All of the detached villas within the resort come with their own private swimming pool. The self-catering apartments and townhouses have access to one of the communal pools.

The Clubhouse has a restaurant, bar, members lounge and pro-shop.

For your peace of mind the resort has 24 hour patrolled security.

Pinheiros Altos is home a 27 hole championship golf course. It is presented into three contrasting nine hole formats, each PAR 36 and with their own challenges.

Nine hole Pines Course

The Pinheiros Altos Pines Course (Pinheiros) is named after the abundance of pine trees which abound the course, this nine includes four of the new holes opened in January 2007 and five of the original front nine. One thousand additional pine trees were planted to blend the new with old.

Nine hole Corks Course

The Corks Course (Sobreiros) is the longer of the three nine holes at Pinheiros Altos and regarded as the most demanding, especially due to the difficulty of the eighth hole.

Nine hole Olives Course

The Olives Course was the original back nine and has remained unchanged since the island green eighth hole was constructed in 1995 and has one of the golf courses signatures holes.

We mentioned the land-based Eco Tours which are available at the Quinta do Lago lake-side water sports centre, but the team at the Beach-side centre also offer an extensive range of powerboat tours, enabling you to fully appreciate the stunningly beautiful coastline of the Ria Formosa Natural Park area from the ocean, or to enjoy a secret desert island beach picnic, go sea fishing or snorkelling away from the beach.

On the beach, which is 3km of gorgeous golden-white sand backed by low dunes and the lovely environment, there is an even wider range of water sports provided by the same highly-qualified team. Here you will find: jet skis, ringo and banana rides, powerboating, water-skiing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, body-boarding and surfing, pedal-boating, kayaking and canoeing, sailing and scuba diving, as well as deep sea fishing and snorkelling. Truly something for everyone!

Power sports are carefully kept separate from the more sedate pursuits such as swimming or snorkelling, and in the summer months there are lifeguards constantly available during daylight hours.

As with the lake-side centre, fully qualified instruction and equipment hire are available for any activities which require you to have some skill or experience. Real newbies might prefer to learn something like kayaking on the still water of the lake and then transfer their new skills to the ocean; it just depends on your confidence level and experience.

Kitesurfing is a particular feature of the water sports scene in this area because of the highly suitable blend of gentle Atlantic breezes and small waves on which to work. Windsurfers and sailors too will appreciate this combination, seemingly made for small craft of all kinds.

The beach at Quinta do Lago has been the recipient of a highly prestigious European Gold Flag award for having consistently impeccable cleanliness and suitability for swimming and other water-based activities over a period of five years. This is a testament to the work that the resort and local people have done in working to preserve the natural environment here.

On the golden sand itself there are highly comfortable loungers and sun-shades available to hire, and you can expect sunshine on more days of the year than most, if not all, places in Europe. Which all adds up to a picture of sheer beach-side bliss!

The Jim Stewart Tennis Academy is the perfect home away from home in the Algarve for tennis players of all ages. The climate of the Golden Triangle is as suitable for playing tennis as it is for golf, although we'd recommend booking in the evening during the height of summer as it does get hot in the day. Jim Stewart's Tennis Academy has over ten courts which feature different surfaces to play on, including hard courts, astro-turf and clay.

Recently they have also added the new American tennis-derived varient Pickelball, which we're told is a slightly less strenuous version of the regular game. What you'll especially notice though is the extra-friendly welcome and helpful attitude of the staff here. Nothing seems to be too much trouble, from advice on racquet string tension to top-level coaching to help you improve your game. There is an extensive daily kids and schools programme for budding players, and a court-side cafe where the irrepressible Stewart serves up a storm (sorry, we couldn't resist that one!).

During your stay at Quinta do Lago, it seems likely that you will either need to pick up a few everyday provisions or perhaps might fancy a little retail therapy. Quinta do Lago caters for both needs with two separate facilities which are very close to each other, and can be found at the entrance to the resort.

If it's designer items like clothes, sunglasses, jewellery, shoes, perfumes, homewares or gifts that you require (or simply the chance to while away some time with luxury shopping), then head for Quinta Shopping, the resort's boutique mall. Here you will find many luxury international and local brands in a comfortable and clean open air mall. There are also restaurants and cafes here, two hairdressers and a range of other services, including an estate agent and an excellent pharmacy (should you need it).

For more day to day shopping, head to the Buganvilla Plaza, on the other side of the car park from Quinta Shopping. The Buganvilla Plaza features a newsagent, supermarket, bank, more estate agents, and some other useful shops including places to buy quality linen, clothes and children's clothes.

Here you will also find a number of eateries, including the Tsuru Japanese-European restaurant which is part of T Clube, the resort's stylish and justifiably famous nightclub. The food here is excellent, as is the friendly welcome. T Clube is popular with the beautiful and famous of Portugal, and is large enough to accommodate a stylish Piano bar for cocktails and conversation, and a large palm-tree dotted lounge garden which is available for private parties. T Clube is open every day during July and August, and at weekends from 11pm-6am during the rest of the year, so you can truly dance the beautiful Algarve night away here.