Algarve, Portugal

Verdelago Resort

Price per night from$559.36

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR532.90), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

Down-to-surf residences

Setting

Pine-scented praia

Taking its name from the nearby beach – specifically, the emerald-green waters lapping its shoreline – Verdelago Resort immerses you in the coastal wilds of the eastern Algarve. The sun-bleached residences, cabana-lined swimming pools, and wellness dome are all tucked between rugged dunes, cork oaks, and pine trees, blending the minimalist indoors with barefoot-inviting outdoors. There are boats to board to nearby deserted isles, bicycles to borrow for nature park pedals, and Atlantic-based activities in abundance.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A welcome drink each on arrival

Facilities

Photos Verdelago Resort facilities

Need to know

Rooms

47.

Check–Out

11am, and check-in is at 4pm. Both are flexible, on request and subject to availability.

More details

Rates include a Continental breakfast (with gluten-free options), made using locally sourced, organic products like fig jams and farm-fresh eggs. There’s a two-night minimum stay when booking the Three-Bedroom Townhouse with a Jacuzzi.

Also

The ground floor apartments aren’t specially adapted but are better suited to guests with mobility issues than the split-level townhouses; there’s a wide boardwalk with step-free access to the beach.

Hotel closed

The hotel is closed from 17 November 2024 until 2 April 2025.

At the hotel

24-hour reception, bikes to borrow, nature park, lake, walking trails, tennis courts, football pitch, sand volleyball court, beach club, watersports centre, lounges, terraces and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: air-conditioning, smart TVs, fully equipped kitchen, Nespresso coffee machine, tea-making kit, free bottled water and organic Oliófora bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Floaty fabrics in creamy colours and furniture crafted from natural materials set a soothing tone throughout Verdelago Resort’s townhouses and apartments. To feel like you’re taking over a beachfront holiday home, the Three-Bedroom Townhouses are split over several floors with spacious indoor-outdoor living areas – some even come with a rooftop hot tub looking out to sea.

Poolside

There are two outdoor pools to choose from; one by the main clubhouse and the second is out towards the northeast of the resort. Each sleek swimming spot is lined with stylish loungers, parasols, and cabanas, and looks out across the dune-backed beach and crashing Atlantic waves.

Spa

Wrapped within the leafy embrace of the resort’s sprawling pine forest, Verdelago’s wellness dome is a nature-cocooned space for massages and facials, as well as one-to-one yoga and pilates classes.

Packing tips

As much as you can kick back and relax, there are also hiking and biking trails to hit, plus land-and-sea sports centres to keep you active, making lightweight athleisure gear and practical swimwear a must-bring.

Also

Verdelago’s detailed harvest calendar lets foodies plan the perfect time to visit, whether it’s the season for citrus fruits (April), figs (July) or chestnuts (October).

Pet‐friendly

Well-behaved dogs are welcome to stay in any of the townhouses and apartments for €50 a night, you’ll just need to complete a pet request form when booking. See more pet-friendly hotels in Algarve.

Children

All ages are welcome; the resort’s two- and three-bedroom townhouses and apartments are ideal for families looking for an at-home atmosphere.

Best for

Beach babes of all ages will love exploring the dunes and nature sanctuary, with pushchair-friendly walkways all the way down to the beach.

Recommended rooms

The Three-Bedroom Townhouses sleep up to six, and each bedroom has its own ensuite bathroom (no shower-time arguments). Cots can be added to any room on request.

Crèche

Verdelago’s kids’ club is open every day. The activities timetable is designed to immerse little Smiths in nature, as well as offering some indoor downtime for arts and crafts.

Activities

Adventurers aged three-and-up can horse-ride at Tavira riding school, as well as climb trees, learn bushcraft skills like wood carving and ropework, and over-14s can shoot across to Spain and back on the world’s only cross-border zipline.

Swimming pool

Both of the resort’s pools are child-friendly but unsupervised, so you’ll need to keep an eye on little ones.

Meals

Your apartment’s fully equipped kitchen allows you to keep mealtimes flexible; highchairs and children’s menus are also provided in the restaurant.

Babysitting

Babysitters are available on request and for an extra charge, with at least 24 hours’ notice.

No need to pack

The hotel doesn’t have any baby kit, so bring any essentials.

Sustainability efforts

As Portugal’s first resort which meets Green Globe Certification standards from construction to completion, Verdelago Resort is built with its surroundings in mind – all 200 acres of them, in fact, which have been transformed into a nature sanctuary (home to over 100 local wildlife species, including rare butterflies and birds). The installation of a solar plant not only means that the resort is self-sufficient, but also supplies the local community with renewable energy. Verdelago’s integrated water management system reuses rainwater while actively monitoring and controlling consumption, and the bathrooms and spa are stocked with eco-friendly products from the all-natural Portuguese beauty brand, Oliófora.

Food and Drink

Photos Verdelago Resort food and drink

Top Table

Reserve the chef’s table to admire each plate from prepping to presenting.

