Shanti-Som Algarve: a new farmhouse retreat among the orange groves above Moncarapacho
Fifteen years after opening in the hills behind Marbella, the family-run Shanti-Som crosses into Portugal as a 22-room retreat in a 19th-century farmhouse, adding two new programmes for burnout and strength not found at the original.
I've always recommended the eastern Algarve to friends who say they cannot stand the Algarve. East of Faro the high-rise thins out, the golf courses give way to salt pans and fig trees, and the towns, Olhão and Tavira above all, still feel like places where people live and work rather than resorts. Inland, the hills above Moncarapacho are dotted with whitewashed farmhouses and citrus groves, and Shanti-Som will open its second retreat here, on four hectares of orange and almond orchard, on 1 February.
A brand built on knowing your name
Shanti-Som opened its first retreat in 2011 in the foothills of the Sierra de las Nieves, the natural park and biosphere reserve in the mountains behind Marbella, and has built a loyal following over fifteen years on the strength of being small and personal. It is still family-owned, and the co-founder Geraldine Chiu talks about keeping the retreats small enough that the team can learn every guest's name, preferences and reasons for coming. That is a refreshing thing to hear at a time when so many retreat brands are scaling up into resorts with a hundred rooms and a programme menu as long as a phone book.
The Algarve property is larger than Marbella, with 22 rooms compared with 15, yet still small enough to maintain that intimacy, and each room accommodates up to 3 guests.
The farmhouse
The building is a restored 19th-century Portuguese farmhouse, and the owners have wisely kept its original vaulted ceilings and thick stone walls, which keep the rooms cool in the summer heat and give the place a weight and calm no new build could match. The owners promise calm, cosy interiors, and the orchards outside should be in blossom when the first guests arrive in February. The Ria Formosa lagoon, with its flamingos, oyster beds, and sandbar islands, lies just below, and Faro airport is 20 minutes away, making this one of the easiest retreats in southern Europe to reach for a long weekend from Britain.
Six programmes, two of them new
Each stay is built around a programme, priced full-board per person per day, and you can arrive on any day of the week, a small but welcome flexibility for anyone who has tried to fit a retreat around a working diary. Four programmes follow the Marbella model: Relaxation, Yoga, Pilates and Detox. The other two are exclusive to the Algarve, and they are the reason I am most interested in this opening.
Strength & Fitness is built around longevity, bone density and muscle strength as we age, with a one-to-one training session, reformer Pilates, a guided hike and a full health check with a nutritional consultation. It is pitched at guests from their thirties into their sixties and beyond, whatever their starting point, and it reflects a genuine shift in what people want from a week away. Fewer of us are looking to starve ourselves on green juice; more of us want to come home stronger.
The Burnout & Nervous System Recovery programme treats burnout as a physical state rather than simple tiredness, with daily breathwork, guided meditation, life coaching, sound baths and hot and cold contrast therapy. I like that it takes burnout seriously, and anyone who has come back from an ordinary holiday just as exhausted as when they left will understand the appeal.
The hotel manager, Ophélie Acris, describes the place as part holiday, part private health club and part gym, which is a fair summary of the balance they are aiming for.
A word on the surroundings
The press material points guests towards the beaches of Praia da Falésia and Praia da Marinha and the restaurants of Almancil, all of which are lovely but sit in the central Algarve, between half an hour and an hour's drive west. I would look closer to home. Olhão's red-brick market halls on the waterfront are among the best fish markets in Portugal, the boats from Olhão and Fuseta will take you out to the empty sands of Culatra and Armona, and Tavira, with its Roman bridge and its churches, is a short drive east. For a retreat built around calm, the eastern Algarve is the better neighbour.
Booking
Shanti-Som Algarve will suit anyone who wants a structured week of rest or training with real personal attention, in a beautiful old building rather than a hotel block, and it should be particularly good for solo travellers, who tend to feel most at ease in a retreat of this size. A Relaxation programme starts at €329 per person per night in an Essential room, all-inclusive, rising with room category, season and extras. February and March, when the almond trees are in flower across the Algarve hills, would be my choice of time to go.
The details
The retreat has 22 rooms. No one competes for a lounger, a class, or a practitioner's attention, and the wellness team gets to know each guest by name, along with their goals and preferences. Stays are full board, with six structured programmes: Yoga, Pilates, Detox, Relaxation, Strength & Fitness, and Burnout & Nervous System Recovery.
Shanti-Som Algarve, Pés do Cerro 223M, 8700-124 Moncarapacho, Faro, Portugal. Opening 1 February 2027; taking bookings now. 22 rooms, restaurant, spa, six programmes including Strength & Fitness and Burnout & Nervous System Recovery. Relaxation programme from €329 per person per night, full board. Reservations: reservations@shantisom.com, +351 308 800 554; shantisom.com/en/algarve