Framed by almond blossoms, marshes, railways and the Atlantic, Palmares is a place where great golf meets genuine Portuguese hospitality and a slower, breezier way of life. The Arb’s golfing correspondent Rob Rees tees off in style…
There are golf resorts that feel manicured within an inch of their life, and there are those that seem to have grown organically out of the land — dunes, salt marshes, rolling farmland and sea air. Palmares, sitting above the Atlantic just east of Lagos, is a place where the golf is of the highest quality, but the Algarve here still feels gloriously untamed, unrushed and refreshingly unspoilt.
Designed by the legendary British golf architect and writer Frank Pennink, it opened in 1975 — a design celebrated for its “eccentric charm” and bold use of the dramatic landscape. The resort has a storied history. Back then, Portuguese football royalty had extended its reach into leisure and development: Palmares was owned by Jorge de Brito, then president of Benfica, and it is said that Eusébio himself — the Black Panther, the most revered footballer Portugal had produced before a certain superstar Madeiran arrived — played golf here.
Today, Palmares is owned by Arrow Global, a serious hospitality outfit with an eye for elite golf, whose stable also includes Monte Rei and Tróia, south of Lisbon. The resort has been refined, not reinvented. Its defining strength is a luxurious, low-density experience centred on stunning natural topography.
The Almond Blossom Tournament — Amendoeiras em Flor — celebrates this illustrious heritage. For years a members-only event, it is now a prestigious international amateur fixture, and I was lucky enough to play in it earlier this spring. The three-day competition ran across the resort’s three nine-hole loops in a varied format — Texas Scramble, aggregate Stableford and individual Stableford — with a high standard of play throughout, including single-figure handicaps and a hole-in-one, and was bookended by receptions serving local Alvor Estuary oysters and a gala prize-giving dinner. The event’s name comes from a deeply rooted Algarve tradition originating in the Moorish occupation between the 8th and 12th centuries, when the white “spring snow” of the almond trees blooms from January to March before producing the rich fruit used in so many local delicacies.
The golf facilities are top drawer, the terrain challenging enough to warrant buggies. The modern Palmares is a 27-hole course redesigned and extended by Robert Trent Jones Jr, whose guiding principle was to let the land speak and the coastal winds set the challenge. Under new Director of Golf Francesco Murdulo, the courses are maintained to elite standards, with fast, undulating USGA greens that offer a stern test for any international golfer. Beyond the 27 holes, there is a 300-yard practice area and the highest-spec equipment rentals.
The course divides into three nines — Praia, Lagos and Alvor — each with a distinct character, and together offering one of the most satisfying combinations of rounds I’ve played in Portugal. Praia is links golf in spirit and substance: fairways ripple through sand dunes, grasses sway, and the Atlantic provides a running commentary on your ball flight. The signature hole is a par-4 that hugs the beach so closely it feels like a dare — the view hypnotic, the breeze rarely helpful, and restraint the sensible play, which means most people ignore it. Lagos is the most strategic nine, with elevation changes and inland contours combining with glimpses of the estuary and, charmingly, the coastal railway line — trains trundling past as you contemplate club selection. Its signature hole is a sweeping par-5 that bends toward the coast with the tidal marsh glinting temptingly to the right, a hole that rewards patience and punishes optimism. Alvor is the most dramatic: marshland, water channels and big skies dominate, birdlife hovering as if appointed official observers. The signature hole here is a par-3 played directly over the marsh, where depth perception dissolves and the wind whispers unhelpful advice — beautiful, unnerving and unforgettable. Together, the three nines offer something increasingly rare: variety without gimmicks.
After your round you repair to what feels like a James Bond lair. The clubhouse, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning firm RCR Arquitectes and named Best Clubhouse in Europe at the 2024 World Golf Awards, features clean lines, vast picture windows and earthy red materials paying homage to Moorish influences while maximising panoramic views across the Alvor Estuary and Bay of Lagos.
One of Palmares’ great pleasures is its sense of place. The coastal railway line slices through the landscape with endearing nonchalance — trains passing fields of wildflowers, salt pans and estuaries, a reminder that this is still a working coast. The Ria de Alvor tidal marshes are central to the atmosphere: at low tide they shimmer like hammered silver, at high tide they creep back toward the fairways. Flamingos, herons and egrets patrol the shallows, entirely unimpressed by my backswing. And yes, there is a nudist beach nearby. This is the western Algarve — less manicured, more liberated and deeply uninterested in unnecessary formality.
Golf may bring you here, but the nearby towns anchor the experience. Alvor remains at heart a fishing village: boats still bob in the harbour, nets dry in the sun, and the streets retain a faint Moorish twist — a place for long lunches, late dinners and watching fishermen mend nets while children kick footballs against whitewashed walls. Lagos carries the swagger of history. Once a launchpad for the Age of Discoveries, it was also, more sombrely, the site of Europe’s first slave market. Today, fortified walls, cobbled streets and tiled façades coexist with galleries, cafés and a lively marina — cultured without being precious, historic without being heavy.
Food in the Algarve is not rushed, and thank goodness for that. Meals begin not with menus but with ritual: almost without asking, the table fills with bread, olives and those ever-present marinated carrots — sweet, vinegary, slightly addictive — while decisions are postponed. In Lagos, fish is landed daily, often still glistening when it reaches the kitchen: sea bream, sea bass, octopus, cuttlefish, sardines, scarlet prawns.
One restaurant that captures all this perfectly is Dom Sebastião, a Lagos institution that looks modest but delivers magnificently — pristine grilled fish, simply seasoned, cooked with assurance and served without theatre. Order whatever is freshest, add a carafe of white and let the evening stretch. Oysters from the Alvor estuary arrive plump and mineral; cataplanas bubble with shellfish and coriander; desserts lean heavily on almonds, figs and honey.
For those willing to venture inland, a visit to Quinta dos Vales near Lagoa is richly rewarding. This working winery combines serious winemaking with an unexpected sculptural park — monumental pieces dotted among the vines — and the wines themselves are expressive and well-structured, particularly the reds, which retain freshness despite the Algarve’s sun. Tastings are generous and the setting, vines rolling toward distant hills, is a reminder that this region is more than coast and cliffs.
Back at Palmares, the on-site Beach House Hotel strikes exactly the right note: stylish without being shouty, comfortable without being corporate, and clearly designed for people who enjoy golf and a long leisurely breakfast beforehand. Service is warm and unfussy. Each of the 20 rooms offers uninterrupted Atlantic views and those expansive sunrises and sunsets with the golf courses as a backdrop. Under Arrow Global’s ownership the resort is expanding, and by 2028 will host Portugal’s first JW Marriott, alongside additional apartments and villas — though a strict 5.7% construction density will protect the natural landscape throughout.
Compared with the Golden Triangle — glossy, gated and impeccably groomed — the western Algarve feels more human, less polished and more soulful. The golf at Palmares is world-class, but it never overwhelms the setting. It lives alongside marshes, railways, fishing boats and almond trees, somewhere tides influence tee shots and breakfast, lunch and dinner are never hurried. Come for the golf. Stay for the food. Forget the odd sliced shot. Palmares will wrap its arms around you, no matter the quality of your play.
For more information about Palmares, including details of the resort and its real estate – and, of course, details of the golf and facilities – please visit www.palmaresliving.com. Contact the clubhouse/proshop to enter the 2027 Almond Blossom Tournament.
