We spent 9 days in the Algarve in August this year – see the main post here – and the first part of the trip was in a resort node Wolf Valley. This region is considered luxurious, as is the Quinta do Lago, and very targeted and geared towards English, Irish and French tourists.
The Valley of the Wolf
We chose the VL because we didn't want to travel around a lot by car, after all Ju was only 3 months old and we found the boot-strap on the baby seat very annoying. we traveled to Quinta do Lago at the beginning of the year and we ended up visiting Vale do Lobo, which was very close by. We thought it was a good place to go for walks with the little ones. We knew that the streets were calm, clean, tree-lined, with wide sidewalks and mansions that would make the walk interesting in themselves, not to mention the impeccable views of the empty golf courses.
We started looking for hotels before Ju was born and Vale do Lobo Resort It seemed like a great option, as it had complete houses (we wanted to avoid restaurants), free cancellation (essential during a pandemic), a rating above 8 (a very important criterion for us) and was within our budget. From the photos I thought the infrastructure with pool and playgrounds was very complete, but I confess I was a little disappointed. I'll talk more about that in a moment.
Day 1 – Saturday 08/21/2021
We arrived just as it opened check-in, 5pm – late, right? -, we showed our vaccination certificates, filled out the paperwork and headed to our apartment. The apartment was on the ground floor of a 2-story semi-detached house (townhouse) and when we open the door, I was immediately disappointed with the stairs between the bathroom and the kitchen. Not very practical for a family with a 3-year-old child and a 3-month-old baby who lives in a stroller, right? 🙁
Apart from the staircase, we liked everything inside. Spacious spaces, decor clean, a very functional kitchen, a very nice little balcony and some complimentary snacks which I loved. I was shocked for a moment when I heard the noise of a car inside our room, which faced the street, but later that night I soon realized that it was quiet because there is very little traffic around there at night, so it didn't disturb our sleep at all.
Settling down
We packed our things in the room, put the food, drinks and snacks we had brought in the fridge and got ready to walk. According to Google, it would be a 21-minute walk between our house and Praça do Vale do Lobo, but I think it took us almost an hour going at the pace of Paddy and his balance bike. No stress… What a pleasant walk!
We passed by the golf course with sea views, stopped at a viewpoint to enjoy the beautiful sunset and then went down a hill to the aforementioned Square.
Vale do Lobo Beach
First we went to see the Vale do Lobo Beach, very friendly by the way and to my shock, super full. Because I thought it would be empty, right? I don't know...lol.
After a reconnaissance of the area, we went up to the complex where we found the Beach Club Well and many restaurants in a square with a band in the center playing international music. I was impressed by how we only heard people speaking English…it even made me miss our beloved Dublin! <3
Great inflatable for little ones
We went straight to one playground It was quite eye-catching and we paid 5 euros for Paddy to spend 20 minutes enjoying the inflatable. It was great for him to have fun and burn off some energy. We took the opportunity to rest and choose a restaurant for dinner.
Dining at Vale do Lobo
Unfortunately, all of them were full or had free tables waiting to be booked. The only one who accepted us and had a table outside was the Italian one. Love. We ate really well while listening to familiar songs and then played a little in the square with the other children who were there.
Fatigue was setting in and we went to the point of shuttle from the hotel indicated on our map. We called the central number and asked for transportation to our house and in less than 5 minutes we were on our way, alone in a van. Super practical. We got ready for bed and got high, of course.
Day 2 – Sunday 08/22/2021
Beach day, baby. What fun!
We had a hearty breakfast at home and drove straight to the Vale do Lobo Beach. It was relatively easy to park on the street because it was very early, but I noticed that a little later the spots are very competitive. We set up a tent in an empty spot, walking with the stroller to the end of the wooden path. Our tent was the most full of stuff, because we had Ju's stroller with a Moses basket, the tent, the pop-up baby tent, the sarongs, the toys, the snacks, the cooler bag with drinks, etc. etc. It was a real mess! That's how I like it 🙂
The day was beautiful and it was a delight to spend some time there, but it would have been much better if the sea water had been warmer (duhh, obviously!) and without seaweed in the shallows. Anyway, we had a great time and both Juju and Paddy were brilliant. I guess my kids are beach lovers, huh?
We stayed there until we were really hungry and then we went back home to have lunch on the savory pie that had already been prepared since Cascais. We ate, rested and then Celo and Paddy went to the beach club while Ju and I rested a little from the sun. They had fun there! The boys came back and we got ready to have dinner at the Square, this time going by car again.
Dining at Vale do Lobo
I called ahead to reserve a table at Oriental Teahouse and we ate some really tasty dishes, very much geared towards the English/Irish crowd. I recognized almost the entire menu from our oriental experiences in Dublin. Unfortunately, Paddy was very tired and we had to eat in a hurry, but it was worth it.
