Vila Monte, Moncarapacho
Privilege. That’s the sensation for those who arrive at this temple of the senses. A resort where privacy, exoticism, calm, silence and originality are the order of the day.
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There’s no greater reward for the traveller than to discover somewhere unique. An unexplored oasis, far from the crowds, unmentioned in tourist guidebooks, no car park for coaches. It could be an old-style village, a hidden beach, a restaurant kept under wraps by the locals. In this case, it’s a resort.
Vila Monte Resort is a magical moment, a bridge between east and west, a set of buildings dotted around a lush garden of lawns, olive trees, palms, cypresses, fig trees and weeping willows, where there are three pools to land a little blue to all that green. Part of the Relais & Châteaux chain, the resort is located in rural Algarve, where you can still find agriculture providing smalls and colours to the countryside. However, there are beaches ten minutes away and the towns of Tavira and Olhão close by.
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The inspiration for the Vila Monte concept was the Moorish occupation of southern Portugal. This can be seen in the fabrics, the tapestries, lampshades and sculpted metal tables brought over from Morocco and in the garden of orange trees that leads up to the Orangerie restaurant. On arrival, guests are welcomed with a cinnamon and mint tea. Such welcoming touches are everywhere, including a letter from the hotel’s director in every room with different ways to enjoy Vila Monte, which is just one more of this place’s rituals.
The Kasbah Spa is located in its own building, as if it were a sanctuary. Covered in bougainvilleas, behind an ornate wooden door al the way from Marrakech, the spa offers serene treatments and massages. Amongst the vegetation we find the guest houses: the Riad, a house in ochre tones with rooms arranged around a fountain, the Orangerie, suites around an Orange grove in a building that houses dozens of swallows’ nests, and Vila Indigo, an art deco structure where the focus is on privacy.
At the Orangerie restaurant, it’s possible to enjoy the day’s pickings from the organic vegetable patch: coriander, parsley, mint, rosemary, almonds and oranges, which are used for the breakfast juice.
Therein lies a tale. The farm where Vila Monte us located, was bought in 1978 by the German painter Adolf Holtschlag, who renovated the original house and built a studio. The German friends that visited him made “Quinta do Adolfo” so well-known that the artist decided to create new buildings to receive guests. In 2003, well-known lawyer, José Miguel Júdice, bought the farm for the Lágrimas group. The deal included the purchase of over 200 original works of art by Adolf, which are found all over the property and give the place a museum-like feel.
Vila Monte Resort, Sítio dos Caliços, Moncarapacho
+351 289 790 790
€119 – €515
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by Manuela Carona
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