A disused agricultural quinta in the eastern Algarve, acquired and transformed into a twelve-suite boutique hotel with spa, vineyard experience, and restaurant — a single integrated hospitality asset conceived from acquisition through to operational launch.
Opportunity
The investment group — three families pooling capital under a Portuguese SPV — engaged Portugal Property to identify, acquire, license, and deliver a hospitality asset in the Algarve interior, an area experiencing rapid tourism growth driven by gastronomy, wellness, and nature tourism segments. Our advisory team screened over forty candidate properties before recommending a 4.2-hectare quinta near Tavira: a defunct wine estate with a main house, four outbuildings, an active vineyard, and a spring-fed irrigation system — all within a zoning envelope that permitted touristic conversion without rezoning.
Licensing and Conversion
Hospitality licensing in the Algarve requires coordination across Turismo de Portugal, the municipal câmara, ASAE (food safety), and the regional health authority — a bureaucratic labyrinth that routinely stalls projects by twelve to eighteen months. Our regulatory team secured the empreendimento turístico licence in nine months by front-loading environmental, acoustic, and fire-safety studies into the pre-submission package. Construction converted the main house into a reception, restaurant, and spa, while the four outbuildings were rebuilt as three-suite pavilions arranged around the existing courtyard.
Key Numbers
- 12 suites across four pavilions
- 42-cover restaurant with open kitchen
- 240 m² spa with hammam and treatment rooms
- 2.8 hectares of active vineyard (Touriga Nacional, Arinto)
Disciplines Coordinated
- Acquisition, SPV structuring, and legal due diligence
- Hospitality architecture and interior design
- Structural, mechanical, and landscape engineering
- Turismo de Portugal licensing and ASAE compliance
Operational Launch
The hotel opened in spring 2024 following an eighteen-month build programme. Portugal Property’s involvement extended beyond construction into pre-opening: we recruited the general manager, negotiated a distribution agreement with a specialist boutique-hotel platform, and established supply contracts with regional producers for the restaurant. The first full season delivered 71% average occupancy and an ADR 18% above the business plan, with 92% of guest reviews citing the property’s authenticity and design quality as the primary draw.
From a derelict vineyard to a fully licensed, fully staffed hotel generating revenue in under two years. That is what single-point accountability delivers.