Where Golf, Relaxation And Adventure Await

Praia D’El Rey Marriott Golf & Beach Resort

Praia D’El Rey Golf Course

Set amongst both towering sand dunes on the Atlantic Ocean and pine forests, Praia D’El Rey offers one of the most unique routings in Portugal.

Designed by American Cabell B. Robinson and opened in 1997, Praia D’El Rey is a par 72 and plays a hair over 7,000 yards from the tips. One key note for players, the golf course is measured in metres, so make sure you adjust accordingly on any gps devices.

When designing the golf course, Robinson tried to keep it as natural as possible, even saying during the design process, “This is the kind of landscape we architects try to create, but at Praia D’El Rey it’s all here, naturally. Now it’s my responsibility to protect it”.

Your round starts on the parkland portion of the golf course, where the front nine winds you through pine forests where accuracy off the tee is at a premium. The first hole offers a comfortable tee shot to get into your round and players can get off to a good start on this shorter dogleg par 4.

By the time you get to the 4th hole, the course turns inland and you play parkland style golf for the rest of the front nine. Holes meander through tall and fragrant pine stands and players will either need to take less club off the tee or work the ball both ways in order to navigate some doglegs through the pines.

What makes Praia D’El Rey stand out from other courses in Portugal and the world is what is about to come. As you leave the parkland style front nine, with lush fairways that wind through pine forests, you play a few holes on the back nine and then head for the dramatic part of the golf course as you approach the Atlantic Ocean.

Once you reach the 12th hole, you are entering the most visually stunning part of the golf course. Holes 12-15 are seaside holes that wind their way through sand dunes along the Atlantic Ocean. A unique feature of Praia D’El Rey is that on these holes you will often have to battle a stiffer wind off the ocean than you do on other parts of the golf course. One of the best holes on the property lies here. The 14th hole is one of the shortest on the course, but also one of the most unique as it features an old abandoned building between the green and the ocean.

Praia D’El Rey is both a joy to play and a challenge for the best of golfers. It offers both parkland and seaside aspects of golf. If in the area or staying at the resort, it is a must play for golf enthusiasts.

Marriott Beach Resort – Obidos

Located on the Silver Coast of the Atlantic Ocean, the Marriott Beach Resort offers a beachfront property with 177 guestrooms. When you aren’t playing golf, there are many amenities that the resort offers for not only golfers looking for a break from the links, but also for families.

If you are looking for a dining experience while in Obidos, you do not have to go far if you are staying at the Marriott, as they offer multiple excellent dining options to suit your fancy.

Marriott Beach Resort Dining Options

Tempera is a buffet style restaurant with live cooking stations featuring the best of Portuguese cuisine. The curated, buffet style restaurant offers fresh, quality dishes for travelers looking for an authentic eating experience while in Portugal. Tempera offers this buffet style dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Emprata is a modern Italian restaurant that has been recently renovated. With Roman tradition in mind, Emprata features a central wood-fired oven. Here they are cooking up traditional Italian cuisine, shareable dishes and have some of the finest Italian wines to pair with your dish.

Oceano offers a beautiful contemporary bar with class and elegance, while retaining a low key feel. Relax and have a drink or a meal while enjoying panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean. There is even a bar in the lobby that offers beverages, small meals and tapas if a guest is looking for a laid back drink or snack.

Amenities

Besides a world class golf course and multiple dining options, the Praia D’El Rey Marriott has many other amenities for your enjoyment and time there.

The Kalyan Spa and fitness center offers multiple forms of relaxation if you are really looking to unwind on your next vacation. Here you will find a variety of spa treatments and water treatments to restore your balance, energy and wellbeing.

Guests can also enjoy 24-hour access to the state-of-the-art fitness center that is equipped for any type of workout. Whether it is cardio or strength-training, the fitness center will have what you need to get a workout in. They even have personal trainers to get you where you need to go with your fitness needs.

If swimming is your workout of choice, the hydrothermal pool offers either a chance to swim as your workout, or just a place to relax your body and mind. If an outdoor pool is more your thing, the Marriott has a spectacular pool area overlooking the ocean for your enjoyment.

If it is adventure that you seek, the Marriott Praia D’El Rey will also help you set up a variety of local activities. From local tours to surfing lessons and other water sports, adventure awaits you in Obidos at Praia D’El Rey. Because of these amenities, the Marriott Praia D’El Rey is a perfect spot for the family when traveling in this region of Portugal.

Royal Obidos Resort

Also nestled along Portugal’s beautiful west coast is the Royal Obidos Resort. The resort features a 5-star hotel, villas and apartments. Here you can play golf at the Royal Obidos Golf Course, try a variety of activities or spend time at one of the many beaches of the Atlantic Ocean that are nearby.

Royal Obidos Golf Course

Stretching out to over 7,300 yards from the tips, Royal Obidos Golf Course, opened in 2012, is one of the last designs from the late Seve Ballesteros. The golf course hosted the Portugal Open on the Challenge Tour from 2020-2025. Winners of the event include PGA Tour stars Garrick Higgo and Marco Penge.

Royal Obidos plays very differently than other golf courses in Obidos. While you can view the Atlantic Ocean from much of the golf course, there are not any holes directly near the coastline. When you play Royal Obidos golf course, you will feel very at home if you are accustomed to a parkland style of golf that is very much the norm in the United States or mainland Europe.

