Portugal has always had at least one eye on the ocean – it’s the prow of Europe, facing squarely into the Atlantic, and the sea has shaped everything from its history to its cuisine.

A ten-minute walk through fragrant pine forest brings guests at this warm and understated hotel to a long stretch of soft, blond sand lapped by shallow, safe-to-swim waters. If the Octant Praia Verde were in the central Algarve the beach would be heaving in summer, but here in the east it never feels too crowded. With simple but attractive contemporary interiors, the curving, steel-framed building is softened with wooden accents that mirror the sylvan setting.