We have a new blog! :)

Dear Readers,

We are pleased to announced that our DDBC blog has been redesigned and moved here. This blog will soon be  joined by a brand new website (yes, you can start counting down!).

If you are one of our blog subscribers and read the blog posts via email notifications, don’t worry! Like our Facebook or follow our Twitter page and we will always remind you and provide you with a link to a new post once it’s been published!

Please do continue reading our posts on the new blog as we appreciate you loyal readers and it would be a real shame to lose you! The link to the home page of the new blog is: www.ddbc.pt/blog

We hope to see you on our new beautifully designed blog very soon and we would love to hear your what you think. 

Best Wishes,

The Dunas Douradas Beach Club Team

Nature in the Algarve at Spring time

The Algarve is known for many things including beautiful beaches, great resorts and a fantastic nightlife, but what everyone seems to forget to mention, is the beauty that surrounds us in the spring.

January and February are truly amazing times to be in the Algarve. Nature  springs from everywhere, transforming the landscape into a blanket of green. Then, towards the end of February you have colour outbursts popping out all around. The number of both wild  and planted flowers really is breathtaking, and more and more appear  as you go through to March and May.

The first sign of spring in the Algarve is always the Almond tree blossoming. Depending on the temperature, this usually happens in February, however, this year it has been very early and it is already in full bloom. They are truly beautiful with their wild pink colouring contrasting with the deep brown branches and clear blue sky in the background.

So far this year, we have also had oranges and lemons turning those green and brown trees a much brighter hue.   An interesting quirk is the fact that a lot of people may not know that the tree in their garden is in fact an orange or lemon tree.  There is something really special about picking your own food and just grabbing an orange off one of those trees to eat is just great! 

The flowers and fruit trees blossoming all over create a truly picturesque landscape that really ought to be seen by everyone. No matter where you stay in the Algarve, you will not have to travel to experience these wondrous spring moments as there will be flowers blooming right on your doorstep!

When the spring begins to come to an end, you start seeing that there are people stripping the bark off trees; this is the cork being taken off the Cork Oak tree to produce cork objects.  Cork is a very big thing in the Algarve, and by ‘big thing’ we mean that is respected and the trees are not harmed or chopped down just simply undressed to then re-grow the layer for next time. Cork in the Algarve is used for everything from bottle corks to creating great shoes and bags and is an amazingly versatile sustainable source. If you want to learn more about this there are tours that you can go on to find out more click here.

If you thought spring in the Algarve was a dull time, you were very wrong! The spring time here is blissful.  It’s not too hot, but hot enough to wear a t-shirt (most the time anyway). It is less busy in comparison with the peak season and the perfect time to take some truly beautiful photographs! We are very eco-conscious at the Beach Club and we try our best to appreciate and preserve the beautiful nature which surrounds us. 

10 reasons why Dunas Douradas Beach Club is the perfect place to celebrate your wedding

There are many places that are very good to celebrate your special day, but here are our top 10 reasons why the Beach Club could be the perfect match for you and your guests.

1. We have space enough for up to 140 guests and they all have the opportunity to stay in the same resort during your celebration.

2. The restaurant where you could have your special meal has a great outdoor space, but also plenty of space inside. This includes space to make a dance floor for your live band and DJ, so you don’t have to go anywhere else to enjoy a nice dance with your friends and family.

3. The resort will be transformed into your own private cocktail bar and restaurant for the day/evening!

4. We have a beautiful green lawn where you can have your ceremony, with a beautiful view of the sea in the background.

5. We are right next to the beach, meaning that you do not have to travel anywhere to get those perfect beach shots.

6. Our master chef is ready to prepare a menu to suit any taste, so no need to feel as if you have to go for a certain menu, you decide what you would like to eat!

7. We have a special spa package for the couple to enjoy (this can be enjoyed before or after the wedding day).

8. We can arrange the cake, the flowers, make-up, hair, photographer, music, transportation and even your dress; nothing will be left to chance when you have your wedding party at the Beach Club!

