Algarve Luxury Experience

About Us

Sharing our luxury experiences

Algarve Luxury Experience

Our focus at Algarve Luxury Experience is providing spacious, comfortable accommodation within an award-winning, family-friendly 5-star resort at great value, and a selection of experiences designed to meet your individual needs.

Algarve Luxury Experience holidays offer the perfect combination of luxury and leisure for travellers who want to discover the first class offerings of southern Portugal.

We take great pride in delivering a personalised service to our guests and feel that our high standards of organisation and property management are key to ensuring that you can relax and enjoy the break that you’ve been dreaming of.

With almost 20 years of experience holidaying in the Algarve, we’ve mastered the art of creating the perfect environment for a holiday that suits a family vacation, an activity-packed adventure, a relaxing getaway or a romantic escape.

Our personal research, tried and tested recommendations, and attention to detail help us provide the finishing touches that make your holiday the finest experience in luxury and leisure.

Who are we?

Hello, I’m Cheryl,

I’m passionate about Portugal; holidaying, exploring, enjoying good food and wine, as well as the occasional cocktail hour, and sharing my discoveries with others so that they can experience the luxurious offerings of the Algarve.

My husband, Graham, and I are originally from South Africa, now based in the UK where I’m a full-time IT consultant.

Our dream for the future is to settle in the south of Portugal; which we chose as our ‘living the dream’ destination having been inspired by the Channel 4 series ’No Going Back’, and having visited the Algarve region for many years, we decided it was the right place for us to eventually set up home.

With over 300 sunny days per year, fabulous beaches, excellent food and award-winning wines – in those respects the Algarve actually reminds us a little of our home country – combined with the friendly welcome and relaxed style of the Portuguese, it’s not hard to imagine why we spend as much time here as possible!

We currently own 2 properties in the Algarve and have plans for a future development (more about that below). And we’re rather particular about maintaining and improving our properties, so ongoing projects bring progress each year.

We visit Portugal for extended holidays at our properties at least 3 times a year and take great care to make sure that they’re fully-equipped with everything we need – which means everything you need for your holiday has been provided for – from toddler and baby equipment to kitchen appliances, Interactive TV and DVDs.

I love to explore the area, find new beaches, restaurants and activities, sample new wines and visit nearby towns and villages; and so, you can trust that all recommendations on our blog and in our resources have been tried, tested and given the Cheryl stamp of approval. Discover the Algarve with honest recommendations from real experiences, rather than a tourist guide!

I also like to be busy and love the challenge of exciting new projects, so am planning and implementing bigger and better things all the time – sign up to our mailing list below if you’d like to keep up to date with my projects, ever-increasing holiday packages and offers!

I look forward to hearing from you, so please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Warm regards,
Cheryl Smith

Our properties

Pine Cliffs Apartment

We make the most of the apartment to escape to the sunshine as often as we can, and love to indulge in the little luxuries of life on holiday by treating ourselves at the resort.

I particularly enjoy the thermal spa, and time by the pool or on the beach, while Graham escapes to the golf course to play with other members or guests, then enjoys a bitterly cold beer at the Clubhouse while reminiscing about how good his round was…

These days a break at Pine Cliffs is a peaceful getaway, but in the past it was ideal for our family holidays, with the huge array of facilities and activities to hand. Our children have some fabulous memories of holidaying there – with so much to do around the resort, the beach a short stroll away, and the home-from-home feeling in the apartment – it suited them just as perfectly as they got older and is truly the place where our family’s best memories have been made.

falesia beach algarve portugal

It was the obvious choice for us to offer the apartment as a holiday rental when we weren’t using it, and as I became involved in taking bookings and making recommendations about the highlights of the region for our guests, I felt a huge amount of satisfaction in discovering delightful new places to share with visitors.

And receiving wonderful reviews and thanks compelled me to continue making improvements and make the offers even better. I love to see people so enthralled by their stay that they return to holiday again!

It’s a wonderful place to stay and it makes us very happy to share it with people who are seeking to unwind and get away from it all, because we all need a slice of luxury in the sun from time to time.

For information about Pine Cliffs Apartment availability and prices, check our rates, or please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.

"The resort for this apartment is ideally located in the Algarve, and we explored other resorts and golf courses easily due to the excellent highway network, as well as taking advantage of travelling inland to historical villages and sites, the mountains to the north, and towns and beaches." - Pine Cliffs Fan, UK

Location – Pine Cliffs Apartment

Our apartment is within Pine Cliffs Resort, just a 30 minute drive from Faro airport, which is serviced by regular low cost flights from the UK, or 2.5 hrs from Lisbon Airport.
In between Albufeira and Vilamoura, 5 minutes from the charming fishing village Olhos de Água, Pine Cliffs Resort is directly on the beachfront of Praia da Falésia, with access by glass elevator and boardwalk to this beautiful blue flag beach.
You can find information about transport options on our Accommodation page.

The River House at Figs on the Funcho

algarve river house villa portugal

With a view to purchasing a property where we’d like to live in the future, we bought a traditional Portuguese farmhouse with stables and a barn, which we converted into The River House.

Now a modern, stylish and spacious villa, it’s absolutely our dream home; with 5 spacious double bedrooms, an infinity pool overlooking the Funcho River, and decking areas designed for dining, entertaining and most importantly – relaxing under the Carob trees, enjoying the most gorgeous uninterrupted views over the idyllic countryside of Silves.

It’s a place of privacy and undisturbed tranquility, which we are also delighted to share with guests who will appreciate its beautiful location and air of sophistication.

The River House is the perfect choice for a romantic getaway, family holidays, special celebrations or weddings and is also a wonderful setting for our organised retreats. You can read more about it on our Figs on the Funcho website.

The River Lodge at Figs on the Funcho

We have plans for the future development of the barn at Figs on the Funcho, which, after its transformation, will complete our trio of luxury accommodation.

The River Lodge will have its own unique charm, while sharing similarities with The River House by offering beautifully appointed accommodation with comfortable social areas, both inside and out.

It will be available to rent separately, or together with The River House; thereby allowing Figs on the Funcho to sleep up to 25 guests and accommodate up to 100 guests for special celebrations.

Sign up for our mailing list below to stay informed about developments, or have a look at our plans.

To keep up to date with Algarve Luxury Experience offers and arrivals (be the first to know when The River Lodge development is complete!) sign up to our mailing list. We don’t like spam either, so you’ll only hear from us once a month.

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