Serenity Spa ‘The Art of Well Being’ is within the Pine Cliffs Resort and absolutely lives up to its claim that it provides the “perfect environment and personalised experiences to relax, heal and revitalise”.
With a menu created to combine effective holistic and modern therapies, they have an amazing range of treatments to help you look and feel your best.
Their Thermal Oasis access (daily fee very reasonable) allows you use of hydro pool, Turkish bath, Ice Fountain, Experience Showers and Himalayan Rock Salt Sauna, and plenty of time to relax in their indoor and outdoor lounge areas.
For the ultimate in holiday indulgence, we highly recommend treating yourself to one of their packages – they also have couples treatments, junior & mother to be, and male facial and body ‘tonics’, and a hairdresser and barber salon.
Open for lunch and dinner – closed all day on Tuesday and on Wednesday at lunchtime.
Address: Restaurante Veneza, Paderne, 8200-488 Albufeira
Phone: +351 289 367 129
If the heavens should open, we love to spend the afternoon in a typical Portuguese restaurant, especially the restaurant Veneza in Paderne, with its award-winning wine cellar.
Veneza has been a family-run business since 1954; originally as a grocery store and café, then a dance hall in the 70s, until the restaurant opened in 1983.
15 years later, Manel’s interest in the wine trade led to the Veneza Dancing Hall being turned into a wine cellar in order to merge his growing collection with the restaurant. The air conditioned cellar now stores more than a thousand brands of wine in optimum conditions, ensuring that they’re served in “exemplary condition” to accompany your meal.
The collection of port and wine is nothing short of extraordinary and the friendly team, who love to make you feel at home in this cosy and informal setting, take great care to welcome you. They’ll also be very happy to help you find wines to suit your taste and can arrange to have your purchases delivered anywhere in Europe.
The cataplana is an item of cookware, traditionally made from copper and shaped like 2 clamshells, with a hinge on one side and clamp on the other.
Very popular in the Algarve region, they’re said to have originated here – one theory being that the dish arrived during the Moorish occupation, another that it’s the Portuguese version of North Africa’s Tagine.
Either way, the cataplana is used to cook the delicious meal of the same name, usually seafood and/or meat – the best-known dish being amêijoas na cataplana (clams) – by sealing in the juices to tenderise the meat or fish in its own steam and create a fabulously rich flavour.
This simple device is thought to have been designed to make it easy for hunters and fishermen to throw in their catch (or game) with simple flavourings and seasonal additions (garlic, onion, olive oil, vegetables) and cook a tasty, filling meal over the fire, whether off the side of their boat or out in the forest.
There are many variations of the Cataplana, they feature on the menu in most seafood restaurants, and we’ve made every effort to try them in as many places as we can to find the best available! At this time (we’ll update the info if we discover something better, but it’s a hard one to beat) the cataplana experience we recommend most highly is that provided at La Cigale, in Olhos d’Água.
Overlooking the Atlantic ocean with an outdoor terrace for sunny days, La Cigale serves traditional food alongside the cataplanas, though you’ll find these dishes readily available elsewhere – it’s the cataplana we recommend!
Open every day from 10:30am -11pm.
Address: Rua 25 de Abril, 8200 Albufeira
Phone: +351 289 501 637
While rainy days are rare in the Algarve region, they do occasionally happen, so we hope our recommendations help you to enjoy your holiday experience despite any adverse weather.
Our shopping recommendations may also interest you, should you need more indoor entertainment.
Pine Cliffs Apartment
Experience luxury and leisure at Pine Cliffs Apartment, our modern, spacious one bedroom accommodation within the award-winning 5-star beachfront Pine Cliffs Resort.
With access to all resort facilities, including spa, golf, tennis, heated indoor and outdoor pools, gym and wellness centre, Pine Cliffs Apartment is the ideal getaway for golf in the sun, a stroll on the beach, pool relaxation, spa indulgence, a romantic escape or family-friendly fun.