9. We host several weddings a year, meaning that after 5 years of the resort being open, our team has gained a lot of experience in ensuring that your day is as flawless as possible.

10. At the end of the day, when the newlyweds want to retire from the party, they have a very short walk to get back to their lovely romantic apartment or villa where we can provide a fridge filled with all the luxuries that you may desire on your first evening as a married couple.

We hope that you have enjoyed reading and seeing some of the best things about celebrating your wedding day with us! If you need more information, please do not hesitate to contact the reception on:  +351 289 351 300 and ask to speak with someone about organising your dream wedding.

Here are some pictures from a couple of our previous weddings that we have hosted here: http://www.ddbc.pt/our-photo-galleries/wedding-gallery/

If you have any photos from your wedding day spent here at the resort that you would like to share with us, we would love to see them! Please do not hesitate to send this to us on our Facebook page!

Top 5 events worth attending at Dunas Douradas Beach Club in 2014.

It is now a new year and, of course, everyone is wondering what is happening this year and when the best time to come to the resort is. We have put together a list of the top five events that we think would be the most fun for you to travel over to attend!

1.Cycling - If you are a keen cycling fan and want to meet some pretty important characters within the cycling scene, then we would definitely recommend coming to the resort in February. The resort will be filled with cyclists and we predict that this will be a very eventful month.

2.Norwegian national day - In May, as usual, we have our great 17^th of May celebration, which is definitely an experience worth going to. It is the Norwegian national day and we celebrate this with great Norwegian food, drinks and great company! Several people will be in traditional costumes, and there will most definitely be a lot of bad Norwegian jokes told! ;) 

3.Norwegian Jazz band - In the last week of March we will have a Norwegian Jazz band over again, which means there will be a Jazz evening during this time! The weather is also picking up by this point so hopefully you will be able to sunbathe! J

4.Easter holiday - Easter is a great holiday to celebrate with your children, and of course a great time to bring the family over to the Beach Club! We have several events going on with the Kids Club at the resort during this holiday period. These include: Easter egg hunts, face painting and lots of fun activities for the children to enjoy!  

5.High season - Last, but not least, July and August are our busiest months with constant events and live music twice a week as well as a pool party, buffet evenings, Kids Club open every day and much more! We would recommend booking in advance for these months as we are always fully booked during the high season. 

Those are our top 5 events at the beach club this year, however, we would also like to mention that we will start with themed nights on selected dates which we can inform you more about at a later stage. We also have a special surprise to those of you who are staying with us for the fifth year as a thank you for having spent these wonderful five years with the resort!

Reflecting on the year that has passed.

-->

2013 has not been the best year for Portugal, but here at DDBC we had a fantastic year and we would like to share some of our best times with you all as we say hello to 2014.

January – The year started off with us having a few professional football teams, including FC Utrecht, stay with us. 

February – We had the resort filled up with professional cyclists from all over the World,including Team Sky Pro Cycling as well as several participants from Volta ao Algarve (Tour of Algarve –the largest cycling event in the Algarve). This February was particularly warm reaching highs of 18 °C!

March - 200 tennis players visited the resort from schools all over the U.K. They all stayed for one week  each, so overall they stayed with us for 6 weeks. The resort was very lively during this period. The sun was shining with great temperatures reaching as high as 21 °C.

During this month we also had a Norwegian Jazz band staying with us, this resulted in the restaurant being fortunate enough to host a lovely Jazz evening.

We also celebrated the Easter holiday, with the kids club creating a great Easter egg hunt for all the children around the resort.

