The launch of a five-star boutique hotel this summer is certainly paying dividends for the multi-award-winning Onyria Palmares Beach & Golf Resort, which has subsequently seen a huge upsurge in visitors from Scandinavia.
The stunning family-owned 27-hole complex, in Lagos – which recently claimed a sixth successive Publituris Portugal Travel Award for Portugal’s best golf course – opened the 20-room Onyria Palmares Beach House Hotel to much acclaim earlier this year. And it would appear the accommodation has resonated particularly well with those from northern Europe.
The resort’s operations director, António Pinto Coelho, confirmed an unprecedented upsurge in bookings from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and also Finland, coincided with the opening of the Beach House Hotel.
He said: “We were naturally expecting an increase in the number of visitors, once we had the hotel on-site, but we have been taken aback slightly by the significant increase in tee-times from Scandinavia, which has seen a rise of more than 40 per cent.
“It would appear that not only do those from the colder climes of northern Europe appreciate a hotel here but that friends of guests will also visit while they are staying to join them on the golf course. We’ve always had a steady flow of Scandinavians since the course reopened in 2011, but they are now one of our biggest visitor demographics.”
Onyria Palmares Beach & Golf Resort is ranked in Portugal’s top three courses, by the world’s best-known golf title, Golf Digest, at 26 in Golf World‘s benchmark Top 100 Golf Courses in Continental Europe 2017/18, and is expected to be a new entry from the same magazine in its next Top 100 Golf Resorts rankings, now the hotel has opened.
The resort’s three loops of nine holes – the Alvor, Lagos and Praia courses – enjoy expansive panoramic views across the Bay of Lagos, with each lay-out offering a different kind of golfing challenge in a glorious and natural environment.
The Onyria Palmares Beach House Hotel has 18 rooms and two suites, each with a panoramic sea view and a balcony or terrace, and is within easy walking distance of the tees and practice area of the golf course. The hotel also enjoys an outdoor swimming pool and a 180° bar and restaurant, with an expansive ocean vista – and all just 700m from the beach.
Onyria Golf Resorts www.onyriaresorts.com
Onyria Palmares www.onyriapalmares.com