About the Collection
A family‑run private collection of golf‑side villas at Penina Golf Resort,
for multi‑generation families, groups and golfers who value space, privacy and nature over crowded resorts
How Penina pioneered golf tourism in the Algarve
In 1966, when most of the Algarve was still undiscovered, Sir Henry Cotton had a vision that would change everything. He saw potential where others saw rice paddies—transforming the landscape by planting over 360,000 trees and creating the Algarve’s first championship golf course at Penina.
This was not simply a golf course development. Cotton envisioned year-round excellence, natural beauty and a country-club atmosphere that would attract legends like Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Sean Connery, and Paul McCartney.
Penina became the spiritual home of Algarve golf—the place where it all began — while keeping a sense of space, calm and old‑world charm that still sets it apart today.
From Golf Players to Owners
Discovering our first villa: Casa do Prado
Forty years later, while looking for a lost golf ball on the challenging 5th fairway of the Championship Course, we discovered Casa do Prado — an authentic Algarve villa hidden among the trees.
We fell in love immediately with its character and with the atmosphere created by its generous garden and pool: perfectly positioned golf-side, yet completely private from passing players.
From a tree house to a sustainable future
Building a second villa: Casa da Floresta
When the plot next door became available—untouched and filled with more of Cotton’s original 1960s trees—we saw an opportunity not just to expand, but to evolve
We built Casa da Floresta as a gift to our daughters and their values: a sustainable, eco-designed villa that celebrates rather than dominates nature, inspired by memories of their childhood treehouse and that magical feeling of living surrounded by trees
Casa da Floresta became our family’s bridge between generations: our commitment to their future, built among the heritage of Penina’s original vision.
Our experience: decades of family hospitality
For almost two decades, these villas were where our extended family gathered. Countless Easter celebrations with grandparents and cousins. Summer weeks with friends and their children running between both villas. Winter holidays around the fireplace, where multiple generations shared meals, laughter and the quiet luxury of space and privacy.
We learned what families actually need—not from hospitality management courses, but from watching our own loved ones create memories here. The importance of both togetherness and privacy. How different ages need different spaces. Why a truly private pool matters more than proximity to crowded beaches. How the right balance of comfort and nature creates the most restorative experiences.
This knowledge, refined through years of hosting the people we love most, is what we now share with conscious travellers.
Our purpose: preserving Penina’s original atmosphere
We are committed to preserving Penina’s founding vision of a year-round country-club experience, where luxury means space, privacy and natural beauty — rather than places crowded in summer and lifeless in winter.
At Penina, with its generously sized plots, our villas prove this vision works. We offer the seclusion and authentic character that mass tourism has abandoned. Guests discover they do not need the Golden Triangle’s crowded resorts to have an exceptional Algarve experience—in fact, they prefer the tranquillity we have preserved, with easy access to beaches and historic towns such as Lagos, Silves, and Portimão.
This is not property management. It is genuine Portuguese family hospitality, expanded thoughtfully. Rather than keep out private estate used only a few weeks each year, we chose to share our villas — and to create the kind of place we look for when travelling with family and friends.
Together, Casa do Prado and Casa da Floresta are the founding homes of what is now Penina Villas Private Collection.
We look forward to welcoming you to one of our villas — or to both together, as a single private estate for larger gatherings.
Take a deep dive in our founding villas:
A growing private collection
We are slowly opening Penina Villas Private Collection to a small number of like-minded neighbours — villa owners who share Cotton’s original vision of generous plots, quiet elegance and respect for nature
This is not a corporate resort collection. It is a small circle of privately-owned villas that share the same standards:
- Authentic architectural character and generous private gardens
- True privacy from the course and from neighbouring properties
- A commitment to Penina’s original atmosphere and standards of care
Each villa in the collection will offer the same character and quality we demand for our own family. Because we are not building a booking platform — we are protecting a way of life that is increasingly rare in the Algarve.
If this sounds like your home, we would love to add your villa to the collection.