Dona Filipa and San Lorenzo Golf Resort
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This elegant, stylish and traditional hotel has a reputation for excellent service, superb golf and extensive leisure facilities. Located a short drive from Faro airport, it nestles at the edge of the golden sands of the Vale do Lobo estate, offering 154 guest rooms and suites decorated in traditional Portuguese style décor.
This charming, olde worlde ambiance is accompanied by breathtaking views of the sea and is ideal for a golf getaway, family holiday or a relaxing romantic weekend away. With tennis courts, an outdoor, heated pool, private concession on the beach and two restaurants, guests are never short of things to do and try… while children are provided a unique experience at its Kangaroo Club – a professionally-staffed centre dedicated to childcare and youth entertainment. Guests also have exclusive access to San Lorenzo, one of the finest courses in Europe.
Only a brief drive from the hotel, it boasts fairways that run alongsidesaltwater marshes, freshwater lagoons and the glistening Atlantic.
It was voted the Algarve’s leading course in Golf World’s continental Europe Top 100 last year and was designed by respected American architects Joseph Lee and Rocky Roquemore.
San Lorenzo is the jewel in the crown of the Algarve, guaranteeing hole after hole of challenging and highly entertaining golf.
The course is located within the Ria Formosa nature reserve and estuary and many of the holes give way to breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean and distant mountain backdrops. All 18 holes feel in complete harmony with the nature reserve… with the course and surrounding area playing home to over 70 species of bird, including herons, white storks, coots, black wingedstilts and the rare purple gallinule. The course contains two nine-hole loops located in a figure of eight with the handsome clubhouse in the middle.
The unique nature of each hole, coupled with the stunning nature and idyllic surroundings sees plenty of discussions between golfers as to their favourite hole. Some go for the dog-leg par-4 6th, with its elevated tee that looks out to sea and is especially severe on those who opt to drive but misjudge the line and distance. Others favour the par-5 8th, where a well hit drive between a lake to the right and pines to the left is the order of the day, which – if you make it – is followed by a tough shot onto a virtually island green with raised putting surface and an unforgiving roll. Others opt for the closing challenge – see Must Play Hole – but no matter what hole the golfers and guests settle on as their favourite, they’re all in agreement that San Lorenzo is up there with the best in the world.
