Martinhal Cascais, Portugal - hotel review

Family holidays should, in an ideal world, be a relaxing affair, where the stresses and strains of modern life melt away as fast as the giant ice cream you’re licking under the blazing hot sun. In reality, the logistical difficulties of even getting to your sun-kissed retreat with your darling children in tow is enough to turn you grey and ruminate that staycations aren’t actually that bad.

Fortunately, this is something the Martinhal hotel group in Portugal knows only too well. Its family-friendly hotels allow parents to actually enjoy themselves and the finer things in life, while the children also have a great time.

Their newest venture, Martinhal Cascais, follows on from the huge success of the original Martinhal resort in Sagres. Like the flagship Algarve site, Cascais is entirely geared towards family fun — and making life easier for parents. Bottle-sterilisers and warmers, cots, baby baths, safety gates, potties and door-protectors can be pre-booked at no extra cost, while sunhats and balls were a nice gift for my excited three-and-a-half-year-old and his younger one-year-old brother.

This Martinhal is in fact the fourth in the stable, after a new branch launched in Lisbon last summer. It is a remarkable achievement for owner Chitra Stern, the Londoner who quit her City job 14 years ago to buy a patch of land by the sea, which she and her husband transformed into an £82 million Algarve resort.

But as much as Sagres is a slick operation honed after years of fine-tuning, the Cascais hotel is, in places, still finding its feet. It was taken over by Martinhal from another hotel group, and was still being completed when we arrived in June — which meant the main pool area was filled with JCBs rather than crystal-clear water.

Not that it mattered much to the little ones, who instead spent hours at the small indoor pool in the hotel’s Finisterra spa. They also loved roaming the large playground complete with zip-wires, play structures and a huge inflatable trampoline. Most pleasing to our oldest boy, however, was the campervan he could “drive” with fellow explorers while his parents enjoyed cocktails just feet away.

The other great focus for Martinhal is the food. The main restaurant, O Terraço, serves local seafood dishes and à la carte. Although its quality is undeniable, it is not quite the same experience as in the Sagres resort, where the sea air blows warmly in your face as waves lap the shore, and you munch on bounteous plates of langoustines and red mullet. But, like in Sagres, there is the wonderful option of having your children entertained in a play corner while you finish your meal — which is a fantastic idea and should be done everywhere. The other dining options are the Italian-style “trattoria”, Os Gambozinos, and M-Bar, situated at the Kids Clubhouse.

There are also plenty of childcare options available, including a babysitting service, while children aged up to early teens can be booked in for two-hour sessions at €20. Accommodation options include 72 hotel rooms, or one of 12 luxury villas. We stayed in an enormous double room.

Other small luxuries that make a world of difference include a different treat left in the room each day, from local port to chocolates.

The area

We made much use of the hotel’s four-times-daily shuttle service to enjoy the picturesque seaside town of Cascais and its three sandy beaches — the town is on the scenic Estoril Riviera, hugely popular with Portugal’s aristocracy as a holiday retreat in the 19th century. In addition, there are a host of sports and activities available including tennis and cycling, or for the more adventurous, surf lessons, rock-climbing and kayak tours.

The other main selling point of the new resort is its proximity to Lisbon. We managed to rouse ourselves from our poolside exertions to take a 40-minute train ride into the heart of the city, where we ate at the Time Out street-food market and took a trip up to the Castelo de São Jorge for its amazing views.

Details

Martinhal Lisbon Cascais Family Resort Hotel, R do Clube Casa 36, Quinta Da Marinha, Cascais, Portugal (00 351 218 507 788; martinhal.com/cascais). Double rooms start from €174.50, B&B.

TAP Portugal flies direct from Heathrow and Gatwick to Lisbon from £98 return (flytap.com).

Rooms: ★★★★

Service: ★★★★

Value: ★★★