Sometimes to make a journey you don’t have to go far. I had a two-day getaway at the Serenity SPA at Pine Cliffs Resort in the Algarve and came back refreshed. In two days, I practiced musical yoga amid lush gardens, walked on the beach at sunset, had lunch at a vegetarian temple ZEST, tried a hammam ritual that would make the kings of Morocco jealous, soaked in a thermal oasis and dined the best fresh fish at “O Pescador”… Let me tell you all the details of this experience so that you can take it into consideration the next time you go on a holiday… I warn you that the desire to grab your bags after reading this post will be strong, so start looking at your calendar now…
Getaways as a cure for stress
We all know how stressful life is nowadays. It is not even worth describing because we all suffer from the same: long working hours, little free time, lots of worries and few days to rest. That’s why it is important to STOP. Even if it’s a weekend, away from everything and everyone. If you have children, the ideal would be a few days without them, just you and your partner – husband/wife, to rest effectively. Don’t even think for a moment that this is a selfish act. On the contrary. If you come home more rested and with more patience to play with them, participate in the children’s activities or even with more emotional availability, they will thank you. After all, the important thing is quality (availability and real attention) and not quantity.
I don’t have children, but I do have my own tasks and problems: I’m in a constant transition between two countries, I have a job with long hours and I’m still looking to finish my PhD. Sometimes I feel it’s “too much sand for my truck” but, what can I do? keep going, sometimes more tired, other days less. And it’s for all these things that travel and short getaways are a real balm for the mind, body and soul. It’s like automatically recharging batteries, even if it means spending the whole day walking or doing activities…
A world to discover: Dessert at O Pescador, A Corda café-restaurant, Chef Gustavo from “Zest” and sunset at the Beach Club of Pine Cliffs Resort…
There is so much beauty in this world that it would be a shame to waste our existence just working in an office… by the way, I am writing these words sitting on the balcony of the Serenity Suite at the beautiful Pine Cliffs Resort in the Algarve. It’s 8am on a Sunday morning. The bed is super comfortable (the hubby is still sleeping), but the view over the tops of the maritime pines that run down the cliffs to the Atlantic didn’t let me stay in bed another minute. Nature calls me and the silent hours of the morning are the most beautiful. The sun is still low, illuminating the kingdom of shadows with a golden halo. The birds are dancing in the air and I am smiling from the inside. Yes, I am in a little piece of Paradise.
This weekend we came to discover the Ocean Suites, a new wing of the Pine Cliffs Resort that opened about a year ago. In this hotel unit next to the main hotel we found the Pine Cliffs Ocean Suites, spacious rooms organized as a flat. They have a living room, a kitchen and dining area, a large bedroom, a complete bathroom, two balconies with tables and a strategically placed bathtub (I am in love)…. The decoration is done in earth tones, beige and white, managing to capture light and peace inside the rooms, if only these units were not called Serenity Suites? The Hettich kitchen is fully equipped with everything you might need, from microwave, induction hob, refrigerator, washing machine, oven, Lavazza coffee machine, kettle, toaster, and a minimalist white china service by Vista Alegre.
Ocean Suites – the Art of well-being
The Serenity Suites belong to a new lifestyle concept introduced at Pine Cliffs Resort, which includes a healthier lifestyle, sports, spa and alternative wellness therapies. In the Ocean Suites building there is one of the newest and most complete spas in the world, the Serenity Spa, and a healthy and organic food restaurant, ZEST.
Thus, the Serenity Suites have a set of special amenities that differentiate them from the rest of the Pine Cliffs accommodations. Welcome products from Zest (the restaurant which also has a small healthy products market) and in the bathroom there are amenities from Charme D’Orient (French brand with oriental products) and bath salts from Ila (natural and holistic brand).
But the pampering doesn’t stop there. In the suite we find health and beauty magazines, a pillow menu, a menu of spa treatments available in the room, a mini bar with healthy options and a television channel with relaxing sounds. And what I like most is that those staying in this category have free access to the Thermal Oasis, that is, the water circuit inside the Serenity Spa during the entire stay. And the location of the spa is extremely convenient, because all you have to do is put on your bathrobe and take the lift down to floor 1 and you’re in a world of pure relaxation…
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Some images of the Serenity Spa
Pine Cliffs is one of the most traditional luxury resorts in the Algarve. It is located at the end of the extensive Falésia Beach, where the ravines rise majestically offering a rocky spectacle of ochre and reddish shades that come to life as the sunlight passes through them. Cliffs… the beauty of these sand and rock formations is quite extraordinary. On top of the cliffs and throughout the resort, which also has a golf course and many other sports facilities, green prevails. The intense green of a meticulously manicured lawn and the fresh green of the umbrella pines…
The beach is accessible by a wooden lift that leads down to the bottom of the ravine. Down below, a wooden path winds its way through nature until you reach the sandy beach. There we find the Pine Cliffs Beach Club, where Chef Olivier usually has incredible parties during the summer (I have already talked about them here). During this weekend we had magnificent sunsets, the one yesterday was spent on the beach and the one on Friday, in a hatha yoga session outdoors with music therapy, to which I dedicated this post: A Concert for the Universe.
Cinema sunset, the lift that leads to the beach.
Falésia Beach and the Autumn sunset
Pine Cliffs, a festival of greens.
Gastronomic Offer
There is a varied gastronomic offer supervised by Stuart Sage, the resort’s Executive Chef. Highlights include the O Pescador restaurant, specialized in fish and created by Chef Fábio Reis; Zest, the season’s novelty with healthy food proposals and vegetarian recipes by Chef Gustavo Adrião and also the Corda Café-restaurant, with an informal menu, with Mexican and Peruvian inspired dishes. In addition, in high season (this time they were closed) Pine Cliffs has one of the best Japanese restaurants in the Algarve, Yakuza by Olivier (I wrote about it last August) and also a beach restaurant, Beach-bar by Olivier, with fresh proposals for those who want to enjoy a light lunch by the sea.
Breakfast
Breakfast was served in the Colonial Garden, a space that also received a stylish renovation, with a central buffet full of delicacies, breads, pastries, fruits and natural juices, pancakes and an egg station made to the customer’s taste. The walls are decorated with Portuguese tiles that defy tradition, since instead of the traditional white and blue, they take the green strokes of the pine trees and outdoor lawns. The whole room is decorated with comfortable chairs upholstered with green velvet and inspires us to start the day in a good mood.
From the breakfast I especially liked the muffins with egg, bacon and courgette which were delicious, and the croissants with crispy puff pastry and the right balance of butter. The room is complemented with a terrace that opens to the gardens and where you can also have breakfast enjoying this beautiful autumn sun…
And my chronicle about Pine Cliffs does not stop here… I have dedicated some posts to the Serenity Spa, the hammam treatment, the flexible vegetarian restaurant ZEST and the excellent gourmet seafood “O Pescador”…
Keep coming back here… you’ll see there’s always something new to read and to be inspired…
For more information and reservations, please visit
Pine Cliffs Resort
Website: https://www.pinecliffs.com/
Address: Pinhal do Concelho, Apartado 887 8200-912 Albufeira, Portugal.
Phone: (+351) 289 500 300
E-mail: info@pinecliffs.com
Photo Credits: Algarvist
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