The Algarve is one of those blessed places, a sun-kissed expanse so heavenly it gets to keep a “the” at the front of its name, like the Riviera or the Amalfi. As such it’s quite popular with basically anyone who likes sunshine, and its hotels run the gamut from the big and bland on down to, well, places like the Vila Joya, which is among the Algarve’s smallest and poshest escapes.
Initially it was a private home, in a Moorish-villa style; today just enough of that style remains to lend Vila Joya some personality, without turning it into some kind of theme resort. These days it’s the perfect blend of home and hotel — tucked away in a residential neighborhood on a stunning piece of coast, just steps away from the beach.
Add a Michelin star (two actually) for the restaurant and a candle-lit spa and you’re in business. The Algarve is a golfer’s paradise, if that sort of thing is your bag — though one suspects that if it is then you probably find your hotels through some kind of underground golfers’ network. Maybe a TabletGolf is in the offing. But until then, the rest of us love the Algarve for the sun, the sea, and at places like the Vila Joya, the seclusion.
author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com