love of it was so great, so don’t scrimp on the booking!
The sports lessons are fabulous. We sent Bertie off for tennis lessons and he learnt a tonne. It was also super cute to watch, with the little racket bags and the children all parading out to the court like pros!
Don’t miss the spa. Book kids club, then book the spa. I’ve had fabulous massages on both visits. The sauna and steam room you can use any time, no need to book a spa treatment.
Kids events happen most weeks. They are all listed on the my Martinhal website, take a look at what’s happening when before you book kids club or make restaurant reservations.
Even if it rains you will be ok – there’s an indoor pool as well as playroom/common room space for the kids to play in.
There’s so much to do onsite – free mini golf, bike hire and a pump track for kids, water sports, climbing wall, bungee trampolines.
Accommodation
Washing machines and airers in all the houses, so if you like to travel light book a house and enjoy returning home with no dirty washing!
We love the ocean houses, but the choices are excellent. The bay houses are a little larger and away from the busier bit of the resort. If you want a private pool then the Pinewoods look nice. And for a big group one of the private villas would be superb.
The ocean houses with the full sea view are worth paying the extra for. Sitting on the balcony watching the sea is wonderful. The balconies are enclosed too, so even with a breeze or some rain the balcony is there to live on.
Villa Mimosa appeal to me for a summer visit as the extra swimming pool is a plus. It’s nearby to the villas and is very private.
Beach
The beach is a very short walk through the dunes so if you have a paddleboard or an inflatable canoe or kite surf etc then definitely worth taking with you. Plenty of storage in front of each house.
Dawn is spectacular, we had the beach to ourselves and there truly isn’t a better start to the day. Followed by the epicness of breakfast!
There’s no loungers on the beach – all the loungers are round the pool or in the dunes overlooking the beach. It’s definitely worth taking a beach bag – or the €4 ones sold in the shop are pretty good value.
Adults flip flops are left in the room, don’t forget to ask in reception for kids ones too. They’ve got a choice of different sizes. They aren’t given out with the welcome gift/bag/toy/bottle so it’s easy to forget.
There’s a little open air beach bar in the dunes below the main swimming pool. This is the haunt of parents that left their kids in kids club!
Sagres and around
Leave the site! There’s some lovely restaurants and cafes in Sagres and we found a lovely restaurant a short drive east – Restaurant Zavala.
Head up the west coast into surfing country. The vibe is cool and campervans abound. There’s some fabulous coffee and brunch stops and the beaches are spectacular and expansive.
It’s worth renting a car, it’s a 90 minute drive to Sagres, but it is an easy drive. There’s plenty of parking and it’s a lovely area to explore.
If you like running I’m told it’s an excellent place, my husband covered miles. It’s relatively flat and an excellent run into Sagres, to the fort and over to Cape St Vincent.
Vibe
This is a laid back hotel – dry robes and wetsuits rather than dressing for dinner. Boden, Birkenstocks and SunGods was my sense of it – understated quality and the least pretentious 5* hotel you will find. And there are no tacky discos either!
Despite most visitors having one or more little children in tow, the resort doesn’t feel hectic. The beauty of space, being on the edge of a nature reserve, most accommodation being houses that than hotel rooms… As a result it’s relaxed and it’s calm. And if there’s a tantrum nobody will care, unlikely they will even know or hear.
It’s a savvy crew that book to stay here year after year. It’s (thankfully) undercover on social media compared to the likes of Sani, Ikos and other big brands! The drive is a little longer than a fly and flop, but as a result you get space – it’s wild coast rather than hotel upon hotel. And the pricing even with food and drink included will be less than half the cost of Ikos. There’s a reason this place quietly wins award after award and has an incredibly high re-booker rate.
