Lisboa Golf Coast; for the perfect spring holiday

Your skis have been gathering dust in the back of your closet for a couple of months now, as it has been that long since your last holiday, and you do need to get out of London every few months to survive London. After your winter holiday spending a week in a ski resort, it is now time for your spring holiday. Go away for a week, to the sunshine and open spaces. I have the best suggestion.

A Holiday at the Lisboa Golf Coast
With beautiful beaches, everything you want from fantastic food to the best wines, sunshine, miles of open spaces and breathtaking scenery, this is what you need to relax. Lisboa region is the perfect golf destination. The tranquillity and satisfaction to be found on the greens are matched only by the quality, number and diversity of Lisboa’s golf courses. Over 20 golf courses can be found along Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Setúbal, Palmela and Sesimbra. All courses with their own characteristics, different scenery and charm. ‘the best thing about Golf is that every golf course is different, which makes every game different. A tennis field is  the same everywhere, but no golf course is the same’  commented a keen golfer enjoying a game in  sunny Portugal.

Cascais
We spend the first night in the historic hotel Pousada de Cascais which was placed in the recovery of an old Fortress built over 500 years ago. The hotel includes an indoor pool,  sauna,  fitness centre and large luxurious rooms for the most pleasant stay. The best thing is that the hotel is right in the centre of the beautiful city of Cascais. Just outside the hotel you can walk along the beach towards the centre with a view that will stay imprinted in your mind forever. The Pousada de Cascais is one of the first hotels in Europe to have an Art District. Aside from the numerous art exhibitions and demonstrations inside Pousada, the Art District features six art galleries and six open studios where the most important artists of the country are working.

Oitavos
As a Londoner I was blown away by The Oitavos Hotel and Golf Course. When living in a city with so much lack of space this feels like you are set free. The relatively new hotel, build in 2010, was designed to give guests an ultimate feeling of space. The only walls on the ground floor are for the toilets and the kitchen, and the kitchen’s walls are from glass where you get to witness breakfast, lunch and dinner being freshly prepared. The rooms are extremely spacious and each face the breathtaking view to the golf course and the sea. From almost every corner of the golf course you have a sea view.

Can’t Golf?
Give it a try. In every hotel and on every course. Members of staff will help you learn everything you need to know about golf and help you arrange everything you need to start your golf holiday. Consider getting a lesson at Oitavos, and before you know it, you’ll be coming back every year.

Miragem Hotel
The  Cascais Miragem Hotel  welcomes you with an eccentric fountain at the entrance and a palace-like hall. The large hotel offers a range of different rooms for your events, meetings, conferences. Also the hotel rooms come in six different characters, and a room with great scenic views which literally take your breath away is definitely recommended. When we walked into the hotel’s restaurant we were entertained by their resident  who played some lovely jazz.. We then proceeded to a private room for the evenings dinner.

Lisbon’s Sport Club
Somewhere in the woods, located in Serra da Carregueira, Belas, circa 20 kilometres from Lisbon,  where everything you see around you is greenery and golf cars, is the Lisbon’s Sport Club. Trees block the wind and give you the much need tranquil feeling.  Inaugurated in 1964, with nine holes designed by Hawtree & Sons, it was initially extended to 14 and finally to 18. The holes are characterized by an assortment of different designs, which implies a range of different and interesting game possibilities.
‘you can’t just walk in Barcelona arena and play football, or play tennis in Wimbledon, but you can play on golf courses where world famous players have played their biggest games’

Montado 
A hotel and golf course with a large open space, with few trees, few hills and with many ponds for a more challenging field. The Montado Hotel & Golf Resort  was launched in May 2009 located on Portugal’s Costa Azul Algeruz (Palmela), near the Castle of Palmela, surrounded by vineyards and also  known as the famous wine region of Palmela / Setúbal (City of the wine in 2009). Wine here was developed in a harmonious whole of Cork Trees, where streams and lakes make the magical beauty of this Resort.
The Golf Course is carefully inserted in a landscape that helps to break the daily life routine, well known for its 18th hole with the green located on an island.
To extend your wine knowledge and get to know  a  little bit more about the Portuguese production, stop at Bacalhôa Wine Cellars for a wine tasting session. But don’t forget to also try the Portuguese sheep cheese, the combination is  absolutely fantastic.

Palace
We transferred to Lisbon where we stayed at the centre based Dom Pedro Palace Hotel. With 19 floors, a room on one of the top floors gives you a stunning view over the city, the Tejo River and S. Jorge Castle. Perfect for your stay in Lisbon. The hotel offers a wide range of meeting rooms, a business centre,  spa facilities, a bar and restaurant, fresh breakfast buffet and a classic design of the hotel’s interior, which does make you feel like you’re in a palace.
For our diner we went to Lisboa à Noite, a restaurant with Portuguese authentic and fine cuisine, specialised in Portuguese seafood accompanied by the finest wines.

City Golf
Near to the city centre of Lisbon is Paço do Lumair golf course, a unique 9 hole course . A great place to play a challenging round. The two floor covered Academy, has 32 bay lake range. It also has a large short game practice area, distance markings and various flags, a large bunker.

Sightseeing 
When in Lisbon, do take a day to go sightseeing. There is nothing like walking around an illuminated city like Lisbon discovering all it has to offer, from historical buildings best found in the area of Belém, to the city’s main square, to the shops in Rue Augusta. Visit Saint George’s Castle and look over the whole city being blown away by the view. After reaching the castle, on top of a hill, have a relaxing lunch at Casa do Leão restaurant. And last but not the least, you cannot leave Portugal without tasting a Pastéis de Belém. I mean it.

Our Verdict:
With a large range and variety of hotels, restaurants, golf courses, golf resorts and fantastic scenery including lovely weather, Lisboa Golf Coast is most certainly up there on our list of impressive golfing destinations guaranteed to offer you an all round experience.

For more information go to Visit Lisboa
Pousada de Cascais Cidadela Historic Hotel & Art District
Rua Jau, 54 – 1300-314
Lisboa – Portugal
Tel: +351 214814300
www.pestana.com

The Oitavos Hotel
Rua de Oitavos
Quinta da Marinha
2750-374 Cascais
Tel: +351 21 486 0020
www.theoitavos.com/

Cascais Mirgem Hotel
Av. Marginal n.8554
2754-536 Cascais – Portugal
Tel: + 351 210 060 600
www.cascaismirage.com/

Lisbon’s Sport Club
Casal da Carregueira – Belas
2605-213 Belas
Tel: +351 21 431 00 77
www.lisbonclub.com/

Montado Hotel & Golf Resort
Urbanização do Campo de Golfe do Montado
Lote 1, Algeruz
2950-051 Palmela
Tel: +351 265 708 150
www.montadoresort.com/

Bacalhôa Wine Cellars
Tel: +351 212 198 067
www.bacalhoa.com/

Dom Pedro Palace Hotel
Av. Eng. Duarte Pacheco, 24,
1070-109 Lisboa
Tel: +351 21 389 66 00
www.dompedro.com/

Paço do Lumiar
Rua Formosinho Sanchez, nº 79
Urbanização Quinta dos Alcoutins
1600-038 Lisboa – PORTUGAL
Tel: +351 217 591 719
www.golf-in-lisbon.com/