What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 9 November 2015

Welcome to another week and it's time to recap a rather fabulous recent fam with SANA Hotels in lovely Lisbon and the amazing Algarve!

Lisbon is a fabulous city, where the past and present come together and although we enjoyed somewhat mixed weather, it's usually skies all year around and a  pleasant winter making it a sun kissed city. 

It is a cosmopolitan city that's bursting with life, offering a combination of medieval facades, interesting art-noveau buildings, typical black and white mosaic sidewalks and extraordinary museums. These factors enhance Lisbon’s beauty and charm making it one of the most exciting cities in Europe.

On arrival, we checked in at the 5 Star Myriad Sana Hotel.With its unique location in the city of Lisbon, right beside the Tejo river, Myriad by SANA Hotels, is a unique and truly incomparable hotel!

176 rooms and 10 suites, with stunning views over the Tejo and Parque das Nações, together with a contemporary design and unique facilities, redefine the concept of a luxury hotel. The interior public spaces are continued into infinity by the ever present views across the Tejo. A restaurant, a bar, a SPA and indoor pool, are just some of the facilities the Myriad has to offer. For meetings and events, the Myriad has 3 meeting rooms, linked to the hotel by an aerial covered bridge, a modern Events and Conference Centre with a further 7 meeting rooms, 5 boardrooms, foyer and terrace, all set in a total of 1690 square meters. 

It's a stylish retreat for both leisure and business travellers and has outstanding facilities including a delicious restaurant and lounge/bar, relaxing SPA, and a fully equipped fitness centre (which was avoided obviously!). All of the guestrooms have lovely décor with contrasting colours, designer furniture, and a full range of modern comforts with beautiful views of Parque das Nações. Not too shabby it has to be said!

After leaving the Hotel, we started with a with a cable car ride towards the Nation’s Park, located in the Oriental Lisbon, the place where the last World Exhibition of the 20th Century took place in 1998.  

On reaching St. George’s Castle, where, from its impressive walls terrace we admired a great view of the city and the river and then walked downhill (yes, walked!) back through the old Medievel area of Alfama.

The afternoon was somewhat less relaxed as we had a driving experience through the monumental district of Belém, a historical quarter! Despite the lovely boutiques and shops there was no time to hit the credit cards unfortunately....or maybe that's a good thing!

My driver, Nick from Blueline (a fellow fammer) managed to negotiate the streets of Lisbon pretty well (not a stylish look I know given the hairnet) and then it was another amazing dinner and a few more drinks before bed! 

From Lisbon we were off to the Algarve, which was one of the key reasons for the trip as its not familiar to us here at Cloud 9. It's a great region with an extensive coastline, unique landscapes, endless beaches, hidden islands and lagoons. Additionally it boasts enchanting historical villages and castles that are meticulously preserving its heritage and ancient secrets.
 

With great weather usually, it was a tiny bit overcast, we enjoyed a scenic coach trip in order to reach the Epic Sana for a lovely welcome lunch with the team.

With a privileged location overlooking the beach at Praia Falésia (Albufeira), the EPIC SANA Algarve Hotel has 162 rooms, 24 suites and 43 apartments. 

It has a modern design, complemented by contemporary facilities and state-of-the-art technology. An extensive Spa, 5 open-air pools (two for children) and one indoor pool, kid's club, baby centre, multisports court, three restaurants, two bars and snack-bars next to the pools, are just some of the facilities of the EPIC SANA Algarve. With more than 1800 sqm of meeting rooms, the EPIC SANA Algarve Hotel Conference Centre is a focal point for congresses and events.  And something I have not seen before in a hotel is the delightful loo paper! 

We had a great afternoon of free time where we managed to take a little dip in the sea and then a walk along the coastline before heading out to Vilamoura,  Europe’s largest resort complex. 

We had a fabulous dinner at one of the trendiest space in Vilamoura, with an awe-inspiring view of the Marina. “News” has a contemporary and chic décor, somehow creating a very intimate and welcoming atmosphere. After a fun evening there (with a little fake fam wedding!) and some really wonderful food,  it was off to the local Karaoke bar for some rather mediocre performances (Paula did try her best with usual limited repertoire!).

After breakfast, we enjoyed a a thrilling and unforgettable adventure on open top jeeps in the Algarvian hills, with a stop a unique distillery. Our four wheeled adventure took us to hidden locations in the middle of the hills, to discover awe-inspiring landscapes - and despite some scary moments, we managed to recover with a fabulous tasting lunch at a local restaurant which was kindly sponsored by the Algarve Tourism Region.

Back to the hotel, some of us took a nap, some took a dip and some enjoyed the spa, before we had another great dinner at the hotel and then we managed to monopolise the bar area and take over the DJ booth until the early hours!

Sunday saw us heading back to Lisbon and to the EPIC SANA Lisboa. Right in the heart of Lisbon - close to the emblematic Square of Marquês de Pombal and Avenida da Liberdade - SANA Lisboa Hotel is a modern hotel offering spacious rooms with contemporary decor and equipped with all conveniences, whether your stay is for business or pleasure.

The hotel's excellent location on the very central Fontes Pereira de Melo Avenue, within walking distance of both the business and the historic city centre, makes SANA Lisboa Hotel the best choice to this who visit Lisbon. With 11 meeting rooms which can welcome up to 340 people, the SANA Lisboa Hotel is also an excellent hotel for business meetings and social events. 

After lunch we had a bit of free time, which is always a great plus on these trips, and we headed to packed bar to watch the Rugby! 

Then it was a farewell dinner which was another spectacular spread and some mini awards for the best fam host - which of course went to Sarah Tennant from SANA who did a rather brilliant job! 

It was an early start the next morning with a 5am pick up back to the Airport and the DMC whose great support on the trip was much appreciated, were there to wave us off! Abreu DMC, part of the Algarve Travel Group, has offices in Lisbon, Algarve, Madeira, Oporto and the Azores Islands in Portugal. They also operate out of Madrid and Barcelona and in Brazil with offices in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

The company is sustained on regional teams of highly trained and dynamic multilingual professionals, managed by an experienced leading team, and whose mission is to provide creative and innovative solutions, and excellence on destination management services, adding value to the client and to the destinations where they actively operate.
 

We like there Eco-Green Planet ethos, as Abreu truly believes and incentives a social responsibility towards local communities, associations or organisations that require, beyond any governmental aid, additional support or financial stability. They have an
extensive history of developing actions in order to give back to communities through the efforts of both employee’s and clients.

So a thoroughly educational and enjoyable trip. Fabulous hotels, fabulous hosts with Sarah, the DMC's and all of the outstanding hotel staff and GM's at each location.

Beans on Toast on a Monday night with cold damp weather were a bit of a let down after such a fantastic trip but there you are. Back to Blightly and reality - but to our clients we say - SANA are really worth a look at for your next event in Portugal. Let's talk!

Have a great week and please don't forget the Character Awards are now open...