The Hotel
The Pestana Alvor South Beach is perfectly located to enjoy Alvor’s beautiful beaches and the charming village as it is only a 1 minute walk to the beach and 15 minutes to the centre of Alvor.
Relaxation and well-being is a key theme at this hotel which has 3 layered infinity swimming pools which are surrounded by beach loungers and facing the beaches. Loosen up with a massage or beauty treatment from Magic Spa, and you can even order a poolside massage. To keep in tip-top shape, the hotel also has an outdoor fitness centre.
Room are elegant and stylish with quirky pops of colour, similar to the communal areas which are bright and colourful.
The hotel’s restaurant, the Sea Deck, offers unbeatable views of the Alvor Beach while you dine. Lighter snacks, smoothies and juices can be enjoyed at the Sunset Bar. Of an evening, the swimming pool area hosts cocktails and music creating a lively atmosphere.
This is a perfect hotel for a couple’s break and the Pestana Alvor South Beach offers ‘Love Experiences’ where staff will help you plan surprises, picnics, dinners and even wedding proposals. Couples are also invited to enjoy the ‘massage for two’ at the Magic Spa.
Direct access to the beautiful sands of Alvor beaches, make this hotel’s location particularly spectacular and the boardwalks and restaurant make full use of this prime spot.
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 sands, 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, water-skiing and wind-surfing.
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.
Local Area
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.
Restaurant
Sunset Bar: Breakfast 7.30 - 11.00 Lunch & light snacks: 13.00 - 15.00 Sea Deck Restaurant: 12.30 - 22.00
How to get there
Arriving by car: 1. From Faro airport, head north on the motorway to join the A22 and follow signs for Portimao and Albufeira toll road 2. Keep left to stay on A22, follow signs for Portimao/Albufeira toll road 3. Take exit 4 towards M531-1 toll road 4. At the roundabout. Take the 2nd exit onto EM531-1 5. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit and stay on EM531-1 6. Continue onto Serpa Pinto 7. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Rua do Rossio de S. Pedro 8. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Estr. Adega da Torralta 9. Turn right onto R. Q.ta da Praia 10. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit 11. Turn left onto R. do Barinel 12. Turn right and Pestana Alvor South Beach will be on your left
