The VILA VITA Parc resort on the south coast of Portugal is the ideal place for a dream seaside holiday in the sun. You will be pampered by gourmet chefs and top-class cuisine, savour excellent wines and be surrounded by the beauty of a subtropical landscape.
The VILA VITA Parc overlooks the sea on the lovely coast of the Algarve in southern Portugal. You will immediately feel at home here in Portugal’s most exclusive 5-star resort and spa, which is owned by a German family and has been run for many years by its Austrian managing director Kurt Gillig. Although the VILA VITA Parc’s grounds extend over 22 hectares, I never have the feeling of being in a large hotel complex. Beautiful subtropical gardens with flower borders, shady trees and sunbathing areas make it a landscape from paradise. The hotel’s many buildings are in Moorish style, housing rooms, suites and villas furnished with timeless elegance. Families have their own area with suites, a restaurant and a children’s pool. All accommodation has either a terrace or a balcony with a panoramic view over either the blue expanse of the ocean or the magnificent gardens. The five private villas are each equipped with their own pool. It is simply wonderful to sit on a lounger in the clifftop garden and just gaze at the horizon! The day begins with a choice of two breakfast buffets, one reserved for adults and one for children. The large breakfast buffet is kept in perfect condition to the very end. A number of different egg dishes can be ordered fresh à la carte and are included in the buffet. Fortified by breakfast, I am then spoilt for choice as to how to spend my day. Should I cool off in one of the eight pool complexes or should I take a dip in the sea? The resort has direct access to a picturesque sandy beach surrounded by cliffs. For water sports enthusiasts, the hotel has its own stylish 22 metre yacht complete with qualified crew, which can be hired by the hour or for several days. An excursion along the Algarve is an unforgettable experience with opportunities to discover remote sandy beaches and explore caves. During a sunset trip, we round off the day in relaxed style, spending three hours over champagne and canapés, watching the sun slowly sinking into the sea.
The resort offers numerous other sports besides swimming. There’s the health club with its wide-ranging sports programme or the 9-hole pitch and putt practice course and a driving range up on the cliff top. Or would l rather just take it easy and relax? In the stylish VILA VITA Vital Spa, I’m in the best possible place to do just this. It has a wide range of spa and beauty treatments. For lunch and dinner there are plenty of options: eight different restaurants with gourmet cuisine, seven bars and a cafe to choose from, and I’m not finding the decision easy. The Restaurant Ocean with its head chef Hans Neuer is outstanding. It is one of only two restaurants in Portugal to have two Michelin stars. Here you are served the very finest cuisine on the terrace or in the conservatory overlooking the sea. Another plus in the VILA VITA Parc is that the cuisine is not only outstanding but healthy too and from sustainable sources. The majority of the ingredients used are organic produce (it has its own butchers) from the hotel’s own estate and are of the highest quality. You can tell.
The hotel’s Herdade dos Grous estate, which translates as Estate of the Cranes, is situated an hour and a half away in the picturesque landscape of the Alentejo. Here 730 hectares are farmed organically, growing vegetables and grapes for wine-making and keeping cattle. Guests have the opportunity to take a trip to the estate and even to stay the night there to relax in the rural surroundings or to learn a little about breeding horses, organic farming and growing grapes for prize-winning wines. The hotel’s own exquisite red wines and many other fine examples – 11,000 bottles in all – are stored in the VILA VITA Parc’s gothic wine cellar, built with bricks from Egypt, Austria and Greece that are over 150 years old. Beyond the grounds is another restaurant owned by the hotel, whose very special location and atmosphere are bound to impress. The Arte Nautica beach restaurant, which can be reached by the free shuttle bus, is two kilometres away. It is right on the wonderful sandy beach of Amaçao de Pêra and offers stunning views of the sea. Here, a variety of culinary delights await you from fish straight from the sea to top-quality meat on the grill.
