Finding a wheelchair-friendly holiday is hard, but this place didn't let us down

We headed to the beautiful destination of Quinta do Lago as it’s known to be pretty accessible (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

My boyfriend Paul has been using a wheelchair ever since he was involved in a car accident at 21, which means making any sort of travel plans can be challenging.

From where we stay and what we do, to even getting to a destination in the first place, are all things that have to be meticulously researched and planned.

Will a hotel room have doors wide enough for Paul’s chair? If the restaurant is on a different level, how do we get to it? Will the pool have a handrail? And what if we want to venture further than the pool – what activities will be available to us?

Sounds exhausting already, doesn’t it? Which is why when we do find the right holiday hotspot it has to deliver.

We’re now in our 40s and while there’s no doubt that accessible travel has improved massively over the last two decades, it still takes a lot of organisation.

We holiday about three times a year, mostly around the UK, but we chose to visit the Algarve recently for its sunny climb in winter and south Portugal’s 50-year-old Quinta Do Lago specifically for its luxury and flat, newly built landscape with wide roads and pathways. Plus, as it’s famous for golf there were a lot of accessible routes for golf buggies, which Paul was able to access using a mobility scooter arranged by the hotel through New Generation Tours.

We chose it for its luxury and flat, newly built landscape with wide roads and pathways(Picture: Getty Images)

It took about 5 months to find and we also considered the Canary Islands which are known accessible hotspots and Cascais, the Portuguese Rivera but the cobbled floors there may have been challenging for Paul’s chair.

It’s a tourist hotspot, yes, but not as well-trodden as say Lanzarote or Barcelona.

The accommodation

Our choice of hotel was the expansive Wyndham Grand Algarve which has spacious, self-catering suites perfect for wheelchairs with their roomy, roll-in showers and (almost) level access patios.

Our accessible transfers from the airport to the Wyndham were included in our stay and provided by MBA-Travel, who are fully-equipped for wheelchair passengers with sleek black vans that are fully air-conditioned.

Our choice of hotel was the expansive Wyndham Grand Algarve (Picture: Wyndham Grand Algarve)

The XXL by Olivier restaurant was suitably fancy (Picture: Wyndham Grand Algarve)

The pool was a treat, too (Picture: Wyndham Grand Algarve)

We went half-board and took breakfast and three-course meals on a set menu at the XXL by Olivier restaurant in the evenings as the hotel was so accessible. This also took some of the planning and research for accessible restaurants out the equation and what we saved in time, we spent at the bar.

The breakfasts were also included at the downstairs Caravela restaurant, accessed by lift with lots of room to manoeuvre. Think continental cheeses and cooked platters and you get the picture with a few local cheeses and breads thrown in for good measure and satisfied bellies.

The XXL by Olivier in the evening was also satisfying, more so on the last night with pork bites and frites fitting the bill nicely.

Half-board worked out as cost effective, too – with the last servings of breakfast being at 10.30am and the XXL by Olivier opening at 6.30pm, we ate well at these times and skipped lunch.

The self-catering suite was easy to move around in (Picture: Owner supplied)

The bedroom had plenty of space to wheel around ((picture: Owner supllied)

And a close by convenience store meant we could keep our fridge well stocked (Picture: Owner supplied)

As the suites were self-catering we stocked up on waters and fizzy drinks at the local convenience store and we were able to pop these in our fridge for the day time. (It also made us giggle that a small, local shop was so well stocked with champagne bottles as well as affordable basics like bread, butter and milk!)

Drinks and meals on wheels

The Shack bar and restaurant is one for WAG and footy bingo as Coleen and Wayne Rooney have been spotted here having a tipple – so we were compelled to have a look for ourselves. Indeed it’s a not-so-well-kept secret that the Quinta resort is known for it’s British footballer fans.

Quinta gets the wheelchair-friendly seal of approval from us (Picture: Owner Supplied)

It isn’t cheap to eat and drink here, nor is it too expensive. On our second night we travelled to The Shack on foot and wheels from Wyndham in under 30 minutes for four tapas dishes and two cocktails each costing us 70 euros.

The entrance was accessible though the toilet was small and Paul had to leave his wheelchair outside when visiting the restroom, though it wasn’t too inconvenient.

The Jalapeno and cheese croquettes were worthy of a chef’s kiss and the portions were good and menu comprehensive.

The landscape was amazing and gave a real luxxy feel (Picture: Wyndham Grand Algarve)

The lake view of the fancy villas across the lake at sundown(Picture: Owner supplied)

But more importantly it’s set on stilts over a lake and provides stunning views of some of the multi-million pound villas that neighbour this bar and restaurant.

