Pine Cliffs Resort – A Luxury Collection Resort, Algarve, Portugal

Pine Cliffs Resort – A Luxury Collection Resort, Algarve, Portugal.

Our winter trip to the Algarve in Portugal was full of delights from glorious, warm sunshine to beautiful food and carnival season to picking up some gorgeous pottery.

An absolute highlight was our stay at Pine Cliffs Resort, A Luxury Collection Resort right at the end of our trip.

We are known for getting out and about and seeing as much as possible. But in winter many of the Algarve attractions shut up shop and honestly we felt so completely relaxed we were happy to treat this as a total break.

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Pine Cliffs Resort in winter

We really did feel our shoulders relax. We breathed deeply, the adults drank lots of wine and the children had lots of fun on the beach, playing tennis and swimming in the pools.

This was a trip we needed to just properly relax. And we’ve decided this needs to be an annual event, just a week of moving around less and having time to reconnect.

Pine Cliffs was absolutely ideal for this.

In summer the resort is perfectly placed to go out and about to water parks and attractions. But in winter it comes in to its own as a sanctuary, a retreat and somewhere to make you smile the whole time you’re there.

Pine Cliffs is large but it doesn’t feel sprawling.

Location of Pine Cliffs Resort

About twenty minutes from Albufeira, the different sections are all connected by the beautiful grounds winding their way around them.

There are some gorgeous little squares, fountains and gardens that you come across as you wander.

It gives the whole resort the feel of a village or community that you’re part of.

The main hotel is 25 years old and is beautiful with an Arabic – Portuguese mix of style.

I love the eception with its feel of courtyards and shuttered rooms overlooking it.

There are holiday homes here to buy and huge private villas to rent as well as your standard hotel rooms.

We stayed in the Pine Cliffs Ocean Suites which is just off the main hotel.

The Ocean Suites, like each of the other sites, has its own reception and is also home to the spa.

Sleeps

Our accommodation at Pine Cliffs, A Luxury Collection Resort was a wonderful two-bedroom family suite with ocean views.

We had an amazing main bedroom.

A bathroom with gorgeous bath was open to the bedroom (although could also be shut away if you wanted it to be).

There was also a separate loo and then a rainforest style shower.

I loved the products which had a zesty, grapefruit smell.

Then there was a children’s bedroom with twin beds.

From here there was a main open plan lounge, dining area and kitchen.

The kitchen was really well kitted out with washing machine, dishwasher, oven, microwave, coffee machine and all the utensils you would need.

The lounge was a really comfortable space and in the evening the sofa would turn in to a sofa bed for our eleven year old which he loved.

Off of all the rooms was a lovely balcony which looked out to the sea. This was the perfect place to sit in the morning sun and relax. We loved having time to sit out here.

There was another bathroom which had bathtub, separate shower and loo and all the lovely products too.

The rooms all felt perfectly cosy in winter and I imagine would feel lovely and airy in summer. It was the perfect space for a family.

Food

There are a large number of places to eat at Pine Cliffs and one of my favourite looking was Zest. This is a healthy eating and vegetarian inspired restaurant which unfortunately isn’t open when we visited in the winter but would be my first stop in the summer.

We had breakfast each morning at Jardim Colonial.

We really enjoyed the food here, fresh pastries, an egg chef, interesting jams, cheeses, cereals and juices.

The kids loved tucking in to the pancakes.

We had some amazing meals at O Pescador which shone as a seafood speciality restaurant.

From the monk fish with clams to the sea bass with beetroot puree these were outstanding dishes. And I thought the vegetarian stew was full of interesting tastes.

There was plenty for the kids too with their own menu at all the hotel’s restaurants.

We also ate in the Portulano Lobby Bar. This was really relaxed and a great family friendly offering with pizza for the kids, fish tacos, fajitas and ravioli.

We also loved the puddings here with apple crumbles and chocolate cakes.

Also open in winter was the clubhouse overlooking the resort’s golf course.

We loved the relaxed lunches here and the chilled views, it was the ideal place to sit outside, even in February and enjoy the sunshine.

The Resort

There is so much going on at Pine Cliffs. It’s one of those places you can come to relax completely or keep everyone occupied all day long.

To start with there’s the Pine Cliffs Golf Course which wraps around the resort over 160 acres. It swings close to the coast with incredible cliff top views.

It’s a perfect course for beginners and seasoned golfers and there’s a golf academy on site to help you improve your game.

We loved the tennis courts where you can have lessons. Or just book the court, as we did, for the hour and hire the rackets to have a bit of a family game.

There are also a number of swimming pools around. A number of which would be wonderful in the summer to cool off in.

Through to the indoor pool for a winter splash about which the kids loved.

Then there’s also an easy walk to the beach. This is a beautiful, sandy stretch that we loved walking down to and spending time on.

It really is a gorgeous bit of beach and the children found the biggest shells here.

There are so many other activities to do on site, for example we took a botanical tour which was wonderful. Learning all about the plants in the grounds from false pepper plants through to banana plants that had been brought back from expeditions years ago.

Spa

The Serenity – The Art of Well Being Spa at Pine Cliffs is one of the best spas I have been in with regard to space and facilities.

There’s a gorgeous pool where you can sit under different jets. There are saunas including one with a wall made from Himalayan salt.

And there are rainforest showers with different settings including, for example, rain showers with lightening and sound effects and mood lighting.

I had an Ila Glowing Face Therapy facial. This was lovely, a great space to relax and my skin felt so rejuvenated and healthy afterwards.

I love places like Pine Cliffs that really set out time for every member of the family. For me having that space to go off and have a spa treatment while Mr G takes the kids for a swim is so important to me to be able to recharge.

If you have spa treatments at Serenity – The Art of Well Being spa you get full use of the spa facilities which are just wonderful.

A winter stay at Pine Cliffs Resort – A Luxury Collection Resort, Algarve, Portugal – Child Friendly?

Pine Cliffs is amazingly child friendly.

To start with there’s a fantastic ‘Junior Club’ where the staff will look after your children with age specific activities.

This is great if they enjoy that and you can spend time in the spa or relaxing in your room.

Children can still have access to the playground at Porto Pirata when you’re with them which is a great option if your kids aren’t the biggest fans of kids clubs. This is all complimentary.

Next to the playgrounds there’s also a really large crazy golf.

There really is so much going on at Pine Cliffs and it’s somewhere my kids absolutely loved. In fact the 11 year old was suggesting we stay another week and skip school as he loved it so much and didn’t want to leave. I had to half-heartedly tell him this wasn’t an option while the younger two were cheering saying, “yes, let’s stay”.

Conclusion

Pine Cliffs is somewhere to come and rejuvenate.

Whether you have time to pamper yourself in the spa, take long walks in the sunshine on the beach or get energetic with some golf or tennis.

My advice would be not to plan too much for while you’re in the Algarve. Staying at Pine Cliffs is a destination in itself and somewhere to really be savoured.

We loved it and can’t wait to return.

Ready to book Pine Cliffs Resort?

You can find out more about Pine Cliffs and check availability here. Check out our ultimate guide to the Algarve with kids for lots more posts and inspiration.

See our short video of our time at Pine Cliffs.

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