Irish among the buyers at luxury Algarve resort where there's still time to get in on the act
Wyndham Grand, Quinta do Lago
EVERYTHING’S hot in Quinta do Lago: Weather, property, golfing. Anyone looking to stay sane in Mad March should jump on a Ryanair flight out of Cork Airport to Portugal’s Faro and you can be poolside in QdL in under three hours at a luxury five-star hotel.
Getting there is not a problem thanks to good transport links. But what if you wanted to get there a lot more often, without the hassle of having to arrange accommodation every time?
What if someone else did all of the niggly bits, like booking airport transfers and restaurants and golf outings? And what if you also had access to top-notch accommodation, with housekeeping, in five-star surroundings?
The good news is if you have some cash to play with, you can have all of that, because right now the Wyndham Grand five-star hotel is selling off its swish apartments to investors, with a guaranteed annual return of 7% per annum and an apartment that is yours to holiday in for 12 weeks of the year.
“Of 132 apartments, 75% are already sold, and 10%-15% have been sold to individual Irish buyers,” says Ana Damásio, director of real estate sales at Wyndham Grand Algarve Residences, and a member of the team that outlined the investment options last month at a presentation to potential investors in Cork’s Montenotte Hotel.
Outside of those 12 personal-use weeks, the Wyndham Grand’s real estate arm will rent out your apartment to hotel guests for the remainder of the year, taking care of any maintenance issues at no extra cost. And when you do decide to use it yourself, housekeeping will have everything in order, free of charge, because that’s part of the deal too. As an apartment owner (a one-bed includes a stylish well-equipped kitchen/dining-lounge area/balcony or terrace/large bedroom/two bathrooms), you’ll also have access to an owner’s concierge who’ll look after all of the niggly bits.
You’ll have free use of the hotel gym and outdoor pool, and the luxury indoor spa and there are owner discounts too on spa treatments and food and beverages at the hotel’s bar and smashing restaurant (XXL by Olivier).
So why is a hotel selling apartments and how much do they cost? While the Wyndham Grand looks and feels like a five-star hotel and delivers an excellent guest experience, it is also an investment vehicle. Bought in 2020 by private equity firm Zetland Capital – who also bought Dublin’s Morrison Hotel in 2021 – the London-based fund has been selling off Wyndham hotel suites to investors, for prices starting at €567,000 for a 79-87 sq m one-bed, to €815,000 for a two-bed (119-137 sq m), right up to €2.8m for the only remaining penthouse. For anyone interested, right now might be a good time to buy as there’s a special offer that runs until April 30: a guaranteed 7% annual return on your investment (up from a 5% return) if you select a specific investor package.
While the timeframe looks tight, the offer still stands once a 20% deposit has been paid by the end of April deadline, Ms Damásio says.
Wyndham/Zetland clearly see a market for Irish buyers given a team travelled to Ireland recently to deliver presentations in Cork and Dublin. At the Montenotte Hotel, former Munster and Ireland international rugby player Donncha O’Callaghan moderated.
He was familiar with one of the big attractions for athletes at the resort, The Campus, a quality sports facility for high performance athletes where another former Irish rugby international, Brian O’Driscoll, has delivered sports’ camps.
The facility, developed by resort owner Irish billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien, has also been utilised by GAA teams and by the IRFU and just last week by English premiership team Everton, who also happened to be staying at the Wyndham Grand.
Seán Moriarty, a Tipperary man who is CEO of the Quinta do Lago resort, having crossed paths with Denis O’Brien during his time as retail director at filling station chain Topaz, which Mr O’Brien owned for a while, says the playing pitch at The Campus can replicate whatever conditions a team wants with three days notice. Mr Moriarty is a details man, not interested in standing still.
“It’s significant that the resort has passed the 50-year mark and that it hasn’t grown old. It’s very dear to the owners and they are always looking at ways of keeping it fresh,” he says.
Joana Oliveira, Quinta do Lago’s marketing manager, says property in the resort is in hot demand. A luxury development of 26 villas that sold off the plans for just under €3m a pop a couple of years ago has had some recent re-sales, with prices doubling. Ms Oliveira says they’re about to launch 13 of the “very last plots” (there’s a cap on the amount of development permitted at the resort, which is low-density, no more apartments can be built) and she expects the plots to sell for c €3.5m each (size is 1,500-1,700 sq m). Top of the range homes have sold for c €20m.
While British buyers dominate, Irish representation is strong, with Mr O’Brien the most high profile, having bought the resort in 1998 for a reported €31m. He thought about selling it for €220m in 2015 but later took it off the market, ostensibly at the request of his late mother Iris.
Mr O’Brien has invested millions over the years, pumping money into three golf courses, one of which won Europe’s Best Golf Course in 2022.
He also owns more than a dozen hospitality venues in the resort (bars and restaurants). Almost all of the hotels though, including the Wyndham Grand, are individually owned.
The Wyndham is very much in tune with the overall resort where nothing has been left to chance since the man behind it, the recently deceased entrepreneur and visionary André Jordan, came up with his masterplan to turn a marshlands into a fairly exclusive playground more than 50 years ago. Super-luxurious villas (regularly knocked and replaced by even more luxurious homes) and meticulous landscaping are as commonplace at QdL as the sight of small dimpled balls. It’s Pleasantville on steroids.
There’s no denying that Quinta do Lago is a golfer’s paradise, but, if you have the means, it’s good for families too, with plenty of outdoor activities, water sports, bike rentals to cycle across the spectacular wetlands of the Ria Formosa Natural Park and, most importantly “300 days of sunshine”.
This is particularly attractive to an Irish market used to 300-plus days of rain.
For those interested in investing in a Wyndham Grand apartment, the guaranteed 7% annual return investor package comes with some strings: the apartment is not available for personal use for the peak months of July and August or for “Good Friday Week”, Ms Damásio says.
It is available to the owner for two weeks in June or in September, as well as for three weeks mid-season (October, March, April, May) and seven weeks of low season (November, December, January and February), as well as midterm and week two of the Easter break. If you choose to use it during the peak weeks of July and August, then the return is variable, with the days you use it deducted from the return.
Whichever investment package you choose “it’s possible to find one where everything in terms of maintenance and housekeeping is still free of charge”, Ms Damásio says.
To date, buyers include families, golfers and investors.
“It’s a totally hassle-free lock-and-leave option, where you have all the services of a five-star hotel that operates all year,” Ms Damásio adds.
Portuguese lawyer Dearbháile Banahan, whose parents, Offaly natives, spent years living in Portugal, says buying a property there “can be quite bureaucratic”.
She advises buyers that once a promissory contract is signed, a deposit cannot be clawed back if there’s a change of heart.
“If you breach the promissory contract, the seller will be entitled to keep the deposit. Likewise, if the seller breaches it, they must return double the amount of the deposit to the buyer,” she says.
“In terms of one-off costs with the property acquisition, you should expect legal fees, transfer tax (IMT), stamp duty (IS), notary fees and registration costs,” she adds.
Buyers of Wyndham Grand apartments can expect to pay stamp duty at a fixed rate of 0.8%; a purchase transfer tax of around 6.5% and an annual property tax (c 0.3%).
Wyndham Grand Algarve Residences, 00351289000350 or email, residences@ wyndhamgrandalgarve.com
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