Penha Longa Hotel Spa & Golf Resort, Sintra, near Lisbon operated by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, is investing €2m in a far-reaching refurbishment programme for its extensive golfing facilities.
The resort currently features two challenging golf courses designed by the renowned Robert Trent Jones Jr: the nine-hole, par 35 Monastery Course (inaugurated in 1995) and the championship 18-hole par 72 Atlantic Course, (inaugurated in 1992).
The renovation will take place in three phases commencing July 2008. Phase one will concentrate on the nine-hole Monastery Course with the Atlantic Course remaining fully operational. Phase two is scheduled to start in November 2008 with the reopening of the Monastery Course and the closure of the first nine holes of the Atlantic Course, thus creating a hybrid course. Once the first nine holes have been completed, the remaining nine will then go under refurbishment. The project is scheduled for completion March 2009.
Throughout the renovation programme, Penha Longa Hotel Spa & Golf Resort will maintain the ability to play 18 challenging holes and the scope of work to be undertaken will:
• improve the drainage and irrigation systems
• develop better conditions of play for the bunkers
• create a more secure environment for the maintenance building
• bring in new furnishings such as tee markers, benches and flags
• refurbish the existing tee areas to improve playing conditions with the opportunity to build new tee areas in order to enhance playing dimensions to the 27 Trent Jones II designed holes
• introduce the new Faldo Institute at the Golfing Academy
New to the golf club house will be a restaurant by master Spanish chef, Sergi Arola, opening June 2008. This will be the second partnership with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company following the success of his eponymous Arola at the Hotel Arts, Barcelona and the venture is destined to be one of the most exciting and vibrant new restaurant openings in Europe this year. Innovative, fashionable and defiantly cool, Arola will be relaxed and chilled – opening from 8 am in the morning until the early hours.
The golf club house will also have a cutting-edge golf shop, designed to complement Arola’s contemporary design and to reflect the chicest shopping districts of Europe. Offering 200 sq m of space, the style mixes white walls with glass and wood, and moves away from the traditional golf retail environment.
Says Jason King, director of golf at Penha Longa, “The feedback we have received so far from those we have given a sneak preview to, has been superb. I have never seen a golf retail concept like this anywhere in the world – the designer has created a space which is funky and cool”.
Ranked in the top 30 courses in continental Europe, the Atlantic is an 18-hole, par 72 championship course of 6,313 metres, offering a challenging course with breathtaking views over the ocean with Estoril and Cascais to the south and the Sintra Hills to the north. Penha Longa’s Atlantic Course has played host to numerous competitions including the Portuguese Open.
The Monastery (inaugurated in 1995) is a nine-hole, par 35 course of 2,588 metres, spreading around the historical heart of the resort and is the perfect complement to The Atlantic.
The Unlimited Golf Package, priced from £239 (€300) per package, per night, includes tax and service and is subject to availability. Valid until December 2008, the package consists of one night’s accommodation in a deluxe Forest View room with buffet breakfast and unlimited green fees from 12 noon on the day of arrival until 12 noon on the day of departure.
Penha Longa Hotel Spa & Golf Resort www.penhalonga.com