Sublime Comporta Country Retreat & Spa

This secret hideaway is really sublime! The mediterranean scent of pine trees and the overall feeling of natural luxury give you an instant feeling of holiday and relaxation. The team of people are really really friendly and helpful. Great restaurant, truly the best breakfast all fresh made. Nice open spaces with all wood and nature elements. The villa is cosy and very relaxing. Great facilities. An absolute recommendation!

To visit sublime for the first time requires some expectation management. From an interminable queue in Lisbon Airport passport control (45 mins) to another queue to collect a prepaid rental car to a near 90 minute drive towards Comporta - this is not an easy start to a weekend break. However, on arrival, the calmness of the forest accommodation does alleviate some of the stress. Good - but expensive - accommodation, friendly and efficient staff and excellent food in the nearby restaurants coupled with daily visits to the not quite so nearby (15 min drive) beaches made for a pleasant break.

We have really enjoyed our stay at Sublime Comporta. The villa style rooms offer privacy and immaculate housekeeping. We have also taken full advantage of the pillow menu; particularly enjoying the aqua gel pillows. The breakfast is exceptional due to the high quality ingredients - the fruit and vegetables on the buffet are super fresh and premium quality. The gym is well air conditioned with a good variety of equipment. I would like to give a special mention to the staff who are accommodating and friendly. I do have a couple of niggles with the overall experience - Firstly, the hotel has a series mosquito problem. Mosquitos are a problem across Comporta but the indoor hotel lobby/bar appears to have more mosquitos than anywhere else I have visited. It is difficult to enjoy a drink in the lobby whilst constantly swatting mosquitos away - or worse being bitten. More should be done about this. Secondly, the beach club is well appointed but the prime position at the beach was taken up for most of our stay. The beach seats are supposed to work on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis but the front row seats near the ocean were mostly unavailable although generally empty during our stay. When we enquired about these seats, we were told that the owners of the hotel had reserved them. Of course, there is no arguing with that as it’s the owners prerogative to sit wherever they desire. Saying that; as a seasoned traveller, I find it extraordinary that the proprietors would deny their paying guests the opportunity to enjoy the prime seats during peak season. Their preference being to leave them empty.

Absolutely great hotel which we loved and would return to. There are some things worth knowing: - The hotel seems to attract an active clientele. The gym is great, but packed at 8/9am and very quiet for the rest of the day. It would be good if they could unlock all parts of the gym early so thet it can all be used at the busy hours. 75% of the space (everything except the weight/cardio room) is locked until the host arrives. - There are more possibilities for exercising outside the hotel (biking/running) but the hotel seems to actively discourage it (bad idea to run outside the hotel). Is this a liability issue? Admittedly the options probably require a short drive (running in the rice fields is stunning) but the hotel staff seem averse to it - The food is excellent at all the hotel’s restaurants. Much higher standard than I expected, and as good as any comparable hotel I can think of. It is worse making bookings ahead of time if you are coming in season. We arrived with nothing, and got what we wanted after a bit of work. Jacare, Mesa and Cavalarica in Comporta were also excellent. Everywhere was very fairly prices compared to a comparable level in the Med. - Beach club is gorgeous. Easy to get front row beds in July IF you are there by 11am. The restaurant is great. - Car charging is easy (by relatively pricey). We got given an EV as an upgrade at the airport, and once I had mastered the MIIO app, it worked ok. You really should have a car here. Distances aren’t far but parking is easy and flexibility was appreciated. 
Stand out things: - The staff. Just wonderful. Natural, friendly, professional…. Great - Food Circle. Not my sort of thing in principle (nearly 4 hours with 12 strangers with multiple small course). BUT the food was exquisite and worth every Euro. - Wine tasting. The Sommelier is a lovely guy and we sir enjoyed learning and tasting. A real pleasure and an excellent intro to a less-known market (and why it is less known is well explained… nothing to do with the quality!). - We had Padel lessons. What a blast, and such an engaging pro.
 If there were one recommendation for improvement it would be to build a lap pool. There is almost no opportunity to swim here, which is sad when you have the ocean (too rough) and many many individual pools plus a couple shared pools. None have the dimensions for laps.

Our stay at this hotel was perfect! The space was spotless, well-furnished, and had all the amenities we needed. The location was beautiful. The stuff was friendly and responsive, making sure we felt at home. Would definitely stay here again! We had an amazing experience at this Restaurants! The ambiance is cozy, the staff is incredibly attentive, and the food is simply outstanding. Every dish was a delightful surprise, with flavors perfectly balanced and beautifully presented. Highly recommend for anyone looking for an unforgettable dining experience!

We stayed in the master room villa which consisted of 3 rooms with a private pool for these 3 rooms. The room was very nicely designed and had a nice terrace where you could relax. The staff were very kind and helpfull. We will definitely go back.