April – As usual the resort had several golfing groups, as well as families trying to soak up the good weather. (22 °C)

 

May – On the 7^th of May, we had our yearly ‘a day in paradise’ day for special needs from central Algarve. Every year we offer the resort for this event and provide, food, drinks, games and all our other facilities for the day. Our suppliers are wonderful contributors providing us with all the food! Our fantastic staff, all work for free and it really is a memorable day open to the public to join in! They even make paintings that they sell themselves. The highlight of this day is always the Karaoke, where they all take turns in singing for us all!

In May, as usual, we had a fantastic 17^th of May celebration (the 17^th of May is the Norwegian national day). We celebrate this every year as if we were to be in Norway, with reindeer fillet, cured meat of reindeer,  gravad laks and the odd aquavit (Norwegian schnapps).

For the children we provide Norwegian hot dogs wrapped in a traditional Norwegian ‘lompe’ (a Norwegian wrap). We were a very lively group of around 100 people from all over the world joining us Vikings for this great tradition. If you haven’t experienced this yet we would strongly suggest joining us in the coming year! It really is a day to remember!

 

June – The Norwegian and Irish end of term, resulting in several families coming to enjoy their holiday.

On the 10^th we celebrated the Portuguese national day with Portuguese traditional food, wine, music as well as a miniature market with the proceedings going a Portuguese charity.

July  & August – This is the high point of the season, with guests from all over the world!  We are always fortunate enough to be fully booked during these months. We are lucky and get to meet people from everywhere! This year even included people coming over from Canada, Singapore and South Africa!

September – This year we had 3 weddings during September! What a wonderful day to be able to partake in!

All the leading Nando’s executives from all over the World came (400 people) and stayed with us! They had a wonderful celebration around the pool area.

October – Half term for European countries. This was a month packed with children enjoying the last bit of sun for the summer! We had families from Scandinavia, Ireland, U.K, Germany and Holland!

November – Our long term residents arrived to escape from the cold, and rightly so, the weather was absolutely fantastic!! The dark and cold of northern Europe simply cannot compare (and don’t forget that we have up to 40% off on long term rentals). 

In November, we also had a fantastic bridge tournament with players enjoying a lovely day with lunch and the winner receiving a cash price! Proceedings went to ACCA children's charity. (apart from 15€ p/p ) 

December – This December has been absolutely packed with events! We had a wonderful staff Christmas party (where we managed to get everything funded by our wonderful food suppliers! What great Christmas spirit!! ).

We had a lovely Latino evening with a special tapas menu and Teca, and David showed us all how to swing those hips! We had a nice group of people with a great passion for dance!

Staff children’s Christmas party – as usual we hosted a party for the children of the staff as well! 32 children showed up! We had lots of fizzy drinks, cakes and games! The kids club staff helped with face painting and danced with the children! It was so lovely to see so many happy faces. We even managed to arrange for Santa to come!! Santa gave every single child a gift and really made the evening that extra bit special!

We hope that you have all enjoyed reading about the highlights of 2013 as much as we enjoyed writing about them! We are now ready for a new year, with a new website to be going live in a months time and a fantastic New Years Eve celebration that we are truly looking forward to! Wishing you all an absolutely fantastic new year and rest of holiday! Best wishes from all the staff here at Dunas Douradas Beach Club! Hope to see you all very soon!

6 things to do as a couple in the Algarve.

When you go to the Algarve as a couple, there are lots of things to do to make your holiday together a memorable experience. We have put together a list of things that we think would help guide you through your holiday together in a very exciting way!

Sea Kayaking

Rent a kayak  and go through the caves along the coast of Lagos. Lagos is a bit over 1 hour drive from DDBC but will be well worth the drive when you see the lovely beaches and fun activities there. Sea Kayaking is an experience that can be very relaxing as you can stop and snorkel around peacefully. If you prefer to make it more extreme you can climb the rocks and jump from several different heights. The guided tours will usually take around 3 hours.

