A sauna and cold plunge pool in the Algarve, between ochre cliffs and the Atlantic

Three Algarves, three briefs

The west coast and the Costa Vicentina face the open Atlantic: salt, wind and a cool sea. The central coast around Lagos, Albufeira and Vilamoura is the classic resort strip, with golf estates and large villas. The east, towards Tavira and the Ria Formosa lagoon, is quieter and flatter, with quintas and a gentler light. We draw a different cabin for each: 316 stainless and a windward wall on the west, shade and a long pool in the centre, low pavilions and reed in the east.

Faro airport (IPMA climate normal 1991–2020): a mean daily maximum of 29.4 °C in July and 29.2 °C in August, a January mean minimum of 8.3 °C and 455 mm of rain a year. Averages are the middle of the distribution; a heatwave day sits several degrees above them, which is why the pools are sized for 38–40 °C.

Shade is the design

Algarve summers are long, dry and bright. A cold pool is a relief and a chiller is a machine in an oven, so shade comes first: a pergola over the pool, a screen over the glass, a plant room that faces north and breathes. Glass in full sun heats the cabin before the heater does; we turn it towards the view and away from the afternoon, or shade it. See garden saunas.

Golf estates and large villas

Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo and Vilamoura have large plots and managing agents. A hot-and-cold pair with a six- or eight-seat cabin fits a family villa; the estate's design code decides the roofline, the colours and the working hours. Send the code with the plot and we draw to it.

Protected land and what to ask

Much of the coast is protected. The Ria Formosa and the Costa Vicentina are natural parks with their own authorities, and parts of the cliffs and dunes carry further restrictions. If the plot lies in or near one of them, ask the park authority and the câmara what may be built, in what size and on what base, before anything is ordered. We will not draw what you cannot build.

Alojamento local and the winter guest

A villa let to guests in the Algarve falls under the alojamento local regime. A villa let in July needs the cold side of the pair; one let in February needs the warm side and a sauna, which is why a pair and a cabin go together in a villa let all year. See holiday lets and the holiday-let circuit.

In Portugal the gate is alojamento local. Registration as AL is mandatory for a property let to guests (Decree-Law 128/2014, amended by Decree-Law 76/2024, in force 1 November 2024): a prior communication with a deadline, filed through the Balcão Único Eletrónico with the president of the câmara. The number must appear in every advertisement, insurance is required, and councils may set containment areas. Ask yours before adding a pool or a cabin to a registered property.

Boutique hotels and quintas

Converted quintas and small hotels suit the courtyard formula. The Algarve boutique hotel profile shows a composite of two glass saunas and a long cold pool in an ochre courtyard, with the plant in a room behind. The corner is useful in March and November, outside the beach months.

What a villa near Lagos comes to

Five Algarve mistakes, all cheaper to fix on paper

1. Ordering before asking whether the plot sits in a natural park or on protected land.
2. Putting the chiller in a south-facing courtyard with a closed screen.
3. Choosing steel that is not marine grade within sight of the Atlantic.
4. Drawing a cabin with glass facing the afternoon sun and no shade.
5. Forgetting the cleaner: a pair of pools with covers that two people must lift.

Each of the five costs money later. All five are cheaper to fix on the drawing, which is why the 3D layout comes before the deposit and not after.

Cabin, pool, deck and pergola are separate lines in the price list; the kit builder puts them together.