The Viceroy Hotel Group has announced its entry into Europe with the opening of Viceroy at Quinta da Ombria, Algarve, scheduled to open in 2017.
According to the Viceroy, after completion of the project the luxury hotel unit will offer travellers "a unique lifetime experience in a prime coastal (sic) location in one of the most alluring destinations in Europe."
Viceroy Hotel Group will create "a bold and unforgettable experience that combines the tradition of the Algarve with the renowned Viceroy, vibrant and distinctive style."
According to the group, the location allows easy access to the best beaches in the region.
With 147 rooms in addition to 99 residential units with the Viceroy brand there will be a complex of apartments and villas. The Viceroy at Quinta da Ombria will "reflect the vision of the design firm WATG, world renowned for architecture, whose classical Villas will be delicately integrated with stylish and modern interior decor from Wimberly's Interiors."
The complex will include seven restaurants, ranging from casual to more upmarket with the presence of world-class chefs.
There also will be two outdoor pools, the inevitable 18-hole golf course and clubhouse, an exclusive spa with 10 treatment rooms and reflexology, an innovative fitness centre, a kids’ club, a library, and a multipurpose space for events and meetings covering more than 600 square metres.
"We are delighted to bring the Viceroy character, its ideology and its vibrancy to Europe," commented Bill Walshe, CEO of the Viceroy Hotel Group.
"Authenticity, individuality and a sense of unrivalled location are essential components in our commitment to deliver memorable experiences to our customers, to enhance career progression for our colleagues, and make a positive change for the community of Quinta da Ombria."
Ville Tallbacka, CEO of Quinta da Ombria underlines that "Viceroy at Quinta da Ombria will be creating a new and unique concept in the Algarve, extolling the surrounding nature, unexplored places and its beauty - a haven of tranquillity, whilst offering a vast range of products suitable for all age groups activities. The trajectory experienced the Viceroy Group and its ability to create excellence and luxury properties was decisive in the appointment of Viceroy Hotels & Resorts to manage this project."
That's the blurb, here's the history:
In 2006, the construction of this tourist complex in countryside under the care of Loulé council was given a "last warning" by Brussels and told not to authorise construction "within an area of nature conservation of community importance," with a warning that if the breach is not addressed the complaint will go to the European Court of Justice.
The project, promoted then by the Finnish consortium of SRV Group and Leart, had been the subject of a complaint filed by the League for the Protection of Nature in 2004.
In June 2006, the European Commission stated that Portugal had been sent a "final written warning regarding the urban development and a golf course called Quinta da Ombria within an area of nature conservation of community importance in the Algarve."
Brussels concluded that an environmental impact assessment, "although not exhaustive," found that the project, with a capacity of 1,700 beds and an area of 143 hectares, "would have a significant effect on at least three types of rare habitats covered by an EU directive aimed at "preserving important natural habitats and of wild flora and fauna in the EU."
The project would also have a "significant effect" on the species of flora Lotocephalus Thymus (Portuguese thyme), which according to the directive, "deserves priority protection."
The Commission argues that "the Portuguese authorities failed to take adequate measures to protect the ecological interest of the site", making the project "one of many potential threats to the Natura 2000 network under EU protection of natural sites against uncontrolled urban development on the south coast of Portugal."
Meanwhile, the impact assessment pointed out that "hazardous substances in fertilizers used on the golf course could pollute an aquifer (Querença-Silves) considered strategic for the region."
The Commission considers that this would be "a violation of the EU Directive on the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances."
In 2009, the environmental organisation Almargem heavily criticised the felling of dozens of oak and cork trees at Quinta da Ombria, and pleaded for authorities to punish the developers for their actions.
Almargem claimed that the cutting down of the trees was not legal, and that the developers had expressed the necessity for a cleanup during which they cut down the trees.
“Almargem hopes the competent authorities don’t let this crime go unpunished” said the organisation which added that the project includes the destruction of hundreds more oak and cork trees.
In August 2011, the League for the Protection of Nature suggested that the chemical products used for the installation and maintenance of the golf course at the site could contaminate the aquifer that is the region’s largest underground water deposit.
Hélder Martins the then General Manager of Quinta da Ombria and former Algarve Regional Tourism Board president said that the project was “environmentally friendly” and that he does not understand the League’s “timing.”
According to the League for the Protection of Nature, the Environmental Impact Assessment of 29 September 2010 commissioned by the developer, “is obviously insufficient and does not remove the imminent impact that the project represents to the environment in the region.”
Helder Martins guaranteed that there will not be over usage of water reserves, “We have a protocol with Loulé council and we are going to be supplied with water from the Águas do Algarve dam network, so what those people are saying is plain lies.”
Despite the involvement of Europe, the €200 million Quinta da Ombria project was granted a building licence by a delighted Loulé council in July 2012.
