Join a Pilates class, take the shuttle to Vilamoura’s marina, opt for a personal training session, and then spend time in the relaxation room before dinner. All this plus staff as warm and welcoming as the Algarve sun.

There’s a luxurious freedom to life at the Longevity Cegonha Country Club (LCCC). Many guests are taking time out from busy lives putting together a “me-time” program of massages, meditation, and sunbathing: looking to rebalance, recharge and relax. Alternatively, Longevity Cegonha  Country Club can be a boot camp, with a rigorous regime to get back in shape. Start with the energizing “Shot of the day,” something like ginger, lemon, and vinegar before moving onto the breakfast smoothie.

With just six rooms and 26 suites, the reception staff usually know who you are as soon as you arrive.

The rooms are comfortable, simple, and spacious four-star accommodation with cooling ceramic tiles. Ground floor rooms have gardens, all with patio furniture and a lawn, some with flourishing blue and white agapanthus.

Suites have two bedrooms and a lounge with a dining area. They are popular with friends traveling together or family trips. A kitchen, with a fridge, is appreciated for cooling drinks.

The facilities

There’s a crescent-shaped pool, with a jacuzzi, for gazing out over those pine forests; Tennis court too.

The Iyashi Dome, a high-tech Japanese sauna, is probably the headline grabber. It’s a cross between an MRI scanner and a tandoori oven, which detoxes, purifies, removes up to 600 calories, and trims your waist in 30 sweltering minutes. Sauna, sensations shower, and relaxation room are all based around the Spa, and it’s treatment rooms.

Every day there’s a full dance program, Pilates, stretching, and yoga in a studio next to a small gym.

The location

An easy 20 minutes transfer from Faro airport, LCCC is inland from Vilamoura and runs a shuttle into the marina. Alternatively, you can hire bikes to explore.

Guests on full-board meet again for lunch, along with LCCC’s black cat. For both lunch and dinner, soups such as broccoli, pumpkin, vegetable, tomato, and basil are superb. Then it may be fish, steak or veal with salad and vegetables. For vegans, there’s the renowned house salad served in a cavernous bowl.