Martinhal Luxury Family Resort, Cascais, Portugal

On the Portuguese coast, about 1 hour west of Lisbon nestled between a stretch of stunning beaches and the overlooked by the mountains of Sintra, you will find the town of Cascais.

Described as the California of Europe, Cascais is a glamorous and cosmopolitan destination. The town is full of places to eat and wonderful shops to treat yourself in! Add in award winning golf-courses and there’s something for all the family.

Being only around 30km west of Lisbon, the Martinhal Cascais resort is only 35-40 minutes from the airport (and around 10 minutes from the town centre), making it super accessible. The resort also rent a wide range of family bikes, so you can always save on taxi fares if you want to visit the town or have a look around the area once at the resort.

The Martinhal luxury family resort is a very special five star luxury hotel that contains both self-catering villas and hotel rooms for families.

Before our visit to Martinhal, I would never have imagined it would be possible for a luxury hotel to be so child-friendly. The hotel and grounds are stunning, yet children are at its heart. Never being made to feel as if they have to stop being children.

Children are cherished by the staff, as they are by their families and Martinhal have created a destination that truly has it all. So much for children to do, but adults are certainly not forgotten about. With the spa, amazing food and so much more. They also make the whole experience of going on holiday easy – step stools in the bathrooms so little ones can brush their teeth easily. All those little touches make our job as parents easier. Their free baby concierge service provides items such as sterilisers, nappies, potties and bed rails. Quite amazing really!

What’s there for parents?

The activity on a lot of parent’s favourite list would be the Finesterra Spa. You can enjoy a wide range of treatments; pampering for parents and kids, massages and a whole host of other experiences. The spa also has a sauna, jacuzzi, pool and steam room. At certain times of the year there are regular Yoga and Pilates classes too. I literally want to move in!

Oh and there’s a complimentary gym too! Perfect if that’s your thing… I can’t lie, it’s not mine and so taking this picture was the closest I got.

There are also so many comfy places to settle with a good book, while being able to see your kids playing nearby.

Another bonus for parents is that there is an onsite babysitting service.  Help to look after your little ones outside of the kid’s club hours; in your own room if that suits you better. There’s an additional cost for this service, as you would expect.

Where can you eat?

There’s an onsite restaurant, Lounge Bar and a Cafe, so you have a fair choice if you want to stay on-site. Buffet breakfast and Portuguese inspired dinners are served at the O Terraço restaurant (the Mushroom Risotto is to die for!). I LOVE a buffet breakfast and this one did not disappoint. There was a wide selection of breads, pastries, yoghurts, fruits and cereals. Plus cooked options such as sausages, eggs, bacon, beans, pancakes etc and also a cold meat selection. Children are given their own special coloured crockery and cutlery, which made Ava feel very special indeed. She also loved the milky hot chocolate she could pour herself.

In the corner of the restaurant, tucked out of sight is a play area supervised by one of the staff child minders. So if when your children get itchy feet, they can go and play while you finish your meal (or your wine!).

The food choices for children are great. I was so surprised to see freshly made baby purees on the menu. We were asked at every meal if anyone had any allergies too. Plus all the allergens are clearly listed on the menus.

We ate at the M-Bar most days. Perched at tree house level with wonderful views of the playground, it offers a great selection of food. Most of the adult meals are available as kid’s portions and the Gelato truck in the corner was a welcome site.

The Lounge Bar is situated in the main hotel hub and offers simple food and cocktails.

What can kid’s do?

There’s so much for children to do it’s amazing. I love this central garden area which is beautiful for adults and fun for kids (just like Martinhal itself!).

Let’s start with Kid’s Club. Ava LOVED it there so much. She wanted to go every day and was sad when we collected here each time. Thanks kid! The Kid’s Club is totally complimentary and you can book your children in from 8am to 7pm or just for the odd hour, as we did. The staff are so friendly and everything is totally secure (wrist-bands for children and a special code word you need to give on collecting your child).

One even more wonderful thing about Kid’s Club is that if you’re staying at Cascais, but want to go to Lisbon for the day, you can book your children into the Kid’s Club at Martinhal Chiado. This is free for residents at any of the Martinhal hotels to access. Martinhal have four hotels in Portugal, two in the Algarve (Sagres and Quinta), and two in the Lisbon area (Chiado and Cascais). All four are designed for families, offering a luxurious experience.

We did this and it gave us a couple of hours to navigate some gigantic hills around Lisbon that would have cause child-whining.

If your children are book in all day they will be given snacks and meals, so you don’t have to worry about that at all.

Ava was also totally obsessed by the ‘kids corner’.  This secure playground is fully equipped with swings, climbing frames, two zip lines, a trampoline, a huge bouncy cushion, sand pit, slides and benches for parents! I think Ava must have gone on the zip-line 200+ times in 3 days.

There are three swimming pools at Cascais. So even at it’s busy times, you’ll be able to find a quiet space to enjoy the water. We only went to the pool next to the kid’s club as it was more convenient for us and most days we had it to ourselves. There are toys, floats and fresh towels there waiting for you. Plus giant beanbags for spectators.

Above the Kid’s Club and over looking the playground is M Bar. If you have older kids you can grab a drink on the terrace area while watching them play. Or if your children are a little too young, you can pop up and get a drink to enjoy while you’re chasing them around the playground! Guess which camp we fell into!

A football pitch, basket ball court and ping pong table, oh and a fun camper van add even more fun-having-potential to the mix.

As mentioned earlier you can rent bikes and they have a stock of helmets too. They really have thought of everything!

What are the rooms like?

There are a variety of room sizes and villas, but all spacious and very luxurious. If you have a large family there’s the option of adjoining rooms.

Our room was awesome. The bed was the biggest bed I have ever slept in (seriously HUGE!). Ava had her own bed and in some rooms there are bunk beds sleekly designed to fold out from the wall.

Each room has a paved terrace with seats and a table, so you can chill out while not being too far from your children sleeping inside.

Now let me tell you about the bathroom! Never in my life have I ever seen a bath that size. I only wish I’d have time to try it out (well apart from when Ava and I got in fully clothed to try it for size!). Ava loved the blue mood lighting too. The bathroom was very sizeable with a separate walk in shower, loo and dual sinks. Robes and flip flops for all the family as well as beautiful Irish organic toiletries from Voya.

We arrived late on the Thursday night and so apart from dinner in the restaurant we had time for nothing else. Thanks to cancelled flights and having to fly from Geneva to London, then London to Lisbon (rather than directly as we had booked!). The following day it was the Martinhal Brand Event. So after breakfast I left hubby and Ava to fend for themselves, while I spent time listening to the speakers and joining the blogging panel onstage.

Over the weekend we mixed swimming, playing, a visit to Cascais (to try out the amazing ice cream parlour) and a trip to Lisbon, with enjoying gorgeous meals. On the Friday evening after the brand event our families were invited to join us for dinner, which was a lovely buffet style feast. There was ice cream in a chocolate apple shell! (I know!).

We had a remarkable time and Martinhal is definitely somewhere I can recommend wholeheartedly. I hope we can go back time and time again, as many of their guests do.

I hope you enjoyed this review and the peak inside our holiday at The Martinhal luxury family resort. I would love to hear from you in the comments if you think your family would enjoy a stay here.

Disclaimer: The Martinhal luxury family resort provided a complimentary stay in return for a written review.

All views expressed are my own.