Christmas at the Martinhal Resort was really special for our family. My three daughters 11, 13 and 15 just felt right at home the minute they landed with the warm reception by the staff. The Blue Room was really set up well for their age group. Our three Bed roomed Ocean Front House was just amazing. Decor was A1, comfort was just better than home. Security in the whole complex was very safe for the children. The swimming pools heated to perfection gave us all plenty of exercise. Gym well equipped and great staff. Tennis Courts and paddle Ball were great. We enjoyed our Christmas Dinner in the Terraco Restaurant where we also had breakfast every morning with excellent views over the whole Bay. The beach was spotless and a great walk in the morning as the sun was rising. Local people in Sagres all so friendly and helpful. We want to book our next holiday and would say the best place we ever stayed was the Martinhal Resort. Thanks to all there that made it a great stay. Finestra Spa was just out of this world with very highly trained staff and Interior was just amazing.

We had a nice (very well equipped) villa 2 minutes walk from the indoor pool and kids club..Our 3 year old loved every minute of her holiday. She met many new friends and would lead the way in walking to the next event. One day the 'activists' lead the children down to the beach and our daughter smiled at us but kept going with them.
Mealtimes there was always a childrens space with an attendant to distract them.
It seems to be a very safe place with lots to do for all ages: tennis, 5 heated pools, good gym, lots of space,walks, beach and beach bars, basketball, cycling etc.all within easy walking distance. Older children (of all ages) can be independant here.
As for adults well, we had 8 full days of sunshine out of 10 with temperatures up to 20. (Dec 23 -Jan1). We sunbathed, relaxed, cooked, cycled and hung out looking at the views. A trip to Lagos when it rained and a wonderful sunny trip to the Lighthouse and 2 evening meals out were enough excitement for us. There is a lovely village square in Martinhal which will be enchanting on summer evenings; it reminded us (sort of) of Ravello.
Martinhal restaurants were excellent quality with food and service of a high standard, often with Portugese options. .
Apparently there were 60 full time staff (at Xmas) with up to 150 in high season. We had a peacefull wonderful time. Even full this would not be the Forte Village crowded Italian experience.
The Sagres area is itself worth a holiday whether or not at the Martinhal. Sagres is not built up, seems genuinely Portugese (in low season anyway ) has many beach places,many nice restaurants and seems to be a casual, laid back unhurried surfer/relaxed place. You might consider the Bieerra (? ) design hotel or if older the Pousada here for example.

Fantastic resort it is and will return in spring. as is sagres if you have travelled around the area you will know how beautiful it really is and unspoil. lots of coves and beaches which are great . Some nice restaurant in sagres too would recommend a car to get around but martinhal has everything u need if you want to relax.

Our extended family always gets together for a week somewhere in Europe during the summer for the last 10 years. This time we chose this unique and picturesque location of the portuguese Algarve coast.

We were a large group (14 rooms in total) and the hotel was very organized and accommodating when it comes to the reservations. They asked us for a 50% deposit upon reservation and then the full amount one month before arrival, which I did not found unreasonable for a large group like ours.

At our arrival, the reception personnel was very attentive and showed us to our room; we got beach rooms facing the Atlantic with a nice lawn in front of the terrace. The setting is spectacular and the premisses very well maintained.

The staff is generally very young but very attentive and go out of the way to make your stay a great experience.

There are three restaurants in the resort which provides for a lot of options every night; reservations are necessary.

Activities include, tennis, paddle and water sports including windsurf and kayaking. The weather is a little chilly (even in August) and windy. The beach is 3 minutes from the hotel and it is magnificent; don't dare to get in the water though since it is very cold.

The hotel arranged for us a charter boat for us to spend the day sailing to St Vincent Cape nearby. It is a beautiful coast and we left from the near harbour of Sagres. There are a lot of things to do around the resort if you have transportation.

This resort is perfect for families with small kids since there are a lot of activities for the little ones all throughout the day. It is also great for racquet sports.

The only thing we missed was a good lounge or night bar where we could have a drink after dinner night. It was pretty quiet after the restaurants closed which was a little bit of a disappointment.

We are thinking about coming back to Martinhal again since everyone enjoyed the whole experience