Beach Romance 

The Algarve is very well known for its beaches and another recommendation that we would give to any couple wanting a relaxed afternoon, is going down to the beach a couple of hours before sunset! If it’s summer and warm enough, bring a bit of food and a bottle of wine and just sit and watch the waves as the sun goes down. It is so peaceful and most people have left the beach by then so it will almost be completely private. If you are there in the winter time then we would suggest taking a nice stroll into the sunset. There are many beaches that are great for this, including our very own beach in front of the resort.

Swim with dolphins 

Another great activity is to go to Zoomarine and swim with dolphins! You will have to book this around a month in advance as it is really popular, but definitely worth the pre planning. Zoomarine is based in Albufeira, which is around a 40min drive from the resort.

Water Park 

When you are on holiday as a couple, it is always nice to do some fun, slightly childish things on your trip as well, therefore we suggest you go to Aquashow.  Aquashow is a water park with slides and rides to suit everyone. There is even a lazy river where you simply sit in a rubber ring and go around with the current of the 250m long river. The park is based in Quarteira and is only a 15min drive from the resort.

Palace exploring 

If you want to see a bit more of Portugal and don’t mind travelling a bit, Palacio de Pena  is most definitely worth a visit! It is absolutely stunning! The palace is located in Sintra, which is west of Lisbon meaning that you could take the train/drive/fly there and then take a coach up to the Palace (it is also possible to walk up but most people only walk down as its quite tiring). Sintra Park has several other things that would be worth looking at as it is a very large park. We recommend getting there early and wear comfortable shoes!

Adventure Park 

Another exiting thing to do in the Algarve when you are on holiday with your other half is going to Parque Aventura.  Parque Aventura is an outdoor adventure park based in Albufeira, which is a 40min drive from DDBC. The activities you can do there, include zip lines, skateboarding, rope bridges and ascenders. This is an outdoor activity and wearing sporty clothes and trainers is recommended! If you go in the summer going early or in the afternoon would be best as it may be too hot otherwise.

We hope you have enjoyed our suggestions for couples in the Algarve. We have tried to put together a list that would suit most people and that isn't just about lying down on a beach, however if you prefer the more calm holidays you can of course skip the more extreme suggestions and just relax by the pool or in a Jacuzzi with a cocktail in hand. Please let us know what you think and whether there are more things you feel should have been added to this list.

10 Reasons why Dunas Douradas Beach Club is the perfect family resort:

There are several great reasons as to why the Algarve is one of the best places to go for a family holiday. We've put together some of the features of our resort that make it the ideal place for families with children of all ages. 

1. We have a fantastic Kids Club that will make sure that the youngest ones are perfectly happy if you want a bit of alone time, or just simply want to spend some quality time with your teens. 
2. We have a restaurant in the club house that is perfect for all ages. We are very child friendly in the resort; you won’t have to deal with people getting angry with you if your children are misbehaving. In high seasons we also offer a complimentary kids area by the restaurant with movies and drawing equipment. This is a supervised area, so you can eat without running around after your children.
3. The resorted is gated and has security, so there’s nothing to worry about with regards to your children’s safety.
4. We have 4 pools; one shallow kid’s pool, two outdoor larger pools with different depths and one deep indoor pool which is heated. The pools are supervised by lifeguards.
5. We’re only 50m from the beach, with card access back to the resort, that if some of the family prefer not to visit then it’s easy to get between the two.
6. We have a gym and spa for those who want to treat themselves and keep fit during their stay. This is all in the clubhouse, so you've no need to travel far at all.
7. We have babysitters that can be called if you would like to go out on the town, or just want to have a few drinks down at the bar. 
8. We offer swimming lessons for those children who want to learn properly by a trained professional. 
9. Our apartments and villas ensure that you can have your whole family in one place rather than having to have different hotel rooms. 
10. We have a large grass lawn that gives your children plenty or space to run around, kicking a ball or playing games.

We hope these 10 reasons encourage you to stay with us as a family. If you have any more questions, please have a look on our website, call the reception: +351 289 351 300 or simply type your questions here and we will get back to you as soon as possible.