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The Pestana Dom João II is a 4* beachside hotel, only 20 minutes on foot from the town centre of Alvor. It overlooks the beautiful Praia do Alvor beach and some rooms enjoy fantastic sea views.
Rooms are comfortable with balconies and minimalist décor that reflects the coastal location. This hotel has a number of interconnecting rooms which makes it well-suited for family holidays.
You can relax and cool off in one of the two outdoor saltwater swimming pools or stroll through the verdant gardens down to the beach. For an extra relaxing stay, why not take a trip to the hotel’s spa which features an indoor swimming pool, Turkish bath, sauna and you can book a number of treatments and massages.
The Pestana Kids Club runs from June to September and offers children aged 4-12 plenty of fun activities and ways to make new friends during their holiday.
The Pavilhão do Rei restaurant offers a buffet dinner with a variety of international options. You can enjoy a drink or a lighter meal in one of the three bars during summer months (two of these are closed in winter) and one of the bars has live music each night.
On-site activities include bowling, a diving school, a football pitch, a volleyball court and mini-golf for younger guests.
For those looking to explore outside Alvor and the hotel, the Pestana Dom João operates a free daily shuttle to Portimão.
Alvor is a typical Portuguese fishing village, much calmer than the busier tourist resorts of the Algarve and perfect for those looking for a peaceful break in a beautiful location.
The town dates back to the 8th century Moorish occupation when it was considered an important strategic port. You will notice that many hotels and building names around Alvor feature the name ‘Dom Joao II’, this is because the 15th Century King Joao II, who was famous for reinstating the Portuguese exploration of Africa, passed away in the town.
More than anything, Alvor is renowned for its natural beauty. Its beaches with their golden sand, calm waters and beautiful natural features are popular with visitors and locals alike. The Praia do Alvor is the most famous stretches over 2 miles and the Praia Tres Irmãos, located to the east of the beach, is particularly lovely with its unique rock formations and rock pools. The beaches are perfect for swimming and sunbathing, and also offer sailing, waterskiing and windsurfing.
Despite Alvor being a quieter village you can still find restaurants, bars and dancing on the Rua dos Bares.
The Algarve, which is Portugal’s southernmost province, is a 150 km long coastal region of outstanding beauty, long golden beaches, dramatic sandstone cliffs, picturesque villages and undulating landscape covered with fig, almond and olive trees. Rich in history, the Algarve is noted for the friendliness of its people and its mild climate, which is ideal for outdoor sports almost all year around.
The southernmost region of Portugal, the Algarve, is without a doubt the best-known to visitors to the country from overseas thanks to its popularity as one of Europe’s main holiday destinations. Certainly the Algarve’s attractions are many, and not least its enviable climate with sunshine virtually year-round.
The region is probably most famous for its beaches and its numerous golf courses. The Algarve has around 100 miles of coastline, stretching from the border with Spain in the east right across the south of the country to Cape St Vincent in the west (this is the most south-westerly point in Europe), and then north for about 30 miles up to the border with the Alentejo region. And it’s a wonderful coastline with a mixture of extensive beaches of fine golden sand, small sandy coves and, in places, dramatic cliff-faces and rock formations. Inevitably, since the sixties and seventies there has been a lot of development centred on the main resorts such as Albufeira, Praia da Rocha and Vilamoura with the construction of hotels, apartments, marinas and so on, but in the extreme east and west of the Algarve coast, smaller towns – Tavira and Sagres as examples - while still offering the same glorious beaches remain almost untouched by the frenetic activity of the tourist centres.
The Algarve is not, however, just about beaches and golf. Inland the region is largely rural – hilly, and in places mountainous – and many of the picturesque little towns and villages in the interior appear to have changed little over the centuries and still retain their quiet, unhurried and relaxed way of life. Like the rest of the Iberian Peninsulathe Algarve became part of the Roman empire in the second century BC (there are important Roman remains on the coast in Lagos), but the longest occupation of the region was by the Moors who named the region Al-Gharb and who were finally expelled in 1250, completing the reconquest of Portugal. As in Andalusia in Spain,he archtectural legacy of the Moorish occupation is much in evidence throughout the region.
The principal, and by far the largest, city of the Algarve is Faro. Practically every visitor arrives here thanks to flights into its airport from all over Europe, but very few actually stay in Faro. But it’s an elegant coastal city with a medieval wall and many monuments, museums and churches and it definitely deserves a visit. Away from the coast two particularly attractive towns are Monchique, up in the hills about 20 miles from the resort of Portimao, and Loulé, an active market town a short drive inland from Vilamoura.
Apart from high-quality ‘international cuisine’ stemming from the tourism so important to this region, there are plenty of delicious local dishes available throughout the Algarve. Pork and chicken are the main ingredients for meat dishes, notably ‘Cataplana’ (pork with lots of clams and garlic) and ‘chicken piri-piri’ ranging from mild to very hot and spicy. But fish and seafood reign supreme here; grilled sardines are excellent on the Algarve coast and available practically everywhere while swordfish, bass, bream, squid, clams, lobsters and prawns are all of the highest quality and fresh as can be. Wines from all over Portugal are freely available, but the local wines from Lagos, Tavira and Lagoa are all good and the region produces several local varieties of liqueur.
For Pousada pool information please visit our information on pools page.
Pavilhão do Rei Restaurant:
Breakfast: 07.30 - 10.30
Dinner: 19.00 - 22.00
Príncipe Bar: 17.00 - 01.00
Arriving by car:
The hotel offers free parking, although availability is limited.
