I never intended to write a blog about our recent stay in Portugal, but I feel as though the place we stayed, Pine Cliffs deserves a little review. I have so many other blogs I want to publish but we have just had the most fabulous stay at Pine Cliffs that I wanted to share with you.

Sitting at home in June this year, I was curled up in our little snuggler in the living room with a thick jumper on and staring at the pouring rain outside. I was due back at work in a couple of weeks and felt like I had been cheated of a summer and knew that as soon as I returned to work, the sun will finally shine and of course, so it did. In my fury at that moment in June, I started to research some places to stay in Southern Europe that had things to do for, me (Yoga), James (cycling and golf) and Skylar (general kiddie safe fun). As much as I kept resisting, Pine Cliffs kept cropping up as the perfect place to visit, but the price tag kept putting me off.

After days trawling round the internet trying to look for alternatives, I gave in and booked a spot at Pine Cliffs and just convinced myself that we would save for a few months. I booked through totstotravel as I knew that they would book us in a child friendly apartment which turned out to be a great choice.

After our pretty easy travel over from the UK (Skylar did so well on the flight, helped by her Daddy getting her to sleep for half of it) we were given an early check in which we were so grateful for after our super early flight. As soon as we opened the door to our apartment we were blown away. It was huge, all on one level and a balcony spanning the length of the apartment which was totally safe for Skylar. In fact, Skylar was so happy as it gave her far more space to run around than at home and with no steps to contend with, plus she was even more delighted when she discovered a huge box of toys were already in the room waiting (courtesy of totstotravel). Also, a positive for us as we didn’t need to constantly supervise her. Having said that, we nearly paid a huge price when we were unpacking our case, not realizing Skylar had left our sides until we heard a lot of banging and crashing coming from the kitchen for us to come running and see that she was emptying the cupboards of glasses and plates. Goodness knows how she didn’t break one. Our dilemma was fixed very quickly when we rang reception and asked them for a baby gate which they very quickly fitted.

So, the accommodation was faultless, and there are so many other things about the place that are tip top, one of these being the staff. We ate in pretty much all the restaurants in the resort and the staff literally go out of their way to serve you. On our 2^nd evening during our game of “cheers” with Skylar (literally one of the only ways she will drink water is if we do cheers), I knocked over a totally fresh and full Aperol Spritz much to my embarrassment. The staff came quickly over and cleaned it all up and replaced the Aperol free of charge, no questions asked. Brilliant. The staff were also so fantastic with Skylar, keeping her entertained throughout the meal, giving her hi-fives and making her smile. It was so adorable.

We have stayed in quite a few nice hotels over the years and we always talk about what makes a hotel a 5 star hotel and in our eyes, it is that subtle difference when the staff go the extra mile, where you feel like you are truly looked after. For example, they will offer to order any food for Skylar first (knowing that she will get impatient waiting), offer to wash Skylar’s spoon when it drops on the floor (that would have been a lot of spoon washing if we played that game), the staff are at the room within minutes when we asked for something.

Ahh, now, did I mention the place also has an award winning Spa (called Serenity Spa). Clearly, we intended to treat ourselves with a treatment each. James had an Indian Head Massage, and I had a relaxing massage. After meeting my therapist we discussed what I wanted to feel afterwards (new to me), I mentioned I have had a little lower back pain only to be offered some anti-inflamatory gel to help ease any discomfort. I have never been offered this level of service at a spa before. The spa itself was huge which made it feel so private, especially as I a sipped a cup of tea and chewed on the very yummy jumbo raisins in the relaxation room after my treatment.

As mentioned, I chose this resort because it offered yoga which is just my thing. It was the only resort I could find that did offer yoga so it was big tick for me. I booked on the sunset yoga as never done this before and another morning class. At the beginning of the sunset yoga I originally wasn’t all that impressed as the tutor didn’t engage with the class, just went through the motions. However, I realized that it was probably intentional as it meant there was very little talking and more focusing on the moment as we flowed through the sequence and quite literally absorbed the beautiful surroundings and the sound of the crashing waves. Just perfect. During the meditation at the end, our teacher came around each of us gently pulled our shoulders down, making me realise that even though I thought I was relaxing my shoulders, the feeling of having them put in a much lower position felt so good.

Of course, I can’t write a review without mentioning some of the things where I thought Pine Cliffs could improve. The correspondence before our arrival wasn’t that helpful. I emailed the hotel beforehand to see what dairy free options might be on offer for Skylar only to just be sent the supermarket stock list (which I could get from the totstotravel website anyway). I also emailed them twice asking for an early check in and did not receive a response, but then when we arrived, they seemed to have noted the request and fulfilled it anyway (but would have been good to know this beforehand).

Also, there must be shortage potatoes on the resort (yes this is my picky thing), as on two occasions at two separate restaurants I ordered potatoes and each time I was given just 4 tiny potatoes which Skylar ate 2 of them. Quite amusing really as they looked so lost on such a big plate.

Finally, the place could be a bit more environmentally friendly or at least clearly show some of the actions they are taking towards it. We didn’t see any form of recycling regime in our accommodation, although we did around the grounds. We also think they replaced our towels every day. Perhaps just a little more awareness of what the resort is doing to contribute towards being a more eco-friendly place.

Having read some of the trip advisor reviews about the resort, I was expecting to have far more negatives to write about than positives. The reviews persistently complained about the temperature of the swimming pools. We were told at check in which pool was the warmest and we had no issues at all with the temperature of the pool. We also read that the place is a complete rip off. Yes, it’s expensive and I won’t even touch on how much our “extras” bill was at the end, but don’t come here if you want a cheap holiday, it is a 5 star luxury resort so it is never going to be cheap and we didn’t expect it to be.

The place is absolutely immaculate. The grounds in particular were totally spotless and I think the toilet down at the beach was the poshest and cleanest beach toilet I have ever been in. The champagne bar is a must visit. Open early from 4:30pm which I love so that people with kiddies can go. Skylar absolutely loved the play park. Full of swings and slides and built under the trees so lovely and cool.

Even just the simple thing of sitting on our balcony in the evening with a glass of wine whilst listening to the waves was magical. The resort was so quiet at night and we all slept like logs. I didn’t hear a peep out of Skylar once in the night as she just loved her cosy travel cot they provided.

All in all Pine Cliffs is given a big five stars from us. We have come away feeling totally refreshed, relaxed and maybe a few pounds heavier but a very happy little family.

The photo for this blog are traditional Portuguese tiles called “azulejos” which decorate the outdoor areas of the resort. These tiles were made by artisans at Fabrica de Ceramica Constancia, a factory that dated back to 1836 but closed shortly after Pine Cliffs grand opening in 1992, making them even more rare and special.