Monday, April 30, 2018

Martinhal Cascais Family Hotel Portugal Review | A Unique Five Star Family-Friendly Experience ♥

  *I was a guest of the Martinhal Cascais Family Hotel, however, as always, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this feature are 100% my own.

Last week I was delighted to have the opportunity to be a guest of the Martinhal Cascais Family Hotel in Portugal and to attend their Luxury Family Brand Event, which included a lot of successful and inspiring speakers such as Rob Law from children's travel luggage brand Trunki and Andrew Dent from Family Traveller, amongst others. I will share my experience of the Martinhal Luxury Family Brand Event in a separate post.

I attended the event with the lovely Olivia from Cannon Consulting, Andrea from Office Mum, Tracy from Mumager, Kellie from My Little Babóg, Tracey from Love of Living and Laura from Love, Life and Little Ones.


The spa outdoor pool area.
Martinhal is a hotel chain that offers luxury family-friendly resorts across Portugal, with the promise that "Martinhal is a place where parents get to drink their cappuccino with the foam still on it". Now I very awkwardly don't drink hot drinks, but if somewhere is offering me a bit of peace whilst my children's needs and holiday wants are considered on the same priority level of mine then I'm going to take it with open arms!

The block where my room was located at Martinhal.

Martinhal is owned and run by husband and wife team Roman and Chitra Stern, who have four children of their own, so I was confident that they would offer an excellent experience in their hotels that catered to the needs of families - I wasn't disappointed.

From the moment I entered the beautiful Martinhal Cascais Family Hotel I was immediately blown away by how luxurious, clean and family-orientated the place was.

One of the first things I set eyes on was a little wendy house and outdoor toys situated on a beautiful decking area outside and I knew if my boys had been with me then they would have immediately went out there and played happily while I soaked up some much needed sunshine on one of the many chairs that were on offer.

In my experience, hotels which usually accommodate kids can be a bit grubby and unappealing throughout the day as they're met with kids snacking throughout, running about, playing with toys, etc. - lets face it, kids just attract dirt - but in Martinhal I didn't spot one thing out of the place the entire time I was there, and this was with kids happily roaming about enjoying their stay.

This level of cleanliness and attention to detail was something I greatly appreciated during my stay at Martinhal and it's something which would definitely attract me back to visit with my own family in tow.

The staff at Martinhal are all incredibly friendly. Everywhere I went in the hotel I was greeted with a smile and it's little things like this which are very appreciated by me - service with a smile never goes out of fashion.

The rooms at Martinhal are nothing short of stunning and when I entered mine I actually exclaimed "wow" out loud and couldn't wait to video call Jacek to show him. I was blown away by the room which was spacious, comfortable and which had everything I needed to enjoy my stay.

The bed was huge and very comfortable, which made for a great nights sleep. The pillows were nice and plump and two were supplied, with extra ones available in the wardrobe.

The room included a TV with lots of channels, complimentary water, a Nespresso coffee machine which offered two free coffees a day (you're welcome to have more but they are €1.50 each) and a mini bar. Each evening a chocolate was left in the room and my bed was turned down, ready for me to relax into it after a long day. Little touches like this were very luxurious and were a lovely reminder of the caring attitude Martinhal has towards it's guests.

The bathroom was large with a his and hers sink area, a large bath, a separate walk-in shower, a separate toilet area and it also had robes and flip flops supplied. There was a full-sized hairdryer and lovely Irish brand Voya's products in the bathroom - I love seeing Irish brands supported.

I was lucky enough to enjoy a bath during my stay at Martinhal and it was so lovely with the Voya product that was supplied - it made for lots of fluffy bubbles. It was nice to enjoy a little relaxation time in my room as well as around the hotel. There is a remote controlled screen that comes down to cover the glass area of the bathroom for complete privacy.

The view from my room at Martinhal Cascais Family Hotel.
It also had a large balcony area with table and chairs overlooking the grounds and the beautiful outdoor spa pool area.

Martinhal also offer amazing family rooms that include bunk beds for children and other essentials such as travel cots, baby baths, changing mats, etc. if needed. Martinhal also think of the kids with their little extras such as very sweet kids flip flops.

The kids club and playground at Martinhal is nothing short of amazing! I actually commented to the other bloggers I travelled with, that hotels that offer kids clubs usually just have a quite neglected and dark room filled with broken toys and old books - things that aren't going to keep kids entertained for long, but at Martinhal, they've taken the idea of a kids club and children's playtime to a whole other level!

The kids club is in a separate building, with different rooms for different age ranges. The kids club building is bright and spacious with lots of gorgeous toys to keep children happy whilst their parents get a break. The kids club has very friendly and attentive staff who make sure children's needs are completely met when they're in their care.

They make food for the children, keep them happy and entertained and a blogger who I travelled with, Laura from Love, Life and Little Ones left her adorable six month old daughter Milla there during our stay and told me that the staff at the kids club held Milla as she napped as they didn't want to disturb her by putting her in one of the cots there - now that is dedication! It's this dedication and care which sets Martinhal's kids club above the rest.

