Portugal is a beautiful destination for a family trip and Martinhal Cascais is the perfect place to stay. Located in the historic town of Cascais. Martinhal offers luxury accommodations and a variety of activities for families to enjoy. From its picturesque beaches to its vibrant culture, Martinhal Cascais is an ideal spot for an unforgettable family vacation. Whether you are looking for an activity-filled day out or just want to relax and take in the sights at a family holiday in Portugal, Martinhal Lisbon has something for everyone.
The whole family loved swimming in the outdoor heated pools at Martinhal, as well as taking advantage of the wonderful spa services they offer such as massages and facials. The staff at the hotel always made us feel welcome, particularly at breakfast time when they ensured there was something to suit everyone. The kids were also kept entertained with their Kids Clubs. It’s a wonderful
During our stay we took advantage of some of the complimentary activities organised by Martinhal and walks around the local area. The activities team did an amazing job ensuring everyone felt comfortable and had fun, making our holiday even more special. We definitely look forward to returning soon!
Accommodation at Martinhal Cascais
We stayed in the Martinhal hotel rather than in a villa, all sharing a room that included a super king and a bunk bed for the kids. Our balcony overlooked the back of the hotel, which meant, that although we didn’t have views of the restaurant and pool it was a lot more secluded. This suited us really well as a family with young children. Our room was really spacious and design-led with a huge window between the bathroom and bedroom to create an even lighter feel.
Luxury Family Travel
We’ve stayed at places that claimed to be ‘luxury travel’ before and been disappointed. Not that we are averse to a more basic kind of package, (we love European caravan holidays for example) but when you are told something is ‘luxury’ you expect it to be so. Thankfully Martinhal ticked ALL those boxes and more. It has been one of the very favorite trips we’ve ever been on with our family so far.
Childcare Services at Martinhal Cascais
One of the best things about Martinhal is the amazing childcare. I mentioned in my first post that we stayed in their Chaido property in Lisbon. We hadn’t initially intended to have Wilf in the kids club there as we were only there for one day. However, he begged us to let him stay we were immediately super impressed with the staff and facilities. I know that having someone look after your child is such a personal thing but we were so at ease with the care the Martinhal staff provided that we didn’t think twice about using this service.
Wilf actually still talks about the friends he made in the kids club there and on the occasion that Mabli went to (for a couple of hours) she fell asleep on one of the ladies for over an hour! I loved that they let her cuddle on them rather than try and move her into a cot. We’re already planning on returning at some point in the future and knowing how brilliant the childcare is is definitely one of the main reasons!
Children aren’t just tolerated they are welcomed and celebrated
I got a great sense that Martinhal is that it’s as much about the kids as the parents. Children aren’t just tolerated they are fully welcomed and celebrated. They are even allowed in the Spa areas and facilities which I thought was such a lovely and surprising feature. During breakfast and dinner in the main restaurant, there is a member of staff in the play corner that plays and entertains your kids. I let Wilf and Mabli take my camera as I was eating my pudding one night and came back to this picture!
Food at Martinhal Cascais
Our favourite place to hang out and eat was down by the pool, we found they also had the best veggie options too. With a few different salads and small dishes, they were also able to make cheese toasties for the children.
Breakfast was brilliant and again really nice to be able to eat and let the kids play once they were done so you could finish your coffee. We ate once at the restaurant in the evening, and although the food was great I don’t think we could have eaten for more than one night there as there weren’t very many veggie options, unfortunately.
Similarly, the M Bar had a great relaxed vibe but only one veggie option for kids and only a couple more for adults so we did find this a bit tricky. It would certainly have got a bit repetitive if you were staying for longer than the three days we did. I do think we might have got on a little better in a villa where we could cook for ourselves. The buffet was so great we often only wanted something light for lunch and could have cooked for ourselves come the evening which would have worked a bit better for veggie needs.
Kids facilities
The pools and playground were fantastic and as we went in October we often found we almost had the place to ourselves! I think we were quite lucky that there was a heatwave but I think we would have been fine with the usual Portuguese weather at this time and would go again a little out of season like this.
If we hadn’t just been to Lisbon the day before I think we would have made the day trip whilst in Cascais as it’s just under an hour away by train (along the sea). Martinhal has their Chiado location tin Lisbon so guests can often switch between the two spending day trips at either. I think this is such a brilliant idea especially if you are based in the city but fancy a child-friendly day by the pool. We also didn’t visit Cascais itself which is supposed to be a really beautiful little town. We’ll have to do that next time!
We had such a fantastic time at both Martinhal properties and wouldn’t hesitate to visit them again, Wilf especially said it was his best holiday as ‘we got to do things I like!’ If you are looking for luxury family holidays in Portugal its a great one to consider. You can see rates here.
If you enjoyed this post you may also like:
Exploring NICE with kids
Winter sun at Barcelo Tenerife
Eurocamp France
Explore Lisbon’s Wonders