Luxurious ground floor apartment in Sao Lourenco
£350000
Social life in Quinta do Lago can be as active and varied as owners choose. The golf clubs and four magnificent courses are a focal point. There is also a wide range of other sporting and leisure activities such as tennis, sunbathing, swimming, windsurfing on the lake, sailing, fishing, horse riding and beach combing.
Quinta do Lago has its own shopping centre, Quinta Shopping, an attractive area of 10,000m2 modelled on the concept of London's Covent Garden. Forty shops include some of the top brand names and offer a wide range of products and services.
Eating out in Quinta do Lago and the surrounding area is a true pleasure. There are many restaurants offering an excellent range of cuisine to suit all tastes and when the dining is over a vibrant nightlife awaits in the resort's nightclubs.
Quinta do Lago is 20 minute's drive from Faro International Airport, three hours from Lisbon and two hours from Seville in Spain. There are daily international flights direct to Faro from most major European cities.
The villages within Quinta do Lago:
Encosta do Lago is located on a south-western hillside near the watersports lake and Ria Formosa estuary beach. It comprises of top quality villas, apartments and a superb club facility with a huge communal swimming pool, pool bar, tennis courts, gym, sauna and a restaurant.
Lakeside Village is built on a 10-hectare sloping site bordering the windsurfing lake and the 16th fairway of the Quinta do Lago South Course. This development is a mixture of apartments, townhouses and villas. Some of the villas have private swimming pools. Facilities include two communal swimming pools, two tennis courts, reception and bar (not open all year round).
Pinheiros Altos Village consists of exceptionally high quality, well designed apartments, townhouses and villas. Some have private (plunge) pools and overlook the fairways. Some of the apartments have access to communal pools for the use of 10 apartments, for example. Village residents also have use of a communal swimming pool and snack bar at the resort reception. The Individual Villas all have private pools, large private gardens and are built to the highest specifications. All properties within Pinheiros Altos have Real Estate golf titles for the exclusive Pinheiros Altos Golf Course. The Pinheiros Altos development benefits from a very highly regarded Club House with an excellent restaurant.
Sao Lourenco development has established itself as one of the best on the Algarve. It is renowned for its high standard and unique location in Quinta do Lago. Sao Lourenco is set on a wooded plateau, protected from other developments. It boasts exclusive apartments, surrounded by the fairways of the Sao Lourenco Golf course, with splendid views over the golf course or the lake, which forms part of the Ria Formosa Natural Park. Facilities include a reception, outdoor swimming pool and tennis court.
Victory Village is located close to the beach and the watersports centre. The residential area comprises of studios, apartments, townhouses and villas. The recreational area has large swimming pools, a pool bar, two tennis courts, reception and administration office.
Vilar do Golf has a mix of apartments and townhouses set in landscaped gardens and backing onto the golf course. A feature of the resort is the Bobby Jones Bar and Grill. The Jim Stewart Tennis Centre is also attached to the resort. Other facilities in Vilar do Golf include a swimming pool centre, with two pools for adults and one for the children, saunas, squash court, gym, supermarket, gift shop and reception.
Monte da Quinta Club is a private development within Quinta do Lago, containing lovely villas with pools and townhouses with plunge pools. An apart-hotel is being built. The Club overlooks several golf fairways and provide a complete range of services.
Select Resorts also has a selection of properties for sale in the other developments of Quinta do Lago, along with various individual villas in the resort and in the areas of Vale do Lobo, Vale do Garrao, Vale Verde, Quinta Verde among others.
The Algarve has become a magnet for many holiday visitors. Huge numbers of visitors become bewitched by the area's charm and beauty and consequently buy a property there! Some retire to the Algarve, others seek to start a new life away from the hustle and strain of a colder climate and a harsher working environment. Still others buy as an investment to rent out as a holiday accommodation and the majority of the villas and apartments rented by Select Resorts in this region are privately owned.
Shopping facilities and choice of merchandise in the Algarve have seen a tremendous increase in the last few years. In the Almancil area there are supermarkets, sophisticated interior design studios, antique and furniture shops, garden centres, fashion boutiques, shoe shops and high class jewellers. Portugal has a rich tradition of handicraft and folk art, many cottage industries producing individual handmade goods, which should not be overlooked whilst trying to find something original. Portugal is also famous for its pottery and hand painted tiles, Portuguese crystal, porcelain, Arraiolos carpets and lacemaking.
The Algarvean temperament adds much to the relaxed social atmosphere of the region. The local people are generally courteous and their natural hospitality and acceptance of foreign tourists lead to a cosmopolitan cultural ethos within the Portuguese society. Much to the relief of European visitors, many Portuguese people have an excellent command of English, particularly those working in the tourist industry. However, they appreciate it if visitors make an effort to converse in Portuguese.
SURROUNDING AREA:
Albufeira is often overlooked by tourists and Old Albufeira is actually a very pretty town. Its Moorish influence is easy to see in Minaret-inspired chimney pots and whitewashed buildings. It claims to have the largest sandy beach in the whole of the Algarve and the waters are particularly clean and unpolluted. The Portuguese love their fish and in Albufeira all fish is caught locally. We especially recommend the restaurants in this fishing town.
Almancil offers a very varied picture. This town has become an important centre for providing support services to feed the needs of two nearby stylish well established holiday and rental developments: Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo. The town has many shops, banks, post office etc. and some of the finest restaurants in the Algarve are located within the area.
Faro, the capital of the Algarve, was a sleepy provincial town twenty years ago but now has all the facilities of a modern European town with an attractive shopping area. The gateway to the Algarve can be deceptive from the outskirts. However the centre radiates from the old walled town with its delightful square and orange trees, church, museum and several excellent restaurants.
Loule is situated 18 km (11m) north east of Faro. The weekly Saturday morning market is famous amongst the locals and holidaymakers. The market has an excellent selection of fruit and vegetables, along with fresh fish every day. You will often see artisans working brass, copper or clay in and about the streets of Loule - craft is still very active in this area.
Olaho is very like a north African town beacuse the houses and the church are built in the shape of white cubes, sometimes two or three storeys high. Olaho's style owes very little to the influence of Moorish culture and is the result of modern trading links between its merchants and those of the North African coasts. Similar buildings can be found in Tunisia and Libya. The most attractive area of the city is the old part, although surrounded by more recent buildings. Fishing is still popular in Olaho but nothing like as important as in the past.
Ferragudo enjoys all the traditions that the Algarve has to offer. This is a little fishing village of narrow cobbled streets and steps with a very tranquil and relaxed atmosphere. One can enjoy a drink in the Square and below lies the old cobbled alleyways meandering up the hill to the town's church from where panoramic views extend over the estuary to the famous 17th century fort. A selection of fine seafood restaurants line Ferragudo harbour front often visited by the rich and famous who moor their boats in the harbour and "pop in" for a spot of lunch.
Lagoa is known for its wine. Standing on a small hill, it is surrounded by vineyards and whitewashed houses.
Lagos is a very peaceful town, with a charming sandy cove. It is an old fishing village which has become a popular holiday resort. The beaches around Lagos are some of the most beautiful of the Algarve, like Praia de Dona Ana, which can be reached after a 25 minute walk from the centre of the town, Praia do Camilo and Meia Praia, where the sands stretch for 4 km (2.5 miles) east of Lagos. However, it is the promontory named Ponta da Piedade, sheltering the bay of Lagos which is most admired by visitors, with its caves, rocks and wonderfully transparent waters. North of Lagos, Barragem de Bravura is a water reservoir offering fine views.