Seve Ballesteros’ flair for the dramatic as a player also plays out in his design at Royal Obidos. One of the more dramatic holes comes early in your round on the par 5 second hole. Here you tee off from an elevated position with great views of the surrounding landscape. A challenging hole awaits you as water runs the entire left side of the green and a peninsula green awaits your approach.

The par 3 15th hole can also make or break a round for players as they come down the stretch in their round. A demanding tee shot over water is needed from an elevated tee and any balls short will meet an inevitable demise in the pond. There is little room for bailout on this challenging hole as a tee shot that goes long ends up in fescue grass.

A demanding finishing hole awaits players as they are closing out their round at Royal Obidos. The par 5, while reachable for better players, has a green protected by water. Any pulled approach will find it and a bailout to the right leads to a tough downhill chip back towards the water. Hit two good shots however, or a well placed layup and you will give yourself a birdie opportunity to end your round.

Royal Obidos Dining Options

Whether it is before or after your round, there are multiple dining options to choose from at Royal Obidos. The Legend balcony at the golf course clubhouse opens up and there are gorgeous views of the golf course and Atlantic Ocean. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, The Legend offers a varied menu of local favorites and pub food to either fuel up for your round or to enjoy as you reminisce about all the great shots you hit during your round.

At the Royal Obidos Resort, there are other great dining options for you to enjoy during your stay. The Cobalt Restaurant offers many of the local and national cuisines of Portugal. With an interior design inspired by traditional Portuguese ceramics, the dining space is a lovely window into both traditional Portuguese cuisine and culture.

If it is Italian food that you have a craving for, the Royal Obidos Resort has you covered with Osteria Verdi – Cucina Italiana. Dine inside the fashionable restaurant or outside on the patio with a view of the Ocean at Osteria Verdi. Grab a glass of wine and enjoy your favorite pasta or pizza as you enjoy the splendid beauty that Obidos has to offer while getting the warmth and taste of authentic Italian cuisine.

Amenities

When you aren’t golfing or checking out the sites around Obidos, the Royal Obidos Resort offers some amenities for your enjoyment and to get the most relaxation out of your vacation stay.

The Mandalay Spa is onsite and offers a variety of therapies for your relaxation. The spa and its Southeast Asian theme offer various traditional therapies from Thailand and India. Relax while a professional soothes your body with traditional rituals and transformative treatments.

The health club at Royal Obidos Resort offers a variety of services for your fitness and well-being. If it is a workout you seek, there is a fitness gym, Pilates room or heated pool for you to work on your fitness while at the resort. The Turkish bath offers some relaxation as your stress melts away slowly as you relax in warm waters in this peaceful setting.

West Cliffs Ocean and Golf Resort

Opened to the public in 2017, and designed by famed architect Pete Dye’s niece Cynthia, West Cliffs has risen up the rankings for best golf courses in Portugal since its opening.

The site Dye was given to create the golf course is absolutely stunning. Set on Portugal’s Silver Coast, West Cliffs gives players stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean, Berlengas Islands and the Obidos Lagoon. The property is large, almost 500 acres in size and winds its way through a mix of sand dunes and coastal vegetation.

Because of the vegetation associated with the coastline, Cynthia Dye and her team had to work closely with local governments and officials to make sure there was not much disruption to the native landscape in the building of the golf course. The results are stunning. West Cliffs fits beautifully into the natural surroundings of Obidos and the Atlantic coast.

Dye has talked about this marriage of nature and golf course design, stating, “with the Atlantic visible from every hole, West Cliffs is the most natural golf course site imaginable. One of the most impressive characteristics of the course is just how anchored it is to the native coastal environment.”

She went on to say, “the terrain at West Cliffs is amazing. On the vast majority of the holes, it was only necessary to site the green complexes with a bit of shaping and then define the limits of grassing. For the most part, the course was already there waiting for us.”

The course is set up with two circular nines, bringing you back to the clubhouse after the front nine as well as a beautiful and difficult 18th hole as you head towards the ocean and the clubhouse from an elevated tee.

The topography changes drastically depending on what holes you are playing on the golf course. Holes built closer to the ocean are inside dramatic dunes, but play very flat themselves. The further holes get inland, the more elevation you find on them. Because of this elevation, the ocean is visible throughout the back nine.

Playing conditions at West Cliffs are spectacular, especially the greens. Large, undulating green complexes are in pristine condition and play firm and fast. While fairways can be narrow in spots, the rough is generally short and very easy to play from. Hit a tee shot too far off line however, and you will probably not be finding the golf ball as the vegetation can be very thick outside of the rough.

One word of caution before you tee it up at West Cliffs, pick the proper tee boxes to play. The course stretches back to about 7,000 yards from the tips, but from back there, West Cliffs can be a real challenge, especially when you factor in the winds coming off the Atlantic Ocean regularly.

Clubhouse Restaurant

Whether you are looking for a fancier meal or something more informal, the clubhouse restaurant at West Cliffs has you covered.

You can dine inside the beautifully designed restaurant or sit out on the patio overlooking the golf course and Atlantic Ocean, either way, there will be something to your culinary liking. If you are looking for a beverage after your round while you reminisce about how you played, the patio is the perfect place to enjoy good company and relax after the round.

For a more unique culinary experience, a sit down meal will offer everything you want. Chef Luis Correia, who has started restaurants all over Europe, is there to make traditional Portuguese cuisine that is certain to make your taste buds go wild.

If you are looking for a vacation outside of the ordinary, Obidos, Portugal offers everything a golfer or a family will need for a splendid getaway along Portugal’s Silver Coast.