Pine Cliffs hotel review: a stylish Algarve resort that has it all
Pine Cliffs is well-known among families as one of Portugal's biggest names in child-friendly holidays and the resort certainly packs in the facilities. You'll find the beach at the base of the cliffs here, Praia de Falesia, frequently named as the Algarve's best, while the kids' club is one of the largest you'll come across and there are seven outdoor pools, plus one indoor swim spot. Around the grounds — watch out for cars — you'll find an Annabel Croft tennis academy, a nine-hole golf course and enough restaurants to eat somewhere different every night for a week. Rooms and suites, meanwhile, are spacious enough to accommodate even the largest of broods.
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Score 8/10The large, white-washed building at the centre of the resort houses two distinct properties, both under Marriott's Luxury Collection brand. Rooms in the main hotel are the most traditional, featuring terracotta-tiled floors and headboards created from hand-painted azulejos (ornate Portuguese tiles) and best suited to couples, while the newer Ocean Suites, set in an adjoining building with its own reception, have been designed to appeal to families. These are wonderfully spacious, with separate bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen (with washing machine) and open-plan living and dining spaces. Private balconies overlook the grounds and you'll get both a family bathroom and an en suite off the main bedroom, complete with a tempting egg-shaped bath tub.
Score 8/10With 15 restaurants and bars scattered around the resort, there's a dizzying choice when it comes to dinner, including Italian classics at Portofino by MIMO, seafood at O Pescador and steaks at Piri Piri Steakhouse. For lunch, though, it has to be Maré, its terrace just above the beach tempting you in for charcoal-grilled seafood with a stonking ocean view.
Children are well catered for throughout, with kids' menus reflecting what the grown-ups are eating (catch of the day at Maré, mini pizzas at Portofino), while breakfast is buffet-style, served at the low-key indoor-outdoor Jardim Colonial. This is a busy space but the buffet will please even the fussiest eaters, with everything from pancakes to pasteis de nata on offer. There's also plenty of fresh fruit, a tasty shakshuka and eggs cooked to order. Service throughout the hotel is slick, laid-back and welcoming.
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Score 9/10Pine Cliffs focuses on families and most little ones make a beeline for the gigantic Porto Pirata kids' club, based around two large pirate ships. Activities are tailored to those aged 12 months to eight years, though you can call in anytime for mini golf, a dip in the toddler pool or to play in the playground or on the trampolines. While the children are safely occupied, parents can enjoy the Serenity spa, where treatments have a nod to the location; try the Senses of the Algarve body scrub and wrap, which uses local sand, carob and orange oil.
There's also a well-kept nine-hole golf course and a substantial Annabel Croft tennis academy for individual training, group lessons and tournaments. The main draw is Praia de Falesia beach, its buttery sands accessed by lift and boardwalk from the hotel grounds and running for more than three miles along the base of incredible cinnamon-coloured cliffs — the hotel has loungers and umbrellas here.
Score 8/10Being set just back from Praia de Falesia gives Pine Cliffs a brilliant location for beach lovers, but there's little else close by and the immediate area is very built up with low-slung holiday accommodation. If you plan to stay on-site (and you easily could) then you don't need a hire car; get one though, and Zoomarine theme park is a 20-minute drive, while the resort of Albufeira can be reached in 15 minutes. Faro airport is a 40-minute drive.
Price B&B doubles from £190Restaurant mains from £16Family-friendly YAccessible Y
Helen Ochyra was a guest of Pine Cliffs Resort (pinecliffs.com)
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