Viceroy, Ombria Algarve

I recently visited Ombria Algarve. I love Faro and this hotel is only a short 40 minutes transfer into the countryside from Faro Airport after a short flight from the UK, so really easy to do as a short break, multi centre trip or longer holiday. The hotel does not look like a hotel at all on arrival. Looking uphill it looks like a small village, whitewashed buildings and terracotta roofs surrounded by the golf course, greenery and nature. It is so peaceful, all you can hear is nature. The different buildings house the accommodations and facilities, giving that village feel. No big high story hotel and everything is made from local materials. With great dining options, beautiful spa, salon, four pools, 18 hole golf course, gym, wellness classes, kids club and some great local experiences too – it’s a perfect choice to relax, get away from it all and just chill with good food & wine. Spend your time on site or if you feel like venturing out for the day or evening you can do car hire or take a taxi / hotel shuttle. Are you a beach or pool person? You can do both here with four pools to choose from. The beach at the local nature reserve is about a 30 minutes shuttle ride and the hotel will pack you a towel, water and reserve you a lounger too. Im a pool person but I did have a swim in the sea here, and it was lovely. The beach is a long stretch of sand on the western end of the Ria Formosa Natural Park with some public and some reserved areas for hotel guests. The area is a natural landscape with pinewoods, dunes and boardwalks. The beach itself is around one mile long. There are also two restaurants across the boardwalks, situated over the dunes - The Bold Octopus and 2 Passos. We had a lovely trip out for a couple of hours, finishing with a cocktail on the rooftop at The Bold Octopus. The hotel is about 30 mins transfer from the pretty town of Loule which is about 15 km to the north-west of Faro. Loule is one of the Algarve's most authentic inland towns and it's the perfect destination for a cultural day trip from the hotel, where you can visit the market, wander the cobbled streets, go to the museum, art gallery or visit for dinner and enjoy some beautiful tapas and Portuguese wine. We had a rooftop cocktail and beautiful Tapas at 11 Da Villa – a lovely night. A lovely stay here and I would love to return and spend more time here. I would definitely do it as part of a longer Algarve trip, splitting maybe 10 nights - visiting other areas too.