Iconic Algarve resort celebrates 50 years of golf excellence
Palmares Ocean Living & Golf, a market leader for innovation in Portuguese golf tourism, is preparing to enter a new era of investment as the resort celebrates 50 years of development and expansion into one of Portugal’s most exclusive residential golf destinations.
Over the past five decades, Palmares has established itself as an icon of tourism and golf in Portugal, keeping pace with the industry's transformations and reinventing itself with vision and sophistication. What began as an 18-hole course in 1975 has evolved into an integrated luxury resort with 200 hectares of panoramic views of Meia Praia and the Alvor estuary.
With facilities including a 27-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr, a Michelin-starred restaurant, an award-winning clubhouse, a five-star boutique hotel and 37 Signature Apartments, the resort is today regarded among the best in Europe and even better times lie ahead, including the future unveiling of a new portfolio of Signature Villas and Apartments and the opening of the first JW Marriott hotel in Portugal in 2028.
“A resort as special as Palmares, with this golf legacy and the unique signature of Robert Trent Jr. is a true privilege for us to manage,” said Nuno Sepúlveda, co-CEO of Details, Portugal’s largest golf course operator that manages the resort's golf course, accommodations, and dining options.
“Celebrating 50 years of Palmares Golf is a source of great pride, and we are excited to continue elevating the resort experience, creating many more years of memorable moments.”
Since its launch in 1975, Palmares has been a stage for innovation. In the 2000s, a new phase of development began, culminating in 2011 with the creation of three nine-hole courses – the Alvor, Lagos, and Praia – by Trent Jones Jnr, an international benchmark in golf course design.
In 2017, the hotel opened its five-star boutique Beach House Hotel – offering unique views of the ocean and the course – with the inauguration of the resort’s iconic clubhouse, designed by RCR Arquitectes (Pritzker Prize winner) and named ‘Best Clubhouse in Europe’ at the 2024 World Golf Awards, following three years later.
The clubhouse’s AL SUD restaurant, with a concept based on a careful selection of the best seasonal ingredients and local flavours, completed the experience by earning its first Michelin Star in 2021, elevating Palmares to the status of a golf and gastronomy destination of excellence.
This year, the resort has introduced a new type of accommodation, ‘Signature Rooms’, which expands the Palmares Beach House Hotel's offering and offers a comfortable and functional stay, with breakfast at the hotel and access to all premium amenities.
Adding to the accommodation options currently available will be the launch of phase three of the Signature Apartments alongside a range of new modern, turn-key villas in spring 2026, with Palmares welcoming Portugal’s first JW Marriott hotel two years later – bringing an international brand to the Algarve and catering to various segments in a strategic location just 45 minutes from Faro airport.
Sepulveda added: “Fifty years after opening, Palmares continues to raise the bar for golf, hospitality and tourism in the Algarve, and the opening of the new portfolio of villas and apartments will signal the start of a new era in the history of this amazing resort.”
Palmares Ocean Living & Golf is part of the portfolio of assets managed by Details – Hospitality, Sports, Leisure, which is owned by Arrow Global and is the company responsible for managing its tourism assets in Portugal. Details currently manages 23 hotels, 12 golf courses, an equestrian centre and several dining venues.
palmaresliving.com
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Information for journalists
Press release written and distributed on behalf of Palmares Ocean Living & Golf by Azalea.
For media enquiries, please contact Pete Simm on +44 (0) 1730 711920 or email petes@theazaleagroup.com
Palmares Ocean Living & Golf
Opened in 1975 and characterised by breathtaking views across the Bay of Lagos, Palmares Ocean Living & Golf is widely regarded as one of Europe’s bucket-list golf destinations.
Offering the stunning combination of parkland, heathland and links golf in a spectacular seaside setting, Palmares Golf is the stuff that dreams are made of. The course, which was designed by renowned architect Robert Trent Jones Jnr, features three nine-hole linked loops (the Alvor, Lagos and Praia) that sweep down to the ocean, allowing all golfers the opportunity to marvel at the natural beauty and challenge of the 27 holes.
The golf is complemented by award-winning facilities, world-class gastronomy and a stunning selection of real estate. The Palmares clubhouse – designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects RCR Arquitectes and winner of Europe’s Best Clubhouse at the 2024 World Golf Awards – provides the perfect place to relax and features two restaurants: the main restaurant and AL SUD, which offers fine dining and is the only Michelin star restaurant in a golf clubhouse in the Algarve.
There are also plenty of accommodation options available for golfers, couples and groups. Palmares offers a choice of one, two or three-bedroom signature apartments or the chance to stay at the resort’s boutique five-star 20-room Palmares Beach House Hotel, while future developments will include the opening of a JW Marriott International hotel – the luxury brand’s first property in Portugal.
palmaresliving.com
About Details – Hospitality, Sports, Leisure
DETAILS is a sports and hospitality platform owned by Arrow Global, responsible for managing a diverse portfolio of tourism assets in Portugal. The company currently operates and develops 28 hotel projects, including six units formerly part of the Dom Pedro Group, Hilton Vilamoura, Palmares Beach House Hotel and Signature Apartments, as well as the Editory By the Sea hotel in Tróia. In the Sports & Leisure segment, DETAILS holds the largest portfolio of golf courses in Portugal, featuring the iconic Vilamoura courses – Old Course Vilamoura, Pinhal, Millennium, Laguna, and The Els Club Vilamoura, the Algarve’s first private golf course and the first Ernie Els club in Europe. This portfolio also includes the PGA Aroeira Lisbon courses, as well as Palmares, Vale Pisão, Tróia Golf, Monte Rei and San Lorenzo. The sports portfolio further comprises the prestigious Vilamoura Equestrian Centre and a modern Sports Centre currently under development.
About Arrow Global Portugal
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in the United Kingdom, Arrow Global is a leading European vertically integrated alternative asset manager, specialising in credit and real estate.
The company identifies, acquires, and manages portfolios of credit and real estate assets, primarily originating from banks and financial institutions. Arrow Global’s business is regulated across several of the eight Western European countries in which it operates, currently managing €112 billion in assets and employing more than 4,400 professionals. Since 2020, the Group’s asset acquisitions have been made through its Fund Management division, which invests not only in Credit and Real Estate but also in Hospitality and Tourism. In Portugal, through Arrow Global Portugal, and in addition to its direct investments in Real Estate and Credit since 2013, the Group holds direct or indirect participations in Norfin SGOIC and Norfin Serviços (Real Estate), Whitestar (NPLs), Restart Capital (Private Equity), Details – Hospitality, Sports, Leisure (Hotel Operations), Hefesto (Credit Securitisation), Nexor (Affordable Housing), CredImediato (Credit Intermediation), and more recently From (Real Estate Commercialisation and Activation of Group Assets).
Arrow Global also holds significant investments in high-profile assets such as Tróia, Vilamoura, Palmares, Aroeira, Monte Rei and Vale Pisão, among others.
www.arrowglobal.net