Though Mohit and I had traveled adventurously before kids, our vacations for the past five years with small kids have mostly been Mexico beach resorts (easy direct flights from Boston + escape from February snow + kids clubs). Mohit was nervous that a more adventurous trip with the kids would be anything but relaxing, but agreed when I promised to plan our Portugal trip with a grand finale at a beach resort.
After a long drive through the Alentejano region (see blog post here!) with a cranky three year old, we were sooo in need of some pampering, and our beach destination did not disappoint:
Martinhal Sagres is lovely!
There were so many well-planned details that made vacationing here with kids relaxing and joyful (and we all know it can easily be anything but!). In the lobby at check in, there was a kids' play table, and the concierge came out with chilled juice for the kids and a goody bag for each with Martinhal beach hats and sand toys.
During our stay, the weather was more spring than summer, though after a long winter in New England, all it took was one sunny 70-degree day for our kids to be pumped for some pool time. Luckily all the pools are heated, and there's even a pool that's half indoors/ half outdoors which we found to be great on the second day when the sun was weak and the air was a bit chilly. All the pools have buckets of water toys and piles of foam noodles for the kids.
There are playgrounds everywhere, and we especially appreciated that we could linger over drinks while our kids played at the one next to As Dunas (the airy restaurant overlooking the beach).
The Village Square was also great, where several dining options, the resort grocery store, and the kids' club surround a play area with trampolines, a bouncy castle, and climbing equipment. Every evening at dinner time, the Martinhal fox mascots came out for a "gummy bears" themed dance party which our 3-year old loved. The resort also brought in rotating activities such as pedal-powered go-karts and a bungee cord trampoline which our 6-year-old loved.
We also loved the"M Bar", a surf- themed bar/ coffee shop/ ice cream parlor. It was a good place to hang out when we had time to kill. Comfy couches, a VW bus for the kids to climb and play in, a kids' play corner with Disney movies playing, and a kids' internet cafe with iPads to fight over...ahem, I mean play with.
The food was great too, both kids and adults ate well for sure! Os Gambozinos, the restaurant in the Village Square, had a kids' buffet every night which was perfect because we could feed the kids quickly with food they loved (pizza, pasta, steamed veggies, chocolate mousse) and then let them run back outside to play in full view while we dined in peace.
I loved the beach, which was plenty sandy, but also with rocks to climb on and explore. The waves are big, so not great for kiddo swimming, but there are plenty of neat seashells to find. I would have loved to spend more time on the beach but had a hard time tearing my family away from all the other fun distractions...
Two of the nights we were there we fed the kids early and then dropped them off at the kids' club while we enjoyed a relaxing adult dinner. We noticed that many of the other families had kids smaller than ours, too young for kids' club, so there weren't very many kids at the club in the evening, which was too bad because our social 6-year old would have enjoyed having more kids to play with.
So yes, we would definitely recommend Martinhal Sagres for a relaxing family vacation!
After a long drive through the Alentejano region (see blog post here!) with a cranky three year old, we were sooo in need of some pampering, and our beach destination did not disappoint:Martinhal Sagres is lovely!
There were so many well-planned details that made vacationing here with kids relaxing and joyful (and we all know it can easily be anything but!). In the lobby at check in, there was a kids' play table, and the concierge came out with chilled juice for the kids and a goody bag for each with Martinhal beach hats and sand toys.
We booked a 2-bedroom partial ocean view villa. It was a townhouse style apartment, with 2 bedrooms on the ground floor, two full bathrooms (one for the kids which had a tub, a stool for tooth brushing, and a kids potty seat, and one with a spacious walk in shower for us), plus a laundry closet and a sunny patio with a private spot of lawn. Upstairs was a spacious open-concept kitchen/ dining room/ living room area with a balcony (with beanbags for lounging!) overlooking the ocean. The furnishings were all modern and stylish. We discovered a Disney channel on the TV in English (much needed at 6 am while mom drinks her coffee!). Mohit says it was the nicest place we've ever stayed.
Though we had stopped at a grocery store in town before arriving to load up on breakfast, snacks and wine for the weekend, we discovered upon arrival that the villa provided enough free groceries to get us through our first morning (water, milk, juice, cereal, pastries...even nutella!).
During our stay, the weather was more spring than summer, though after a long winter in New England, all it took was one sunny 70-degree day for our kids to be pumped for some pool time. Luckily all the pools are heated, and there's even a pool that's half indoors/ half outdoors which we found to be great on the second day when the sun was weak and the air was a bit chilly. All the pools have buckets of water toys and piles of foam noodles for the kids.
There are playgrounds everywhere, and we especially appreciated that we could linger over drinks while our kids played at the one next to As Dunas (the airy restaurant overlooking the beach). 
The Village Square was also great, where several dining options, the resort grocery store, and the kids' club surround a play area with trampolines, a bouncy castle, and climbing equipment. Every evening at dinner time, the Martinhal fox mascots came out for a "gummy bears" themed dance party which our 3-year old loved. The resort also brought in rotating activities such as pedal-powered go-karts and a bungee cord trampoline which our 6-year-old loved.
The food was great too, both kids and adults ate well for sure! Os Gambozinos, the restaurant in the Village Square, had a kids' buffet every night which was perfect because we could feed the kids quickly with food they loved (pizza, pasta, steamed veggies, chocolate mousse) and then let them run back outside to play in full view while we dined in peace.
I loved the beach, which was plenty sandy, but also with rocks to climb on and explore. The waves are big, so not great for kiddo swimming, but there are plenty of neat seashells to find. I would have loved to spend more time on the beach but had a hard time tearing my family away from all the other fun distractions...
Two of the nights we were there we fed the kids early and then dropped them off at the kids' club while we enjoyed a relaxing adult dinner. We noticed that many of the other families had kids smaller than ours, too young for kids' club, so there weren't very many kids at the club in the evening, which was too bad because our social 6-year old would have enjoyed having more kids to play with.
So yes, we would definitely recommend Martinhal Sagres for a relaxing family vacation!
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