Vila Joya

Vila Joya began as a private house on the low cliffs above Praia da Galé and has never entirely stopped feeling like one. The building is Moorish in inspiration, with arches, tilework and terraces stepping down toward the sand, and there are only around twenty rooms and suites, no two arranged the same way.

The restaurant is the reason many people come. It has held two Michelin stars for decades, one of the longest runs in Portugal, and it operates as much as a destination as a hotel dining room. The hotel also hosts an annual gathering of international chefs that has become a fixture of the European food calendar.

Beyond the kitchen it is quiet and rather private: a heated pool on the terrace, a small spa, and steps down to a beach that is broad and largely undeveloped by Algarve standards. Albufeira's busier end is close enough to reach and far enough to ignore.