Amendoeira Golf Resort: Holiday Guide

Tucked into the rolling hills above Alcantarilha, a short drive inland from the western Algarve’s beaches, Amendoeira Golf Resort is one of Portugal’s most complete golf destinations. Two championship courses — the bold, desert-styled Faldo and the gentler, classically routed O’Connor Jnr — sit side by side, giving you genuine variety without a single transfer. It is golf at its most considered: space, silence and two very different examinations of your game.

As a tailor-made operator, we treat Amendoeira not as a fixed package but as the centrepiece of a week shaped around you — the right stay, the right tee-times, and a handful of the Algarve’s finest neighbouring courses woven in. Below: the golf, where to stay, when to come and roughly what it costs.

Amendoeira’s appeal is the contrast at its heart. The Faldo Course is a striking, target-golf design that threads emerald fairways through swathes of natural scrub and rock — strategic, exposed and genuinely demanding, asking you to think your way around rather than overpower it. A short hop away, the O’Connor Jnr Course is its warmer counterpart: a flowing, parkland-style layout with generous lines and a rhythm that rewards a settled swing. Playing both across a week gives you the rare pleasure of two distinct tests from a single base. We also build in rounds at the Algarve’s most celebrated courses nearby — the storied Penina Golf Course at Portimão and the handsome Morgado Golf & Country Club among them — so your golf has range as well as quality.

The beauty of a tailor-made week is that your bed needn’t sit on the fairway. Many of our guests prefer the polish and dining of the coast, with golf arranged inland and along the shore. Near Carvoeiro, the Tivoli Carvoeiro commands a dramatic clifftop setting; further east in Vilamoura, the Hyatt Regency Vilamoura Algarve, Vila Gale Ampalius, Dom Pedro Marina Boutique Hotel & Golf and Crowne Plaza Vilamoura put you at the heart of the region’s golf scene. For something quieter and more design-led, Palmares Beach House Hotel near Lagos and The Magnolia Hotel at Quinta do Lago are both gems, while the storied Penina Hotel & Golf Resort and the elegant Dona Filipa Hotel at Vale do Lobo carry a timeless, old-Algarve grace. We match the hotel to your taste and your golf, not the other way around.

Spring and autumn are the Algarve’s golden seasons — warm, dry and uncrowded, with courses presented at their best. Winter is mild and a genuine bolt-hole from the British cold, while summer rewards early starts and unhurried afternoons by the pool. A well-judged week here is unhurried: perhaps three or four rounds across Amendoeira’s two courses and one or two neighbours, with rest days for the coast, the seafood and a glass of something cool. We set the pace, the tee-times and the order of play so the golf flows and nothing feels rushed.

A package fixes your hotel, your courses and your dates to suit the operator. We do the opposite. Trading since 1981, we shape every Amendoeira itinerary around your group’s handicaps, tastes and budget — securing preferred tee-times, pairing the resort with the right neighbouring courses, and choosing a hotel that genuinely fits. It is ground-only by design, so accommodation, golf and transfers are arranged to your week, with flights available as an ATOL-protected add-on if you’d like us to handle those too. The result is a trip that feels made for you, because it is.