Friendship Travel’s Summer 2019 programme is spear-headed by a brand-new boutique hotel in the Algarve town of Olhao.
The holiday company, which specialises in sociable holidays for single travellers, is investing in the development of the 14-room property to serve its own customer base. Casa Rosa will open its doors as a Friendship Travel Houseparty venue in June 2019.
Casa Rosa is being created from the shell of a 19th century townhouse in Olhao’s old town and is specifically designed to appeal to Friendship Travel’s single guests.
When finished, it will offer 14 double-bedded rooms for sole occupancy with no single supplement to pay.
The development includes a plunge pool in the courtyard, a first-floor sun terrace with jacuzzi, and an open-plan living and dining space where meals will be eaten together around two large tables.
Casa Rosa will offer three-star standards in terms of hotel facilities, with boutique styling using local, natural materials from terracotta floor tiles to lime-washed plaster and found or re-purposed decorative features.
The hotel is set on a tree-lined avenue within 10 minutes’ easy stroll of Olhao’s market buildings (designed by Gustav Eiffel) and the embarkation point for the ferries which run to the off-shore islands of Armona, Culatra and Fuseta, famous for their white-sand beaches.
Olhao is one of the Algarve’s most authentic towns, with a working fishing port, fish and produce markets, Moorish and baroque architecture and cobbled streets. The Rio Formosa Natural Park offers many miles of environmentally-important dunes and estuaries to discover.
“I first came to Olhao in 2016 looking for a new Houseparty venue and fell in love with the town,” says Friendship Travel’s founder and managing director Colum McLornan.
“I could not find the finished item then, but I did find a building that had potential. In the meantime, we’ve been featuring a seafront five-star in Olhao and will continue to do so on a limited number of departures, but I am confident that Casa Rosa will be a huge hit, offering a fantastic combination of quality, location and value for single travellers.”
Seven and 14-night ATOL-bonded packages are offered with weekly departures between 2 June and 20 October next year.
Flights are to Faro airport, approx. 20 minutes’ transfer away, with up to 28 regional flying options from the UK and Ireland.
A week at Casa Rosa starts at £795 to include flights and transfers, breakfast every morning and dinner with wine on five nights each week, as well as the support of a Friendship Travel Host.
Friendship Travel, 0289 446 2211, www.friendshiptravel.com
ENDS
Editor’s Notes
- See footage of Casa Rosa’s location in Olhao here on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2OIMs9C
- Artist’s impressions of Casa Rosa’s interior are available from Beacon PR
- Friendship Travel was founded in 1999 by Colum McLornan and is based in Antrim, Northern Ireland. (Colum is available for expert comment on the singles holidays market.)
- Offers holidays for single people aged 25+
- All holidays are Hosted by Friendship Travel representatives
- Programme ranges from weekend breaks in the UK to house-parties around the Med, hotel holidays in the sun, winter ski weeks and escorted tours worldwide
- There is no single supplement to pay on Friendship Travel holidays
- All flight-inclusive holidays are ATOL-protected
Written and distributed by Jane Williams at Beacon PR 01572 748 800 or jane@beaconpr.co.uk
