Monte Rei Hotel

Sitio Do Pocinho - Sesmarias, 8901-907 Vila Nova de Cacela, Portugal

Nestled in the foothills of the Eastern Algarve is Monte Rei, with two Jack Nicklaus-designed championship golf courses, rentable villas and a fine-dining restaurant, Vistas, presided over by El Bulli-trained chef Jaime Perez (pictured above) which is reason enough to come even if you don’t swing the hickory stick. The villas, which are generously appointed, come with three or four bedrooms (packages are available for single occupancy), and are grouped around their own sports facility – swimming pool, tennis courts, gym and sauna – and are set well away from the main clubhouse and course. There is also a casual eaterie, but Vistas restaurant is the real star. Dishes such as passion fruit mousse with coconut cream and mint ice and scallops with trout eggs and spinach are of Michelin-star quality. Nuno, the maître d’ and head sommelier, pairs the dishes with Portuguese wines, many from producers who have embraced the modern school of winemaking, with fresher, lighter whites and reds with lower levels of tannin. Surely one of the Algarve’s best kept secrets. Single occupancy villas from £139, and green fees from £110.

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