Day 3 – Monday 08/23/2021
A hearty breakfast at home and let's go for a walk around the resort! We stopped at a really cool playground in a little square, which had a slide, climbing wall, swing, etc. It was a hit with Paddy!
Then we passed by a little lake and the kid spent hours throwing stones in it. As a child, you don't need much to be happy, do you? 🙂
Tennis court/swimming pool complex
Then we kept walking and went to see the complex with the tennis courts and swimming pool that was on the map. I was honestly disappointed with what I saw. I thought everything would be modern and of good quality, after all we were in Vale do Lobo, but when we got to the pool, we saw missing tiles, edges dirty with grease, water with plants and insects that had not been removed with a sieve, as well as broken and uncomfortable lounge chairs around. I wanted to leave the place, but it was empty – unlike the beach club, according to Celo – and Paddy was excited to get in the water, we ended up staying there. Since there was no children's pool and it was too deep for him, the solution was to use a flamingo float that he resort left it available for children. It fell down but “it came in handy”, as the Portuguese say.
We spent a good amount of time there enjoying the pool, which was practically ours, and then we decided to have lunch at the restaurant/café next door, which was completely empty. We ordered some very basic food and ate peacefully on the balcony overlooking the tennis courts.
Having lunch at the complex
Vale do Lobo Beach
We then walked back home, rested a bit and when the afternoon was coming to an end, we drove to see another beach, Garrao Beach East. We were shocked by the amount of cars and people that were on the street that gives access to the beach, but that's because there are several cool restaurants, one of them being “Julia's restaurant” in honor of our little one. Oh, of course I wanted to go in there (lol), but it was sooo crowded, so we turned around and headed to our already known Praia do Vale do Lobo. Luckily, it was already quite empty and there was a beautiful sunset! We played ball, Jubs took another nap and we took the opportunity to relax.
We had dinner at home and went to bed early to enjoy the next day.
Day 4 – Tuesday 08/24/2021
Celo woke up feeling unwell, with body aches and other flu-like symptoms, and we stayed home lazy. We still don't know what it was, but we suspect a delayed reaction to the Pfizer vaccine or some spoiled food at lunch. Of course, we thought it might be COVID and I even went out to buy a test at the supermarket for him to take himself, but fortunately the result was negative.
Beach Club Well
At the end of the day, when he was feeling better, we drove to the Beach Club Well, which was practically empty. I thought the space was really cool! We got in without having to pay, since we were staying there, but you can buy a ticket ticket for the day for 16 euros (children up to 6 years old go free). It has a huge round pool, some chairs with umbrellas around it and a beautiful sea view, which is best enjoyed by the cabins that cost a lot and are better positioned, of course. There is also a bar and bathrooms to complete the infrastructure.
Attention if you have small children
What caught my attention the most was that they had the “brilliant” idea of putting a mini floating pool inside the round pool, which I understood was for children. When Paddy got in, he almost drowned in the middle because the bottom is false and definitely not suitable for toddlers, so he had to hold on to the edge to avoid swallowing water. I was pissed off that there were no signs warning us or that the “super busy” lifeguard didn’t warn us beforehand. Maybe they assume that everyone knows about these pools that are used by yachts in the middle of the sea, but I had obviously never used one and I got quite a scare.
After this disappointment, we spent some time in the larger pool playing with the water guns and swimming to warm up. The pool is heated (we could feel the hot jets), but because of its size, it's not very pleasant. I managed to stay longer than Paddy, who soon started to want to play only outside. We left when the beach club closed at 7pm, and then we let Paddy spend 20 minutes jumping on the inflatable which he loved so much. Guaranteed fun!
We then went home to have dinner and get things ready for the checkout The next day, as expected, we all slept well. Nothing like outdoor fun for your health, right?
Day 5 – Wednesday 08/25/2021
We had breakfast, got ready and checked out at 11am. We drove to Ferragudo, also in the Algarve, where we met up with family and spent the rest of our vacation. See all the details in this post! 😉
Some tricks of this hotel
- Hotel check-in is at 5pm and check-out is at 11am. That's a lot of wasted time, isn't it?
- The coolest photo of the hotel on Booking is of a pool with the word Well written on it with stylish benches and chairs, but that's not the beach club which is included in the daily rate. It is a photo of a restaurant that is super trendy and expensive that allows some customers to use the pool if they eat there. We tried to go, but it was packed.
- On Booking.com it says that the resort is on the beachfront and it really is. The problem is that depending on where you stay, you will have to walk half an hour to the beach or take the shuttle or drive.
