HOTEL REVIEW


overlooking a wooded valley. At the heart of the resort 39 Garden Houses are arranged around a garden, with a children’s freeform ‘Oasis’ pool and snack bar. These semi- detached villas are joined by a continuous high Algarvian garden wall, to provide both privacy and a carefree environment for families with younger children. Completing the development, ten individual Pinewood Houses are set apart in their own ‘close’ each with their own small private swimming pool. Other facilities at the resort include the Raposinhos kids club, the Finisterra spa, and Os Gambozinos, an informal, bistro-style cafe. Incorporating such a wide variety of


facilities required some clever masterplanning. Architect Matthew Wood of Conran & Partners has taken an environmentally sensitive approach to the landscape, with a series of simple low-rise buildings crafted from local materials using modern construction techniques and geometric forms.


The aspiration, explains Wood, was for the


resort to look like it had grown organically from the wild and rugged landscape, in contrast to the “sterilised, highly irrigated” resorts found further east along the Algarve: “Our guiding principal was a low density development. We wanted to ‘touch the ground lightly’ and draw attention to the land.” Wood’s masterplan seeks to capitalise on the sea views from within Martinhal, whilst also acknowledging the external view of the resort from nearby Sagres: “We worked hard to maximise each unit’s vistas of the ocean. Houses were designed with ‘upside down’ accommodation with living areas on the first floor to make the most of the spectacular views,” explains Wood. “We knew the hill at Martinhal would be prominent in the panorama, so we tried to keep the mass broken to make it crystalline and organic and avoided any big shapes.” The construction was delivered by


036 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2010 WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM


ABOVE: Twentytwentyone supplied a variety of lighting and furniture for the public areas of the hotel. The As Dunas restaurant features Moooi’s Raimond lights, Eames chairs from Vitra, and Arper’s Fred tables


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188