Epic Sana Algarve

Building a 5-star hotel from scratch is quite an epic challenge in anyone’s book, but opening three of them in the last 6 months is on another level entirely.

Let’s add to the mix, that the owners are Portuguese and clearly flourishing in spite of their country’s economic travails. They have 15 hotels, all but three of them in Portugal, so you sense something a little special must be going on here. Clearly, they must know a goodly thing or two about the hotel business.

The Epic Sana Algarve has the added distinction of being the last new-build hotel on the Algarve, just a hundred yards or so from Falesia Beach in-between Vilamoura and Albufeira and set in acres of private landscaped gardens. Walking around the estate is a journey of discovery; you’ll uncover a small secluded cabana tucked away in one corner, a couple of covered sofas pointing at the rugged coastline in another, and sunbed or two discreetly set in a quiet spot to soak up some private sun. There was something in the region of 700,000 different pieces of flora planted amongst the existing woodland to create a countryside feel, yet the property and the furnishings are all highly contemporary.

One of the advantages of building from scratch is the quality standard you can build into the accommodation and each one of Epic Sana’s bedrooms, apartments, suites and studios are well thought out spacious and luxurious living areas filled with practically every amenity known to man including rainforest showers, beds you won’t want to get out of, and let us all gleefully rejoice, free wifi throughout. Something of a rarity these days.

Whilst the main hotel building is where you’ll find the public areas and two out of the three restaurants, the rest of the accommodation is spread around the property interspersed with additional pools, tennis and a hefty children’s play area. The main restaurant provides generous buffet spreads served inside or on the airy outdoor patio, and there’s a gastronomic restaurant next door serving Mediterranean cuisine in the evening. of course, if you just fancy some poolside snacks, there’s a light bite pool cafe too that, in the summer months, doubles as an alfresco fish restaurant.

Let’s not forget the Spa of course. 7 treatment rooms, a Vichy shower, Turkish bath, hammam, hydrotherapy pool, fitness centre, aerobics and yoga. More than enough to keep your senses and your ying and yang in perfect harmony.