We returned for an aperitif of Laurent Perrier on our last night (18 euros for a large glass) for me, whilPaul enjoyed a Dark Storm cocktail (12 euros) and took photos on his phone of the fish in the lake that were so close by.

How we got there

We managed to cajole a lift from Paul’s Dad to the airport as parking was more expensive than the flights and it cost just £30 for a 30-minute drop-off with a Blue Badge.

Then we flew with Ryanair from Birmingham to Faro which cost us £70 return trip each on 23rd-28th September – flight prices next month (March) start even cheaper too at £64.43 return on 5th-8^th March.

However accessible flights and wheelchairs are well catered for with an access desk for wheelchair users which tailors assistance on our journey – we were taken through security like VIPs so we could then get an accessible buggy with lift to board and alight the plane.

Faro airport was equally accessible with designated hosts to help get on and off the plane as well as store personal wheelchairs on the flight.

Accessible activities

Based in the south of Quinta do Lago, we were near the protected coastal lagoon of the Ria Formosa Natural Park, home to a vast array of wildlife, migrating birds, fauna and flora.

Paul had checked this was accessible before we left and the only challenge was the gated entrance – most people can walk through but we had to speak with security in the nearby carpark to access a key to open the gate so we could get his mobility scooter through.

We were then able to access the wooden footpaths to the east and west of the bridge for long accessible scoots that immersed us in wildlife and allowed us an afternoon of bird and wildlife-spotting.

Paul really valued how easy it was to get around (Picture: Owner supplied)

Boardwalks made things so much easier for us to sightsee (Picture: Getty Images)

There’s more than 300 bird species here (Picture: Owner supplied)

We spied herons, shoals of fish and plenty of scuttling crabs here along the leeward coast where more than 300 bird species reside. We’re told chameleons, terrapins and otters are seen here too.

At the end of our scoot we returned to the wooden bridge and took a short walk along the near-empty Gigi beach along a wooden path and then stopped off for a pint of local Sagres beer at Gigi restaurant and bar.

There were steps to the bar and no ramp sadly, however we were made to feel welcome and were shown seats in the restaurant which didn’t have any stairs so we could still enjoy a pint.

Wheelie-friendly sunshine

Paul and I discovered plenty of sunshine in Quinta Do Lago, when we went last Autumn. Temperatures reached 26 degrees and we found the end of September and start of October perfect for sun and solitude as the children were all back to school.

In the New Year, it starts to warm again in February and March, so it’s also worth considering then.

Paul caught some rays at the accessible pool at the Wyndham Grand(Picture: Owner Supplied

Gigi’s beach had an accessible walkway and was near empty so could stroll along the shore (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

After three-days it was hard to find fault with our holiday destionation as newly built tourist spots like this are usually more accessible than, say, a raid in Morrocco (where TUI do packages from Manchester) or somewhere hilly like the winding streets of Lisbon or Tuscany.

What would improve Quinta’s accessible offerings even more are more drop curbs on the pavements. As it is, Paul had to occasionally travel half way down a road, just to get to the drop curb to cross.

However, since we returned – though now skint – Paul has remembered our trip as ‘mint’ and ‘wheelchair-friendly’, and we’ve both brought home some lovely memories and good tans.

Prices for a single room with breakfast at the Wyndham Grand Algarve hotel start from £220.61 a night.

How to find a wheelchair-friendly break on a budget

While our trip was a bit on the expensive side as it was a luxury break, Paul loves Booking.com for searching accessible accommodation.

It includes a ‘facilities for disabled guests’ filter in its search engine to bring-up results for all the hotels and apartments with roll-in showers, wide-doors and step-free access.

‌Here we found cheaper options for a stay very close to Quinta Do Lago with Hotel Pinhal Do Sol rooms starting at £46 a night and its wheelchair-friendly enough to include a wheelchair-user by the pool on their website.

‌The Magnolia Hotel also offer affordable stays with standard double rooms from £82 a night on a B&B basis and includes facilities for disabled guests.

‌A few affordable EasyJet packages are also available in Quinta for those of us with a modicum of mobility.

So if you can use a bath and manage steps you can get a package at Pestana Viking Resort from as little as £534 per a person for 7 nights with coach transfers and flights included.

‌Flights to Faro are probably the main affordability drawcord for Quinta Do Lago, and the Algarve, with Ryanair and EasyJet both offering UK return flights throughout the year starting from £50.

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