Other places in Portugal

Alentejo Algarve Azores Central area Lisbon area Madeira North Portugal Silver Coast

A Portuguese piece of heaven

After two days of uninterrupted sunshine, the dark clouds gathered and the heavens opened. Normally, a nightmare scenario on any holiday, but did we care? Not one iota.

The reason for our smugness in the face of this cold January downpour was the fact that we had just plunged ourselves into a black granite hot-tub nestled in the private gardens of the Six Senses Spa at the Penha Longa Hotel and Golf Resort in .
The spa was constructed as part of a £15m refurbishment programme at the hotel and we set about watching the rain and unwinding in preparation for our afternoon treatments - a holistic massage for me and a hot-stone massage for my wife.
The array of therapies and treatments that you can try at the spa is vast, and the building itself is an oasis of calm where water features, candles and big comfy sofas abound.
We chose to have our massages side by side in the couples suite, and one hour later, I struggled to muster the energy even to raise a cup of soothing ginger tea to my lips, such was my state of utter relaxation.
But it's not just the spa that's relaxing. Despite its grandeur and five star billing, the whole resort has a down-to-earth and truly welcoming atmosphere.
Lying in the Sintra Mountains between and the Estoril Coast, Penha Longa (meaning Long Rock) Hotel and Golf Resort sits amid 500 acres of picturesque private parkland.
The decor in the main hotel is beautifully finished, and thanks to some lovely touches and obvious attention to detail, even the huge lobby and bar feel snug and cosy.
The standard rooms (around £250 per night) are plush, with big, soft beds, stylish bathrooms, plasma screen TVs and a decent sized balcony.
The quality of the view from your balcony depends on which wing of the hotel you're in. Those in the Golf Wing pay slightly more for views of the stunning golf course and the mountains beyond.
We enjoyed the luxury of an executive suite (about £800 per night) which comes with a lounge, study, two bathrooms and a huge balcony.
As well as the spa and main hotel, the grounds are also home to Penha Longa's country club and golf club.
The former offers guests the chance to play tennis or squash and you can horse ride or even have riding lessons. We enjoyed an hour's ride for about £15 each.
The golf club has the 18-hole championship Atlantic course and the smaller 9-hole Monastery course, both designed by Robert Trent Jones II, one of the most famous golf-course designers in the world.
Bill Clinton and George W Bush have both graced the first tee, and George Bush Senior and our very own Duke of York are honorary presidents.
The car park filled with Aston Martins, Porsches, Mercedes-Benz's, BMWs and the odd Ferrari as Lisbon's wealthy gathered to enjoy a round of golf or a spot of lunch while their children got private coaching to set them off on the long road to becoming the next Seve Ballesteros (sorry, I couldn't think of a Portuguese equivalent).
Despite this exclusivity, the staff made us feel very welcome in our non-golfing attire (something that wouldn't be accepted at many a stuffy golf club in the UK) and we enjoyed a morning practising strokes on the driving range and the chipping and putting greens.
In fact, it's the staff that contribute hugely to your stay at Penha Longa as they're attentive, helpful and friendly, but only when you want and need them to be.
We also spent a good couple of hours exploring the private grounds. There are well-marked jogging trails which lead you around circuits of varying length, but you'll need quite a high level of fitness to tackle the longer ones, as the terrain is very hilly.
Owing to my bad ankle, we chose to explore on mountain bikes which gave us the opportunity to see the vast undulating fairways and beautiful surroundings of the main golf course.
The hotel also traces its roots back to the 14th century and there's a monastery, refurbished church and 19th century palace (with conference facilities) onsite, which are all worth a visit.
If you're feeling really active, back in the hotel there's a state-of-the-art gym and an indoor swimming pool complete with sauna, steam room and jacuzzi.
Food-wise, as well as small cafes at the golf and country club, there are two restaurants in the main hotel. assaMassa is opulently furnished and serves excellent Portuguese cuisine, but it's the neighbouring Japanese restaurant, Midori, which is the real crowd-puller.
On Saturday nights the Lisbon crowd flock to Midori for the Japanese buffet and I can't say I've enjoyed many finer meals in my lifetime.
There are three 'stations' where diners are invited to choose between sushi and sushimi (raw fish), teppanyaki (fish and meat cooked on a sizzling iron plate) and tempura (vegetables or meat in batter) - all utterly delicious.
And then, much to our sadness, it was time to leave. Our stay at Penha Longa had been so enjoyable that the time had flown by.
For those of us who aren't used to the A-list highlife, five-star hotels can sometimes be a tad intimidating and at the beginning of our weekend, as our taxi had started along the vast driveway which leads up to the hotel, I had actually felt nervous.
I had even begun to rifle through my pockets in search of spare euros I could relinquish in tips to the expected army of eager, over-officious attendants (who would then of course tut at the meagre amount offered).
But as we were to witness on countless occasions, Penha Longa is far from over-officious and anything but pretentious. It's certainly one of the best hotels I've had the pleasure to visit.

• For more information on the Penha Longa Hotel and Golf Resort, call the Ritz-Carlton on 0800 234 000 or book at www.ritz-carlton.com. Low-cost airline Monarch offers year-round daily flights from London Gatwick to Lisbon. Fares start from £36.50 one way. Ring 08700 40 63 00 or book at www.fly-monarch.com. Web bookings include a £10 discount per return flight.

Read more in our destination guide to Portugal.