For many British visitors, the appeal of the Algarve can be summed up in one word: golf, and there’s a lot of that at Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort.
There are 54 golf courses in the area, which are bathed in sunshine for most of the year. That may well explain why 65% of visitors to the Algarve are from the UK.
But the Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort offers a fresh take on the area. It shows that there is more to the region than 19th holes, mashie niblicks and terrible knitwear.
You know you are somewhere different the moment you’re greeted at the hotel entrance by a door-woman in a fabulous brown top hat. Her attire says classy, yet quirky. Exactly like the hotel.
Once inside, you are charmed by the bright and airy reception. One wall is decorated entirely with blue pots which mirror the colour of the sea outside.
As you walk through the reception to the terrace at the back of the hotel, the next thing that hits you is its stunning location. Ringed by breathtaking limestone cliffs, which house an eye-catching sea cave, the Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort offers a splendid panorama of the Atlantic. Money can’t buy this setting. It is the hotel’s sweet spot.
Many of the hotel’s 243 rooms also boast this spectacular view. But it is best enjoyed from the fantastic Sky Bar on the sixth floor. The bar, which has two splendid palm trees growing out of the terrace, is a magnet for Instagram influencers from all over the globe. The vistas from here are enough to sell the hotel on its own.
The Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort also offers five excellent restaurants, a first-class spa, a conference centre which can accommodate 2000 people, and a belvedere overlooking the sea. You can rent this for weddings, birthdays and other private functions. It would also surely be the perfect spot to reserve for the ultimate romantic marriage proposal.
The other big selling point of the hotel, which is situated in Carvoeiro, just 50 minutes’ drive away from Faro airport, is that it is urging guests to spurn the car and try a new hike called the “Percurso dos Sete Vales Suspensos” (The Seven Hanging Valleys Trail). The valleys are called “hanging” because they are hollowed out by erosion from the sea, so it is as if they are suspended from the very edge of the land.
Guests at the hotel can hire a guide to lead them on this breathtaking 11.5 km hike from Carvoeiro’s Vale de Centianes in the west to the Praia da Marinha in the east. It is a relatively demanding route, but it is well worth it – especially when you reach your destination.
You have to descend 367 steps to The Praia da Marinha. This discourages casual visitors and means the beach remains pretty unspoiled. It looks out onto several limestone stacks which appear to be wobbling precariously in the emerald Atlantic.
The beach is also framed on three sides by eye-catching, crumbly limestone cliffs, which are thought to date back 24 million years. The cliffs play host to hundreds of cormorants. They choose to build their nests here because foxes and wildcats cannot climb down the vertical rock faces and steal their eggs.
These astonishing seabirds spend 95% of their time in the water – their feathers are never dry. They can swim faster and are far more agile than fish. No wonder they look so well fed!
It is not hard to see why The Praia da Marinha has been voted one of the 100 Best Beaches in the World.
The Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort provides unrivalled “seaview therapy. I defy anyone to visit this wonderful hotel and not leave after a couple of days much more at peace with the world.
The hotel brochure reads: “Tivoli, an experience best served chilled.”
Sounds about right to me.
Tell Me More About Tivoli Carvoeiro Alagarve Resort
Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort, Apartado 1299 – Vale do Covo – Praia do Carvoeiro 8401-911 Lagoa, Portugal
Nightly rates at Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort start from £89 for a double room on B&B basis.
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