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Hotel Information: Tranquil in winter, lively in summer, the resort features panoramic ocean views and facilities for family holidays.
Amenity highlights: Two pools and two children's pools offer freshwater swimming. A secluded beach adjacent to the resort at the bottom of a cliff and dramatically flanked by two cliffs jutting into the ocean supplies saltwater swimming. Independent operators on the beach rent out watersports equipment during the summer. A Roman-themed bar supplies live music year-round for dancing, and a lobby bar/lounge also offers live music in summer.
Insider tip: The resort's town, Porches, is renowned throughout Portugal for its pottery.
Rooms
Featuring a skylighted atrium, the hotel offers 184 guestrooms in a six-story building, with two additional stories terraced into the hillside below the lobby level. Adjacent to the hotel are 60 apartments in two- and three-story buildings without elevators interspersed with gardens and driveways. Both rooms and apartments feature balconies or ground-floor patios. In-room safes are available for surcharges.
Rooms include cream-colored walls, white ceilings, terra-cotta-tile floors, dark-wood furniture, pale-marble bathrooms with shower/tub combinations, and minibars.
Apartments are scheduled for remodeling in 2005-2006 so decor varies. But all apartments include terra-cotta-tile floors, wood-burning fireplaces, dining sets, tile bathrooms with shower/tub combinations, and fully equipped kitchens with four-burner rangetops, ovens, and refrigerators. (Microwave ovens available on request.)
Room Amenities
- Cable/satellite TV
- Pay movies
- Climate control
- Air conditioning
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Internet access - dial-up
- Wake-up calls
- Housekeeping (daily)
- Complimentary toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Bidet
- Shower/tub combination
- Child care (in room, surcharge)
- In-room safe
- Television
- Window opens
- Rollaway beds
- Cribs (infant beds) available
- Smoking rooms
Recreation
Fringed by palms, a central sundeck furnished with lounge chairs and umbrellas features a 35-by-17-meter (115-by-58-foot) swimming pool and a 13-by-6-meter (43-by-20-foot) children's pool. Secluded behind hedges and surrounded by a lawn, a second pool fronting the resort's apartment complex measures 20 meters (66 feet) in diameter and is paired with a children's pool. Other recreational facilities include a tennis and squash courts (surcharges). The resort staff arranges bicycle rentals.
Accessible by a 200-meter (219-foot) path and by an 80-step staircase, the nearest beach lies adjacent to the resort at the bottom of a cliff. Sheltered by two 50-meter (165-foot) ochre cliffs jutting into the ocean, the beach extends 150 meters (164 yards) long and 50 meters (55 yards) deep. Another longer, shallower beach is accessible by a tunnel drilled through one of the sheltering cliffs.
The beach is used by fishers, as it has been for centuries, but in summer independent operators on the beach also rent out watersports equipment like jet skis and windsurfers and offer scuba-diving excursions.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or near the resort; fees may apply.
- Snorkeling nearby
- Sailing nearby
- Scuba diving nearby
- Swimming on site
- Windsurfing nearby
- Personal watercraft nearby
- Racquetball/squash on site
- Tennis on site
- Bicycle rentals nearby
- Horse riding/rental nearby
- Skydiving nearby
- Fishing nearby
- Playground on site
Property Amenities
A health club features a sauna with plunge pool and a four-person spa tub surrounded by a wood deck in a window-wall ocean/pool-view solarium, which has one-way glass for privacy. (Surcharge for use of sauna and spa tub.) Therapists offer various massage techniques, reflexology, and aromatherapy in two treatment rooms. A beauty salon provides hair and nail care.
Complimentary supervised children's activities (ages 4-12) are available in an air-conditioned room and outdoor area from Easter to the end of October, and during the December holiday season. Complimentary daily activities include arts and crafts, Portuguese lessons, and folkloric shows in summer.
A game room contains coin-operated video games and a pool table. A lobby computer provides high-speed Internet access (surcharge). A small fitness room offers a few cardio machines.
- Swimming pool - outdoor
- Poolside bar
- Swimming pool - children's
- Spa services on site
- Spa tub
- Massage - treatment room(s)
- Sauna
- Concierge services
- Complimentary breakfast
- Health club
- Fitness equipment
- Restaurant(s) in hotel
- Room service (limited hours)
- Bar/lounge
- Parking (free)
- Self parking
- Meeting rooms (small groups)
- Banquet facilities
- Conference room(s)
- Audio-visual equipment
- Internet access in public areas - surcharge
- Business services
- Internet access in public areas - high speed
- Safe-deposit box - front desk
- Multilingual staff
- 24-hour front desk
- Porter/bellhop
- Security guard
- Number of rooms: 184
- Number of floors: 6
- Tour assistance
- Gift shops or newsstand
- Hair salon
- Beauty services
- Currency exchange
- Dry cleaning service
- Pool table on site
- Arcade/game room
- Air-conditioned public areas
- Supervised child care/activities
Policies
Extra person charges apply.
Complimentary rollaway beds and cribs (infant beds) are available and should be requested at the time of booking.
Photo identification and credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in. Special requests made via this Web site cannot be guaranteed and may incur additional charges.
- Pets not allowed
- Check-in time is 2 PM
- Check-out time is Noon
Dining
A complimentary English/European buffet breakfast is provided each morning. Vahalla Grill - Fine-dining restaurant with rattan chairs. Open for lunch, dinner, with a la carte menu featuring grilled meats, seafood, and Portuguese, international dishes.
Mare Restaurant - Dining room and terrace seating. International buffets for lunch, dinner plus a la carte selections.
Casa d'Italia - Restaurant/lounge overlooking apartment-complex swimming pool. Rattan seating. Dark-wood tables, chairs set inside or on terrace. Italian lunch/dinner menu. Open February-November.
Sebastian Bar - Roman-theme spot with vaulted ceiling, dark-green brocade banquettes, marble dance floor. Live music nightly. Open early evening to after midnight.
Gaviota Bar - Pool bar open in summer for grilled foods, salads, sandwiches, tropical drinks.
Bar Expresso - Lobby bar/lounge with blond-wood floor, paneling open mid-morning to early evening for espresso and cocktails. Live music nightly in summer.
Address
Praia Senhora da Rocha, Porches
Armacao de Pera, 8400-450
Portugal
Nearest major airport:
Faro, Portugal (FAO-Faro)
Area:
Algarve, Portugal
