Makeover for Tivoli Almansor Hotel
Makeover for Tivoli Almansor Hotel The Tivoli Almansor hotel is undergoing major refurbishment this winter and aims to be open at the beginning of April 2017. Having been open for 25 years, the four-star hotel was showing signs of aging when the new owners, Minor International, closed its doors in November 2016. The new and improved plans will no doubt boost the hotel’s status to five stars, which are certainly more fitting to its...
Stand Up Portugal
Honuhele SUP boards, bringing manufacturing back to Portugal indsurfer Guilherme Martins welcomed Inside Magazine to his surf shop, overlooking the sprawling beach of Praia da Rocha, to find out more about his stand up paddle- boards business. Born in northern Portugal, Guilherme came back to his parents’ hometown, Portimão, and began to search for a beach concession where he could rent Stand Up Paddle- boards (SUP). In 2012 he found...
Unique felt pieces
Water, soap and the pressure of Maria Custódio’s hands compress the wool to felt. A simple, ancient technique that, coupled with Maria’s imagination, allows for an infinite number of design possibilities. Unlike in Germany or France, the art of felting is not well known in Portugal where only a handful of artisans practise the art of wet or dry felt. Maria Custódio is one of these artists. Although she lived for the first...
The life of the song thrush – A regular winter guest to the Algarve
A Regular winter guest to the Algarve The male, which apart from the singing, can hardly be distinguished from the female, helps with feeding the young with insects, worms, caterpillars and smashed snails. The song thrush (Turdus philomelos or Tordo pinto in Portuguese) is closely related to the common black- bird, but it is a bit smaller. With its striking and beautiful, flute-like song in the spring, the song thrush is familiar to...
From the life of the Flamingo
Next to the bee-eater and hoopoe, the flamingo, also referred to as the greater flamingo, is one of the exotic birds visitors to the Algarve would most like to see Until the 1980s, there were hardly any flamingos in the western part of the Algarve. Nowadays, this somewhat grotesque, but also elegant-looking large bird, can be observed at various locations. Since this species prefers brackish water or salt water, larger groups...
Art Attack
Exploring the vast array of art in Ferragudo Just a few years ago, you’d be hard pushed to find much in the way of an art scene in Ferragudo. Now we’re spoilt for choice with a variety of venues to choose from. The first and by far the largest is Galerio, in the Arade Congress Centre, overlooking Portimão’s old bridge. The building is semi-industrial in appearance and has a slightly unfinished feel that lends itself very well as the...
Macdonald Monchique
Inside visited the new Macdonald Monchique Resort & Spa, a luxury haven away from the busy coastline Anyone hoping to escape the scorching Algarve heat and its bustling beaches can now enjoy a luxurious holiday in the foothills of the beautiful Monchique Mountains. The former Longevity Wellness Resort, which had been closed for several months, has been taken over by leading UK hotel group MacDonald Hotels & Resorts and...
JUMPING FOR JOY
– July 6, 2016 | Text Mia Wallace Algar Seco cliff jumpers are making a big splash Cliff jumping may seem like a crazy new adrenaline activity, but it’s actually been around for a very long time. It was first documented in 1770, when Kahek- ili II, king of Maui, engaged in a practice called “lele kawa”, which in English means to leap into the ocean, feet first, without splashing. The king’s warriors were challenged to participate,...
LAGOA’S GOLDEN COAST
JOURNALIST ANABELA GASPAR TAKES US ON A GUIDED WALK ALONG ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR STRETCHES OF COASTLINE IN THE AREA Awalk along Lagoa’s coastline is a thrill, no matter how many times you do it. For this issue, we discovered the stretch between Praia do Paraíso and Praia do Vale da Lapa – an un-signposted section. No matter how many times I walk above Lagoa’s cliffs, I am always left speechless by its stunning scenery. The...
CANINE LUXURY
OPENED IN 2011 AND EXPANDED IN 2016, HOTEL DO CÃO IS SETTING TAILS WAGGING Browsing the Facebook page of Hotel do Cão, a pet hotel nestled in the countryside in Vale da Rainha, on the road from Portimão to Monchique, we find hundred of pho- tographs of happy pooches of all breeds and sizes playfully stretching their paws in an idyllic fenced area. Looking at the sheer number of photo albums, it’s no surprise that 48-year- old...
