Columbia Hillen
Hugging gently rolling grassy hills overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Portugal’s Algarve, Vila Vita Parc is a 5-star resort spreading across lush sub-tropical gardens crisscrossed by cobblestone pathways.
Columbia Hillen
Launched by German couple, Reinfried and Anneliese Pohl, 32 years ago and now operated by their two sons, this 203-room resort features six swimming pools, seven bars, six boutique shops and eight restaurants (with another four just outside the resort).
The owners also serve their own wines from their vineyards, Herdade dos Grous in Alentejo and Quinta do Valbom in northern Portugal. They also have three private yachts used to take guests on special trips along the coast and to nearby caves.
Columbia Hillen
And if that isn’t enough to impress, they have also created their own perfume, Alsul (meaning ‘in the south’) which you can buy in the resort’s shops.
Flower and herb-filled gardens, tall palm trees and conifers and water features lead guests to indoor and outdoor swimming pools, heated and non-heated, a gym, a Sisley Spa with massage facilities and a sauna and steam room.
Columbia Hillen
An interesting design aspect of the resort is its tribute to traditional artistry reflected in ceramics from Porches, calcada tiles on pathways and azulejo tiles on walls.
Columbia Hillen
For guest convenience, the resort is divided into a family area, multi-room, whitewashed adobe-like buildings with blue trimmings perched on a hillside overlooking the sea, and adult residences on the other side of the resort. The family section features a Kids Club, clay tennis courts, a small grassy football field, an outdoor pool with swim-up bar, a basketball court and a mini-golf course. Enough to keep even the most rambunctious of children satisfied. The adult section features a health center with infinity pool and sauna.
Columbia Hillen
To pamper yourself, visit Sisley Spa, a Paris-based skincare brand, which offers many different treatments in a 14 rooms at the resort. Therapist Andreea Alonso from Galicia in Spain impressed me with her skills conducting a Swedish massage. Afterwards, I enjoyed ginger and lemon herbal tea in the tranquility of a relaxation room with the gentle sound of water flowing down its walls to caress pebbles on the floor. The spa also offers group and private sessions in yoga and meditation and has a physiotherapist with expertise in traditional Chinese medicine.
Columbia Hillen
A wide range of workshops for guests including designing traditional Portuguese tiles, making bread and macaroons and special DJ training for teenagers.
For added outdoor enjoyment, a winding three-kilometer walkway leads from the resort along a scenic cliff path overlooking rugged rocks and soft sand beaches to the nearby town of Armacao de Pera.
Columbia Hillen
Our villa, 353, like others in what’s termed the adult-only ‘Residencies’ section, featured a verandah with privacy hedges out front with whicker chaise longues and armchairs.
Columbia Hillen
Inside, our bathroom, with double sink and walk-in shower, and bedroom were separated by a white wooden screen. Soft cloth armchairs and sofa and a speckled marble-topped coffee table provided ample corner space for relaxation. Decorations included framed paintings of Portuguese traditional tiles on the walls, photos of the resort on a shelf and cylindrical vases shaped like traditional octopus pots. A pink orchid in a pot added a nice touch as did a vertical shelf of classic novels by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen.
Columbia Hillen
Breakfast is served in two locations at the resort, at its Atlantico restaurant, only for adults, and at Bela Vita, mainly for families.
My companion and I used the former and were impressed with the wide selection of buffet and a la carte choices.
Columbia Hillen
A gold-colored dome-like structure facing the ocean houses some of the resort’s restaurants reflecting a strong effort by owners on locally-grown food products. Giardino is the resort’s Italian restaurant where one evening I enjoyed dinner of Sicilian Style eggplant parmesan as a starter followed by a thick grilled veal cutlet accompanied by a full-bodied Tuscan red and my companion carpaccio and grilled sea bream.
Columbia Hillen
We also ate dinner at Atlantico with clear views over the ocean where the emphasis is on organic vegetarian dishes, with an option to complement them with fish and seafood.
Columbia Hillen
Innovative elements by Chef João Viegas included reconstructed Algarvian carrots with cumin, coriander and garlic, a brioche pouch filled with shrimp mayo with garlic powder, a version of the traditional Portuguese gambas (shrimps) á guilho, and an earthy-flavored assortment of radishes, horseradish bonbons, mustard seeds and black truffle shavings.
Columbia Hillen
Other creative dishes were the distinct blue egg of Araucana chicken combined with soft potato mousse complemented by crunchy watercress and fish velouté over barnacles and tartar of sea bass and sea bream. Kudos go to restaurant manager and sommelier, Marco Pereira, who suggested some excellent wines as pairings.
Columbia Hillen
Another restaurant choice is Adega (meaning ‘wine cellar’) which emphasizes Portuguese cuisine. Designed in traditional style, it features a wood and cane ceiling, terracotta tile floor, bare stone walls, a large open fireplace, wine barrels supporting tabletops, woven wicker lampshades, and even cork table mats.
Our dinner there comprised of fish soup, clams, roasted octopus and duck rice with bacon and chorizo. We also tasted the owners’s wine, a young full full-bodied red.
Columbia Hillen
Interested in eating outside the resort? A special shuttle bus takes guests a few kilometers away to the boardwalk restaurant of Nana in Armacao de Pera, also owned by Vila Vita Parc. Here, from a wooden terrace, you enjoy a glimmering panorama of sand and sea.
Columbia Hillen
The menu is comprehensive, ranging from various Mediterranean dips such as spicy feta cheese, yogurt and chickpea to salads including falafel, Greek and burrata. Enticing mains range from garlic-marinated lamb, chicken souvlaki, moussaka and beef sirloin to seafood dishes such as shrimp, sea bass and cockles. Calamari rings fried tempura-style with garlic and lemon sauce were the highlight for us, as were the delicate warm wraps of goat cheese and beef pastrami and the orzo dish for two with generous servings of prawns in white wine and fresh cilantro.
Columbia Hillen
Live evening music provides entertainment for guests, some of whom partake of the resort’s special homemade vintage cocktails including a vermouth aged in a barrel bar-side comprising Portuguese gin, Drambuie, Scotch and Spanish sherry. Mixologist Andre Martins is more than glad to serve you a glass or two.
Columbia Hillen
For a self-contained resort with an abundance of activities in a region that enjoys more than 300 sunny days a year, Vila Vita Parc is a good choice.
