Opening this week (1 October 2024), the Viceroy at Ombria Algarve is the perfect property to launch our new venue of the week feature, showcasing new openings, and refreshed and unique hotels and venues from across the globe.

With views of rugged Algarve hills just 30 minutes from Faro airport and the coast, the five-star resort is designed to reflect a traditional Portuguese village and offers 141 rooms, suites and residences set within 153 hectares.

Meeting and incentive groups will enjoy four scenic pools, a holistic spa with thermal pools and treatment rooms, and versatile indoor and outdoor spaces. These include a ballroom accommodating 244 theatre-style, 150 for a banquet and 220 for a reception.

Experiences

All guest experiences will be led by locals whose families have lived in the hills for generations and continue to honour the more traditional ways of life. For example, a honey experience will take guests on a journey from hive to jar, guided by a local beekeeper with decades of expertise. Guests will visit hives, extract honey, and enjoy a tour and tasting, making it a sweet and educational outing.

Horseback Riding will offer scenic rides through the landscape and with a serene picnic of local delicacies by a river. Other experiences will include wine and olive oil tastings, birdwatching, exploring the nearby hiking and cycling trails, boat trips, bread-making and pottery classes.

Golf enthusiasts can embark on an 18-hole course designed by Jorge Santana da Silva, complete with a clubhouse that will serve as a hub for local golfers.

Dining

The resort opens with six dining outlets, each paying homage to the hotel’s locality and utilising produce either grown on-site in their gardens and orchards or sourced locally.

Café Central, situated in the heart of the village on the “praça” (main square), is a Portuguese bakery offering homemade pastries, pastel de nata, and light meals from a wood-fired oven. Bellvino will champion local produce, specialising in wine, charcuterie, cheese, and olive oil, while Ombria Kitchen will offer all-day dining in a relaxed atmosphere.

Solalua, meaning “from the sun to the moon,” will be a destination for ultra-creative and innovative dishes and cocktails with a vibrant atmosphere and Casa & Fora, located in the clubhouse, will cater primarily to golfers with a relaxed menu and spacious terrace and Salpico, the pool bar, will serve fresh, light dishes.

Sustainability

The project is dedicated to the health of the local land and ecosystems, a plant nursery for instance will ensure the development and growth of local species and preservation of the existing flora and fauna, whilst over 700 oak trees have been planted and 1,800 linear metres of river habitat restored.

Solar and geothermal energy and bioclimatic architecture are all present through the resort, and the resort offers 23 electric vehicle charging points.

Viceroy Hotels & Resorts are represented byMundus Representation in the UK MICE market. Wayne and Andre from Mundus headed out to visit the property recently and shared a few of their pic highlights along with some more of the official photos…