New star: follow Madonna to Lisbon and Portugal's newly hip west coast where homes cost from £266k

The west coast is rivalling the Algarve. Mourinho and Madonna are fans and flats start at £266k.
From £310,000: new-phase homes at Belas Clube de Campo near the western Portuguese coast
Cathy Hawker26 January 2018

British holidaymakers and golfers have enjoyed a long and happy romance with Portugal, centred mainly on the beaches and courses of the southern Algarve.

Now it is the turn of the western coast, close to newly fashionable capital Lisbon, to offer holiday homes with sporting benefits.

NORTH OF LISBON

Belas Clube de Campo is a residential golf resort in a pine and eucalyptus forest 25 minutes from Lisbon. The hilly, 2,500-acre site has views north to the historic Palace of Sintra and west to the surfing beaches at Cascais, both within 20 minutes.

The first owners at Belas arrived in 1997 and today 800 families live there, most year-round residents. Owners cover 27 different nationalities though the majority are Portuguese — initial sales were focused on Portugal.

“Lisbon was not a destination for overseas buyers in the Nineties,” says Bruno Martins, sales director at Belas.

“British buyers generally went to the Algarve but over the past decade that has changed. Lisbon has gained a reputation as a good-value destination with good wine, good weather and world-class chefs like José Avillez. The world has discovered us.”

Belas Clube de Campo: the residential golf resort has flats, townhouses and villa plots close to Lisbon

Belas’s developer is the André Jordan Group. Long associated with Portugal, André Jordan himself is considered the “father of golf and tourism” in the Algarve.

He developed Quinta do Lago in 1971, creating one of the Algarve’s best-regarded and most expensive golf resorts, and owned the marina and golf resort in Vilamoura.

“We were market drivers in the Algarve and aimed to do the same at Belas,” he says. “The concept is similar, to incorporate homes and leisure in a natural and beautiful setting with an informal but strong community spirit.”

The average age of owners is a rather youthful 44 and many families span three generations.

Along with the championship 18-hole golf course — the closest to Lisbon — facilities include tennis courts, supermarket, gym, pools and sports camps. A school is under construction.

This autumn Belas Clube de Campo launches the second phase of properties, focusing on international buyers, and Jordan aims to ensure continued tranquillity and low density.

Lisbon Green Valley has 300 low-rise, contemporary homes priced from £310,000 for generously sized one- to three-bedroom flats and from £800,000 for three- and four-bedroom townhouses. Villa plots start from £310,000 with a typical build costing about £665,000.

Monthly service charges start from £90 with townhouse furniture packages from £71,000. Comparable property at Quinta do Lago would cost between two and three times more, says Bruno Martins.

SOUTH OF LISBON

One hour south of Lisbon at the start of the rural Alentejo region, the flat Tróia peninsula also has an 18-hole championship golf course, recently rated by Golf World magazine as the second best in Portugal.

However, it’s the mile after deserted mile of soft, white sand fronting the Atlantic that is this area’s most breathtaking feature.

This is one of Europe’s loveliest beaches, an under-the-radar favourite with certain celebrities including, this summer, Madonna.

Tróia Resort sits at the northern tip, a golf and leisure resort with a marina, hotels, restaurants, a beach club on 11 miles of beaches and a collection of apartments, townhouses and villas.

Building started in the Seventies but the real prize is the residential area created more recently close to the beach, with low-level homes that boast a delightful, bohemian style.

Properties at Tróia Resort start from £266,000 for one- to three-bedroom fully furnished apartments, £440,000 for two- and three-bedroom townhouses and from £320,000 for villa plots.

Celebrity owners include Manchester United football manager José Mourinho, who comes from nearby Setúbal — but while it appeals to stars, Tróia Resort, like the entire peninsula, is low-key and natural.

‘VIBRANT AND FRIENDLY, THIS IS A COUNTRY ON THE UP’

Barry and Corinna Green, 62 and 53, say they moved with their son Josh, 12, from Suffolk to Portugal last September because of Brexit.

“We both had businesses in the UK, Corinna in fashion and me in the motor trade, but didn’t want to leave our money invested there so decided to leave,” says Barry.

Ideal location: Barry and Corinna Green with their 12-year old son Josh and Corinna’s mother, Renate, who left the UK to live at Belas Resort

“Corinna is from Germany so we considered there and also France. But schools were our top priority and after detailed research we found St Julian’s, a private international school near Lisbon. “The school has over 40 nationalities and Josh immediately settled in.”

The family, with Corinna’s mother, plan to build a villa at Belas Clube de Campo.

“Portugal is a country on the up,” says Barry. “You can feel its vibrancy, diversity and friendliness. The bureaucracy of the move was a little heavy but we used a specialist company which took away the pain.”

For Corinna, the location is ideal. “We love the openness and tranquillity of Belas. In Suffolk we had to drive 20 minutes to get anywhere. Here we are 20 minutes from the capital Lisbon and the coast. It is safe, there is plenty to do and the views are beautiful.”

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