Amendoeira Golf Resort

Some things about our trip were great, some not so great. The good stuff The golf courses. The weekday evenings driver of the shuttle. The breakfast buffet. The apartment; spacious, enough wardrobe space, decent shower and water pressure, proper black out blinds, The not such good stuff. €6 for a token for 50 balls at the range. Said token then only gave 34 balls. After mentioning this at reception, the next day we got 44 balls with a token. The following day, one token gave us only 26 balls. €30 for a taxi to take us to Aldi and back. Apparently it’s an agreement that the taxi firms all have with the resort. Use Uber instead. Some Toilets at the pool and also at the range have no locks on the doors. Weird. The music being played in the restaurant during breakfast was similar to what would be played at the start of a funeral. Just awful! So depressing. Beware umbrellas by pool. They aren’t all properly secured in the base. One flew off in the wind and narrowly missed a sunbather.

We didn’t stay at the resort so this review is for the golf club only. I have visited Amendoeira several times and always have an enjoyable round of golf on the Faldo course. This was the first visit for my sons, and one that they were looking forward to. The golf was great but the service in the clubhouse this time left a lot to be desired. One member of staff in particular rudely insisted we hadn’t ordered food (we had), and then walked away saying “Well you haven’t paid”. The same member of staff also appeared at our table when we were half-way through our drinks and handed us a bill that we hadn’t requested. We had been planning on ordering another drink but it was clear this person was only focussed on getting our money, so we left feeling very unwelcome and unvalued as guests. Unfortunately this one person succeeded in ruining my sons’ overall impression of the golf resort and has made me seriously consider whether I will return.

On arrival the hotel appeared very nice and clean. The check in was straight forward but be warned the reception isn’t 24 hours and will close at midnight. We arrived minutes before it closed, I’m not sure what happens if you are delayed and arrive after midnight? The apartment we stayed in was a good size with two balconies. It was clean and had all the usual amenities including bath and swimming towels. We quickly experienced one of the biggest problems with the golf resort - the shuttle bus. It’s very difficult to walk round the resort due to the size of the place (plus the heat and carrying golf bags make it less appealing to attempt to walk it). The problem with the shuttle bus is there is only one driver for the entire resort. Usually if you’re lucky he will be with you in 10-15 minutes, if you’re unlucky you could be waiting 20-30 minutes. We asked why there is only 1 driver at reception, the receptionist said they are asked this all the time but management do not seem to want to employ another driver. We played 9 holes on the first day on the Faldo that took around 2hrs 30min. The Faldo was in good condition, it plays difficult for mid/higher handicappers but for those in single digits it is a tough but good course. The following day we played O’Connor Jnr course, our tee time was 11:30am and managed to get round 18 in 4hrs 20min. The O’Connor course played a lot easier and in the same kind of condition as the Faldo. The next day we were due to play a full 18 on the Faldo. Our tee time was midday and went off without issue. By the 3rd hole there was 3 groups on the tee box. By the 7th hole we were 2hours 30 in and lost all enthusiasm for playing. The biggest issue was the fact there was no course marshall present to at least try speed up play. We finally gave up after 9 holes and come in just after 3:15pm. A couple players from our group continued and eventually got round 18 holes in 6 hours 30min as a two ball. Another negative was the lack of opportunities to buy drinks and food when on the course. The halfway house on the courses were shut and there was only 1 food / drinks buggy going round the course. Once we finished the round of golf we decided to head to the swimming pool. Unfortunately the pool bar was shut and never opened throughout the stay. We got told by reception the pool bar will open in July?!?! I would say overall the service is very mixed from the staff at the resort. In one instance I managed to lose my sunglasses after our buggy was taken from outside reception after we had taken our golf bags off. I went down to where the buggies are washed and the sunglasses were nowhere to be seen on our buggy. The guy who I spoke to went above and beyond to track down the glasses. The outcome was another staff member found them and still had them on him after his shift had finished!

Party of four golfers. We stayed for 4 nights and played 3 rounds of golf, 2 on the O’Connor and 1 on the Faldo. We had early morning tee times and didn’t experience any real delays on the course. Went round in under 4.5 hours which is more than acceptable for a resort course. The O’Connor is fantastic to play, a real test but fair. The Faldo is also enjoyable but extremely long and difficult, an experience not to be missed. Accommodation was modern, clean and well laid out and suited us perfectly. Food at the clubhouse was excellent and reasonably priced. All in all I wouldn’t hesitate to come back here and we are hoping to make it an annual trip.