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VilaVita Parc
FARO
While many hotels can keep discerning guests diverted
for a week or two, it’s a rare place that makes you
consider moving your toothbrush in permanently.
Yet
after only a short time at Vila Vita, it’s tough not to
start imagining a longer-term relationship. Sprawling
languidly across 54 acres of lush gardens on the
Algarve coast, Vita is a self-contained eco-system with
but one aim: to pamper its guests into submission with
its pools, spa and private beach. And, with 173 rooms,
this is no prissy boutique. Kids will love having the run
of the grounds and nine different restaurants to eat in;
dads will lose themselves on the 9-hole golf course.
But if you’re looking for absolute seclusion, that’s also
taken care of. At the top of the resort, overlooking
the bold Atlantic swell, sits a stylish, Moorish-inspired
building called, simply, The Residence. The adults-only
wing of Vita, it offers 29 outlandishly elegant suites, as
well as another seriously grown-up surprise in Ocean,
which is the hotel’s two-Michelin-star restaurant. With
chef Hans Neuner at the helm, Vila Vita’s culinary
flagship bears all the glorious hallmarks of the hotel
itself, being both seriously luxurious and pleasingly
understated.
From ¤465, book at hotels.easyJet.com
AphroditeHills
PAPHOS
Is this Europe’s most romantic resort? Located just a couple
of kilometres from the bayside birthplace of the goddess
Aphrodite, it’s not surprising this cliff-top resort has become
a major draw for honeymooning couples. The four-star
accommodation has stunning sunset views for loved-up
evenings, while providing daytime activities from golf and
tennis to a variety of water sports. Or, if that just seems like
too much work, why not check out the award-winning spa,
loll by the pool or head down to the glorious beach? After all,
if it was good enough for Aphrodite…
From ¤280, book at hotels.easyJet.com
HOTEL
REVIEWS
WORDS SIMON KURS, SARAH WARWICK, AARON MYLES