Dress Code

Oversized linen shirts will make pool-to-dinner transitions a breeze.

Hotel restaurant

Taking its name from a seaherb which grows along the Algarve’s salt marshes, Salicornia restaurant (set in the main clubhouse) draws inspiration from the land and sea for its seasonal menu. Venetian chef Marco Alban helms the open kitchen and oversees the locally sourced stock on display in the resort’s marketplace, combining traditional Portuguese dishes (like grilled octopus and lamb shank) with zesty Mediterranean flavours. Save room for the Algarve rice pudding, sweetened with local organic honey. The resort also arranges pizza workshops, gourmet picnics, wine and cheese tastings, and champagne and oyster experiences on request.

Hotel bar

Just next to the restaurant, Verdelago’s green-tiled bar is a sun-drenched spot for cocktails and chilled Portuguese wines. Hanging plants, rattan pendant lights and decorative baskets woven by local artisans lend a bohemian, surfer-shack feel to the indoor-outdoor lounge. For a full-blown beach beverage, order the Salineiro cocktail – it’s served in a large conch shell on a bed of local salt (hence the name).

Last orders

The restaurant stops serving at 10.30pm.

Room service

Dishes can be delivered straight to your door round-the-clock.

Location

Photos Verdelago Resort location
Address
Verdelago Resort
Praia Verde Lago Altura
Castro Marim
8950-411
Portugal

Stretching along the eastern Algarve’s golden shoreline, Verdelago Resort lies between Altura and Praia Verde, 90 minutes across the Spanish border from Seville.

Planes

Well-connected Faro International is the closest airport, a 45-minute drive from the hotel. You could also fly into Lisbon, which is under three hours away by car. Private transfers can be arranged on request.

Trains

The tiny station of Monte Gordo is a seven-minute drive from the hotel, with regular trains to the rest of the Algarve and Lisbon (via Faro) on high-speed Alfa Pendular routes. There’s no ticket office or machine at Monte Gordo, so you’ll need to purchase online or directly from a conductor.

Automobiles

Having your own set of wheels will put the Algarve’s Atlantic coast within easy reach for day trips to and from its many sandy beaches, fishing villages, and sprawling salt pans. There’s free secure parking at the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

Water, water, everywhere. Start by getting wet-suited and booted at Verdelago Resort’s watersports centre, which offers equipment hire for sailing, paddle boarding, kayaking, windsurfing, and fishing – with experienced instructors on hand for private lessons. There are bikes to borrow for wildlife enthusiasts to pedal across to the Ria Formosa Natural Park’s sapphire-blue lagoons and islets, where flamingo sightings are frequent affairs; or, cycle through the resort’s pine forests and dune-backed tracks. The resort partners with nearby stables to organise horse-riding along the golden beaches, as well as half- and full-day Jeep safaris and olive oil tastings at a family-run grove in Monterosa. Gyrocopter tours give you a bird’s eye view of all this natural beauty, with weather-dependent flights over the marshlands and salt flats of Castro Marim. Back on home turf, the resort’s football pitches, tennis courts, and fitness trails might even tempt sunbathers off their loungers for a game or two.

Local restaurants

Fishermen bring fresh hauls of oysters, clams and prawns to the string of seafood restaurants along the small coastal village of Cacela Velha, including Casa da Igreja (which also draws a local crowd for its cheesecakes). For generous shellfish platters served in a breezy beachfront setting, reserve an outdoor table at O Infante in nearby Castro Marim, where brightly painted ceramics are piled high with dressed crab, lobster, and langoustine.

Local bars

The resort organises tours and tastings at Quinta da Tôr winery, romantically set near a crumbling Roman bridge, whose vines have been cultivated by the same family since 1500. There are various tasting packages to choose from, and each guided tipple is accompanied with homemade bread, olive oil, and traditional tapas dishes.

Reviews

Photos Verdelago Resort reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this steps-from-the-Atlantic resort in the Algarve and unpacked their local sea salt and wildflower honey, a full account of their beachfront break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Verdelago Resort in Portugal…

The Algarve appeals to most for its wandering proximity to point-break perfect Atlantic waves and rugged stretches of sand. And Verdelago Resort has landed on its well-loved scene with a beachfront setting that puts you closer than most. The apartments, townhouses, and villas are designed for you to move in and never leave, with beautifully kitted-out kitchens, cushy living rooms, and sweeping terraces shaded by açoteias – traditional Algarve pergolas. Slowing the tempo comes naturally here, whether it’s a sunrise yoga session in the pine forest, picnic on board one of the resort’s sailing boats, or simply strolling along the pristine shoreline (shared with just a handful of windsurfers and wading birds). There’s much to explore both on and off the resort, so when the untamed beauty of the eastern Algarve inevitably calls, take your pick from horses, mountain bikes, paddleboards, and 4x4s for dunes-to-lagoons adventuring. 

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Price per night from $559.36