I love combining a vacation or travel plans with my sporting enthusiasms. This week I visited a travel destination that would make any golfer’s heart skip a beat. Truly a dream golfing vacation destination!
As an 8womendreamer I particularly loved the philosophy of the Hotel Quinta da Marinha Resort: “We want you to feel like you are in a dream while you are with us.” And with this on the bedroom wall I knew I was in the right place straight away:
This Onyria Golf Resort is on the outskirts of Cascais, an elegant beachside town just up the coast from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon.
The resort and golf course are in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park overlooking the Atlantic Ocean between the Sintra mountain range and the Atlantic Ocean. The air is sweet with the scent of Umbrella Pines and Atlantic zephyrs ruffled the surface of the lake.
Visit the Golf Club House and prepare to play on an 18-hole course designed by Robert Trent Jones Senior. This famous golf course architect designed approximately 500 golf courses in at least 40 US states and 35 countries all around the world. In fact it has been said that “the sun never sets on a Robert Trent Jones golf course”… Golf Pro Gary Nairn is on hand if you want to improve your golfing skills.
At the end of the day there are three restaurants to choose from at the Hotel Quinta da Marinha. I had a wonderful meal at the ‘Five Pines’. There was a good combination of Portugese specialities and international food. I had the best sea bass I have ever tasted and also a delicious aletria (a sweet dessert made from angel hair pasta).
When you are not golfing, or eating or enjoying the pool or health club and spa area, you just happen to be on the doorstep of a dream European city travel destination.
Cascais (say “Kushkaish”) was once a simple fishing village but when the Portuguese royal family chose it for a seaside retreat in the 19th century, things would never be the same again. Now it is all glamorous piazzas filled with beautiful people sipping coffee and eating seafood. Art galleries lie shoulder to shoulder with the golden sandy beaches.
It is a bustling place and that made the Hotel Quinta de Marinha even more appealing because after a day exploring Cascais it was marvellous to retreat to the dream-like peace of the resort among the Umbrella Pines.
A short train ride along the coast from Cascais and you are in the heart of Lisbon, a fascinating city that stole my heart many years ago. The buildings covered with azulejos tiles, the No. 28 tram rattling through the oldest neighbourhoods, the miradouros from St George’s Castle, the Jeronimos Monastery, the Terreiro do Paço, the Explorers Monument…
Happy travels!
Natasha
Hotel Quinta da Marinha Resort is a member of Great Hotels of the World Luxury Collection. For more information or to book, please visit the website or call 1888 222 8859.
Natasha von Geldern is a travel writer, editor, and blogger who is passionate about making the pages of the atlas real by traveling the world. She is a contributor to Travel Wire Asia, Wild Junket Magazine, Yahoo! Total Travel, and Travelbite. You can find her on her travel website and blog, WorldWanderingKiwi.
Note: Articles by Natasha may contain affiliate links and may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.
