Quinta do Lago has highlighted its position among Europe’s finest golf venues after striking gold at the prestigious annual 59club Golf Customer Service Excellence Awards.

Home to three 18-hole championship golf courses – the North, South and Laranjal – the premier Algarve resort was honoured at the recent awards event held across the evenings of March 14 and 15 as industry professionals from across Europe’s leading golf venues gathered in Girona, Spain.

Quinta do Lago’s high-quality service was recognised during the event with the venue being named as a Gold Flag Members Club. The ultimate recognition for clubs and resorts who strive to deliver the best facilities and service offering to members and guests, Quinta do Lago was the only Portuguese venue to be presented with the accolade, and one of just eight destinations in mainland Europe.

Quinta do Lago and its team also took home the service award for Leading Individual Retail Experience for Europe South.

Determined by scores collected from impartial mystery shopping audits, 59club’s prestigious accolades evaluate the experience afforded to guests, members and prospective members against objective benchmarking criteria.

The awards span many categories across all areas of hospitality, with main individual accolades split into three categories based on venues’ average green fee rate – ensuring service excellence is recognised regardless of venue size, scale and profile.

Sean Moriarty, CEO of Quinta do Lago, said: “Here at Quinta do Lago, we place a real emphasis on providing the best possible experience for visitors. Our success at the 59club awards is testament to the continued hard work and dedication of the whole team.
“I must also congratulate the retail team for their success in the Europe South – Leading Individual Retail Experience category.”

As well as attracting golfers, Quinta do Lago’s world-class performance hub, The Campus, is a popular venue for top athletes and sports teams from all over the world. The premier multi-sports facility welcomes residents and guests of Quinta do Lago to enjoy a lifestyle of health, fitness and wellness, and includes a high-performance gym, tennis and padel courts, swimming pool, cycling, group classes and personal training, recovery suites and sports rehabilitation.

Alongside an unparalleled sport offering, guests staying in the 2,000-acre Algarve resort can enjoy 14 first-class bars and restaurants or discover the picturesque Magnolia Hotel. Blessed with the backdrop of one of Europe’s most beautiful natural regions, Quinta do Lago is the perfect place to soak in golden sands and sapphire seas, with facilities for every need close at hand.

Quinta do Lago
Since its inception in 1972, Quinta do Lago has been at the forefront of international golf, hosting eight Portuguese Opens as well as numerous other international tournaments. Home to three world-class golf courses, the resort also boasts a wealth of cutting-edge practice facilities.

• Quinta do Lago North Course – Opening in October 2014, the totally revamped North Course has been redeveloped by renowned American golf architect Beau Welling in close collaboration with 2014 European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley and is set to become one of the new stars of European golf. The new layout has been built to the highest specifications with a €9.6m investment programme and has been redeveloped with the emphasis firmly on precision and strategy. While many modern-day developments tend to focus on length, Welling and McGinley have been keen to design a golfing experience where accuracy and course management are the key factors, and a course that is playable and fun for golfers of all abilities.
• Quinta do Lago South Course – A favourite among European Tour professionals, the South Course calls for accurate drives and precise shots, but rewards players for their efforts with the stunning backdrop of the Ria Formosa Natural Park. Regularly included in Golf World magazine’s ‘Top 100 Golf Courses in Europe’, the par-72 layout has received widespread praise for its strategically placed hazards and varying difficulty across the 18 holes. Having hosted the Portuguese Open on no fewer than eight occasions, the South Course is regarded as one of Portugal’s premier golfing venues and underwent a €7m upgrade in 2020 to further enhance the playing experience.
• Laranjal – Designed by Jorge Santana da Silva in the grounds of an orange grove, the par-72 course was named as Portugal’s Best Golf Course 2011 at the Portuguese Travel Awards and poses serious tests for players of all abilities. Opened in 2008, Laranjal offers a pure golfing experience right next to the Quinta do Lago estate and features fairways sown with Bermuda grass, providing a challenging playing environment in a picture-perfect setting.
• Paul McGinley Academy – Quinta do Lago is home to the only Paul McGinley Academy in the world, founded in October 2011 by Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup captain. With a strong involvement from McGinley himself, who is a regular visitor to the resort, the academy aims to cultivate and improve golfers’ play by providing them with the tools and techniques used on the professional Tours. The academy focuses especially on younger players, working in collaboration with local schools and is the perfect way to follow in the footsteps of the pros.
• TaylorMade Performance Centre – Quinta do Lago’s TaylorMade Performance Centre is the only facility of its kind in Portugal and is located on the resort’s expansive driving range. Opened in May 2013, the centre is operated by trained TaylorMade technicians, offering golfers a custom-fitting experience testing hundreds of club and iron options, ensuring the best combination for every player’s swing. It also has a fully equipped Tour standard workshop and utilises FlightScope X2 radar technology to measure the entire flight of the ball from impact to landing whilst displaying its 3D trajectory in real time.

Set amongst 2,000 acres of the picturesque Ria Formosa Natural Park and located just 15 minutes from Faro airport, Quinta do Lago offers residents and guests an unparalleled location benefiting from a year-round temperate climate, a variety of lifestyle pursuits and a strong sense of community.