We visit Lisbon at least once a year, and I love to mix a bit of city and beach so always try to stay around Cascais or Sintra. Having stayed at Martinhal Cascais the year before, and after reading some good reviews I thought I’d try another five star hotel in Cascais – Hotel Quinta da Marinha Resort.
As you may have guessed, the hotel is located in Quinta da Marinha, about 5 minute’s drive from central Cascais, and halfway to my favourite beach in Lisbon, Guincho. Set amidst the lush pine trees of Quinta da Marinha, but with a touch of sea breeze, it’s the perfect location if you want a secluded hotel within easy reach to both Cascais, Sintra and Lisbon.
I was worried that the hotel’s focus as a golf resort would mean that it wasn’t quite as child-friendly as I’d like, but I was wrong. It doesn’t focus on family, but my son absolutely loved our holiday here!
Tip: You’ll want to have a car for independence (and to make the most of the Sintra coast and Cascais), but the hotel does offer transfers and organises day tours.
The resort has 198 rooms, with a spacious layout, a/c and a large balcony overlooking the Sintra mountains, or the pool and golf course. It’s a modern, spacious and pleasant hotel, though not as luxurious as Martinhal, we really enjoyed our stay.
Amenities
As we arrived I thought the pool may be a bit small for a fairly large hotel, but despite us being there at peak season (August) it never really got busy and there were always enough sun loungers for the three of us.
The pool may not be very big, but it is beautiful, with sweeping views over the golf course and next to both restaurants, the drinks & ice-cream stand and the kids’ club (more on that later!).
We spent most of our days at the beach in the morning, and in the pool in the afternoon.
Food & Drink
Hotel Quinta da Marinha has three restaurants, the Rocca (Portuguese gourmet), The Five Pines and for those sundowners Bar Trent Jones. We only had lunch at the bar as we always went to Cascais for dinner, but lunch was perfectly fine with the usual pool-side fare, though obviously slightly overpriced.
Kids’ Club
The kids’ club is where my child spent most of his time. As an only child he lives for kids’ clubs and the hotel’s children entertainers were endlessly patient with him and kept him very happy for hours on end. It’s not as child-centered as Martinhal, more like childcare with a few games, books, colouring and a TV rather than an activity-led space.
Rooms
The rooms were spacious and comfortable, and the balcony overlooking the pool great to relax at the end of the day. One negative point about our room was that it was located right above the bar, which meant that not only it was slightly noisy at night, we also ended up catching the smell of cigarette smoke and stale beer which wasn’t very pleasant.
Overall:
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here, my son in particular. It was a fairly affordable luxury alternative to Martinhal, and perfect for our city and beach Lisbon holiday.
You can find out more, and book it here.
nb: We didn’t get compensated for our stay and paid for it all. This post does contain some affiliate links, which means if you click on them, you’ll be directed to Hotels.com where if you end up booking the hotel, I’ll earn a small commission. Best thing? It doesn’t cost you any extra, but helps me pay the bills. Find out more here.