The outdoor play area is fully equipped with trampolines, slide, climbing frame and even a VW bus that's converted for kids to play in and enjoy - it was super cool! Every child I saw in the playground had a huge smile on their face and that's so lovely to see on a holiday that embraces the kids just as much as their parents.

Every space at Martinhal is catered to both kids and adults and I love that children are welcomed to the hotel with open arms and aren't just an afterthought, after all, it's the children's holiday too, right?

The food at Martinhal is some of the best I have ever tasted. Breakfast is served buffet style and there literally is everything on offer that you would consider as a breakfast option - the scrambled eggs were done to perfection!

There were also little treats on offer such as mini muffins and doughnuts which I know my Tyler would appreciate!

Above the kids club is the M Bar which serves food, ice-cream and the most delicious cocktails! We may have enjoyed a cocktail or two on our trip... it would have been rude not to really as they were so good. The atmosphere in the M Bar is very relaxed and the decor is gorgeous. We relaxed there in the evening before dinner and the sun was streaming in through the windows, it was glorious.

The spa at Martinhal is very luxurious but quite uniquely to other hotels, they also welcome children to the spa. I saw various families enjoying the heated indoor pool and jacuzzi area together. There are also parent and child treatment rooms too, which I think is a lovely touch. My fellow bloggers and I were quite taken by the outdoor spa pool area which was so serene and an ideal spot for soaking up some sun.

I'd like to extend a big thank you to Martinhal for having me as a guest at their amazing hotel. It's a luxury that I feel lucky to have experienced and which I hope to enjoy again someday with my family in tow. I know they'd love it just as much as I did and Portugal is one of our favourite countries to visit - it's the country we had our first family holiday in way back in 2014 when Tyler was just a little toddler.

If you're looking for a family holiday that offers high-end luxury in a relaxing, clean and highly family-orientated atmosphere then I highly recommend Martinhal Cascais Family Hotel. It's nothing short of spectacular.
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20 comments

  1. Wow! What an experience. Love the picture of the VW Campervan, reminds me just how much I want one again lol

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  2. Wow, wow, wow! What an absolutely stunning place to stay and all of the little touches to make it family friendly make it somewhere I'd certainly look into visiting :)

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  3. This hotel looks heavenly! My first thought on seeing all the white was that they were brave having lots of children around but you can tell it's kept immaculately clean! So many great ideas to cater for kids AND their parents too!

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  4. What a great press trip away and the hotel looks stunning. We've heard great things from other bloggers about Martinhal Cascais Hotel too. It looks so clean and sparkly. I wonder if they'd like a kid blogger across ;) x

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  5. Those rooms really are nothing short of stunning and I am so impressed with its clean family friendly add ons like the wendy house. And of course beautiful photos!

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  6. Oh WOW this looks incredible! I've never found somewhere that's luxurious for adults but still really fun for kids!

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  7. Wow what an experience it looks like u had an amazing time and that hotel looks stunning. I love that it is family friendly.

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  8. It looks so well designed, and just luxurious! We're planning a summer holiday for next year so this has been added to my shortlist! I am always so wary of taking the kids to places and them not being catered for, I don't think that would be an issue here!

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  9. What an amazing hotel, it looks absolutely stunning! Love the interiors :)

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  10. The hotel and grounds look amazing and it is so nice seeing businesses providing families with such gorgeous accommodation and food x

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  11. What an absolutely stunning hotel! Always lovely to find new family friendly gems too, and this place definitely looks like one worth bookmarking. Perhaps when I'm no longer dairy-free for my daughter and can indulge in that incredible food!

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  12. Wow this hotel looks absolutely stunning. I would love for us to get to a place like this one day!

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  13. This looks absolutely incredible. We haven't booked our holiday for this year yet, but will check this out.

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  14. Oh it looks gorgeous! I'm definitely adding this to my list for when we're looking for our next family holiday, great write up! x

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  15. Wow this looks like an amazing stunning and gorgeous place to take a holiday. I would love to go x

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  16. Oh wowzas, this looks incredible. I'd love to visit Portugal and this hotel looks almost TOO good. Love that it's so child-friendly - my little boy would also love those outdoor toys! Hope you had a lovely break away.

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  17. Wow what a gorgeous hotel! I followed everyones instastories and was so jealous!

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  18. Oh wow it looks amazing! We have just returned from Majorca and now I have the holiday blues and have been searching for family honeymoons for next summer and this looks perfect x

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  19. Nice photos, it looks really lovely there :) A great read!

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  20. The main point of attraction becomes the kid’s zone and I really like the grandness of the swimming pool, the decoration is also the best as I can see in the other Hotels in Portugal, if anybody travels with family then I will for sure recommend this one, even I will be travelling with my family once for sure.

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