Golfers across Europe have given their overwhelming approval to West Cliffs Golf Links after voting Cynthia Dye’s layout as their favourite golf course in Portugal – and the one offering the best value for money.
Dye’s stunning links-style course, which is managed by Praia D’El Rey Marriott Golf & Beach Resort and opened less than three years ago, was the number one choice of members in the Golfhäftet Awards 2020, which were voted for by thousands of players all over the continent.
More than 87,000 votes were cast in the awards, with courses being marked in three categories – overall golf experience, quality of golf course and standard of facilities.
And there was further good news for Praia D’El Rey with the resort’s other 18-hole championship layout being ranked second behind West Cliffs in the poll for Portugal’s favourite course.
Francisco Cadete, director of golf at West Cliffs and Praia D’El Rey, said: “It’s fantastic to receive these two accolades, and the great thing about them is that they have been voted for by the people that count the most – the golfers.
“We knew West Cliffs was going to be special when we were creating it and it has started to fulfil its potential in a very short space of time. People have very quickly taken it to their hearts and we’re looking forward to it getting even better as it develops and matures.”
Based in Sweden, Golfhäftet is an innovative membership scheme offering golfers preferential rates at more than 950 participating golf courses in 15 European countries including Spain, Portugal, Germany, Scandinavia, Italy, the UK and Ireland.
Fredrik van Speijk, CEO and co-founder of Golfhäftet, said: “West Cliffs really stands out as a course as it excels in so many areas; from the design to the facilities and its impressively high service levels. We congratulate them on their tremendous achievement.”
The latest awards for West Cliffs follow quickly in the footsteps of a series of other top recent honours for the course – including being named as the best golf course in Portugal for the first time in the 2020 Today’s Golfer Travel Awards, an accolade that helped Praia D’El Rey Marriott Golf & Beach Resort to be crowned as ‘Portugal’s Best Golf Resort’.
Situated an hour north of Lisbon on Portugal’s magnificent Silver Coast, the 6,382m, par-72 layout was created across 200 hectares of natural landscape, rolling sand dunes and coastal vegetation, and offers sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean from each hole.
Also ranked inside Europe’s top 50 courses, Praia D’El Rey’s 18-hole championship course – which was designed by Cabell Robinson – is set amidst a combination of extensive pine forests and undulating dunes, and features spectacular views over the Atlantic and the Berlengas Islands beyond.
As well as golf, Praia D’El Rey boasts an extensive array of world-class sports, leisure and accommodation facilities including a Marriott hotel, a wide selection of villas, a tennis academy, a luxury spa and health club and numerous watersports and restaurants.