Vila Galé invests €275 million in 14 new hotels by 2027

2026 is shaping up to be a year of major investment and construction activity for Vila Galé, which is celebrating 40 years in business. In the Algarve, the group is continuing refurbishment work at its properties ahead of the peak season, totalling €3.3 million. At the same time, it is progressing work on 14 new hotels due to open by the end of 2027, as part of overall investment worth €275 million.

The Portuguese group, which operates nine hotels in the Algarve, expects growth in the region this year. “The instability around the world means that people are booking later,” says Rosário Ribeiro, Vila Galé’s Algarve operations director. She notes that “bookings are currently in line with last year, but demand is responding more slowly, and we expect growth through last-minute bookings closer to the peak season”.

Hotel Albacora expects 9% summer growth

Vila Galé has publicly unveiled the €400,000 refurbishment carried out at the Albacora hotel in Tavira. The work covered the public areas, including the reception and dining spaces. These improvements follow other renovation projects at the Ampalius hotel in Vilamoura and the group’s hotel in Lagos.

Set within a former Algarve tuna-fishing settlement - the Ferreira Neto camp - Vila Galé Albacora has 173 rooms housed in former fishermen’s homes. A ‘master suite’ occupies what was once the master fisherman’s house. The complex also includes a former school, now used as a children’s area called Clube Nep, and a period bakery converted into a museum dedicated to tuna fishing. There is also a chapel, where many British visitors now hold their weddings.

“This hotel is very special; it represents Vila Galé’s first example of historic heritage restoration,” says Pedro Ribeiro, the hotel group’s marketing and sales director.

Vila Galé Albacora: heritage, nature and beach access

Albacora also has its own jetty, from which boats take guests to beaches on islands in the Ria Formosa. The jetty facilities, along with the gardens, have also been upgraded.

“Our main customer base is Portuguese. In August, 90% of our guests are Portuguese, and many are families,” says Luís Marreiros, director of Vila Galé Albacora. He adds that “during the rest of the year, we receive strong demand from birdwatching visitors and from people interested in the nearby salt pans”.

The Albacora hotel director says that “since January, we have seen a 5% increase in occupancy rates, and we are forecasting 9% growth during the peak season”. Germany and Portugal are the main markets for the Tavira hotel, although Luís Marreiros points out that “Nordic guests are growing significantly, particularly Danes and Norwegians, who enjoy birds and nature-related activities such as those available here”.

“During holiday periods such as Carnival and Easter, we had many Spanish guests,” Luís Marreiros highlights, stressing that gastronomy is another strength. “There is plenty of tuna in Tavira, and octopus also performs well,” he says. Despite the wars, the Algarve hotel expects to grow. “Portugal as a country, and the region, give people confidence,” says the Albacora hotel director, where summer will bring “a 2% price adjustment, to reflect the improvements made as well as higher costs”.

Six new hotels in Portugal and eight in Brazil

Alongside its refurbishment programme, Vila Galé is building six new hotels in Portugal and eight in Brazil, all expected to be completed by the end of next year. The less positive aspect for the group concerns its hotels in Cuba, which remain closed with no prospect of reopening because of the country’s political crisis.

In Portugal, investment in the new hotels totals €120 million. This figure mainly covers rehabilitation work for hotel projects in Lisbon - in the former B.Leza bar premises in Largo do Conde Redondo - Caxias, at the Paço Real de Caxias, the former summer residence of kings and princes, as well as Penacova, Miranda do Douro, Golegã and Terceira Island in the Azores.

In Brazil, the group is investing 900 million reais - equivalent to around €155 million - in eight new hotels across the states of Maranhão, Alagoas, Minas Gerais, Paraíba and Santa Catarina. The Portuguese group’s planned Brazilian hotels are likewise expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

“It is an important investment year for Vila Galé, following recent years that were also marked by many property openings, both in Portugal and Brazil,” Pedro Ribeiro concludes.