Project - Questions & Answers

Q: How long will the project take and when does it begin?
A: Having received approval from Loulé Council, the project will start in November 2023 and is expected to take 18 months to complete.

Q: What is Villa 97 and why do we need to do the works on it?
A: This villa was initially built as the show villa and is now used for disabled guests. As a show villa, it does not meet the modern health & safety standards, including anti-seismic construction and thicker walls. It will therefore be rebuilt according to those standards and also modernised in line with the current villas.

Q: What are the stages of the project
A: The project is divided in 3 separate phases:

Phase 1 is the addition of a first floor to the minimarket building which will accommodate our Finance & Administration offices that currently comprises 10 working places. These people are currently located in the small building next to v.97. Phase 1 also includes the demolition of that building and villa 97;
Phase 2, is the construction of the new pool.;
Phase 3 is the construction of the new villa 97, which will be slightly relocated to accommodate the pool.

Q: What’s the cost of the entire project?
A: We are looking at an investment between 1.7 and 2 million euros. Although it is a phased project, they are all linked as we need to build the offices and slightly move villa 97 to enable the construction of the pool.

Q: How safe is the investment estimate?
A: It has quite a bit of contingency in it but, in the current environment, it’s not without risk. We are comfortable with the costs as they are, but if we get to the point where we were ready to demolish the current offices and villa 97 and phases 2 and 3 were much more expensive, or if the Club is a different position by then, we could stop or pause at that point.

Q: How will it be financed – will there be an impact on membership fees?
A: Despite all the challenges, the club has done very well over the last few years, and we therefore have enough cash and reserves to be able to fund the project from existing resources. Resales and sales of club weeks have been particularly successful, generating around €900,000 over the last 5 years. This has not only helped finance the project but also gives us the confidence to continue to invest in the Club. As it is pre-financed there is unlikely to be an impact on membership fees.

PHASE 1 – NEW OFFICES AND MINI MARKET REFURBISHMENT

Q: What happens to the minimarket and the Resales office during the construction?
A: The minimarket will continue to operate across the boulevard of where it currently stands, next to the maintenance gate, and there will be signage indicating the location. Although there are space limitations, we will do our best to provide the widest possible array of products there and, as always, the team will be happy to cater for any special requests that you may have during your stay. During this period, the resales office will operate from the current villa 97.

Q: How long will the phase take and how long will the mini market be operating from the temporary location?
A: The minimarket will continue to operate normally for the entire working period. It is expected that the duration of the works on that building is for 8 months.

Q What about the noise and the mess in the middle of the resort?
A: Although the entire minimarket building will be scaffolded, there will always be a certain level of disruption which, as always, we will do our best to minimise.

Q: Do we really need new offices, what is the benefit?
A: To create the space for the construction of the new swimming pool, the current office building needs to be demolished and the staff that work there need to be relocated. A new floor on top of the minimarket is really the only alternative. There will also be the additional benefit of bringing the administration team closer together in the heart of the Club.

Q: Are the current offices being knocked down and will there be an alternative use of the space?
A: Those offices will be demolished to create the space for the pool.

PHASE 2 – CONSTRUCTION OF NEW POOL

Q What are the benefits of having a new pool?
A: – The new swimming pool presents a number of benefits for the Club and its members:
• less user density in the current pool, which means that there will be less pressure for members in trying to comfortably use this facility. This is especially noticeable in the peak periods.
• the new pool will be rectangular and be covered at night and will provide an outdoor heated pool throughout the winter when it is not economic to heat the main pool.
• With a year-round outdoor heated pool, we will be able to optimise the cost of heating the current pool in the spring and autumn.
• The new pool will also provide new changing rooms and toilet facilities, which will disperse the current demand on the existing facilities adjacent to the indoor pool.

Q: How big will the new pool be?
A: The planned size is 9m x 18m. Depth will be 1.50m in the middle and 1.20m at the ends which is the biggest pool that we can accommodate in the space available

Q: Will it be adults only?
A: At the moment, it is thought to be an adult only pool.

Q: Will it be covered?
A: Yes, it will be covered at water level to provide for better heat retention.

Q: Will it be heated with solar power?
A: Yes, it will be heated with solar power.

Q: What stops children accessing the pool?
A: The pool will be enclosed and we will need to keep tight control.

Q: Will this affect the outside dining area (the barbecue terrace)?
A: No but it will take out the putting and chipping green.

Q: Are there any plans to relocate the chipping and putting green?
A: Not at this stage.

Q What about the noise and mess during construction?
A: As always, we will do our best to control this. The affected area will be enclosed and, following demolition of the administration office and villa 97, we will build a construction yard on the small car park behind villa 97, which is in the Club’s grounds, but on the public road side. This will prevent lorries from accessing the works through the club and we expect to have the bulk of noisy activity on the public road side. During this phase we anticipate minimum impact as everything will come and go from the access on the public road.

Q What about the impact on the nearby villas during construction?
A: There will always be a certain level of noise in the nearby villas, although not to very high levels. When possible, and as it happened during the villa renovations, we will be happy to accommodate any requests for villa change on the nearby villas.

Q Will there still be access to the driving range?
A: In certain periods of the works it may not be possible to access the driving range via the gate. The main gate will have to be used. Once the work is completed access will be fully restored.

PHASE 3 – VILLA 97 CONSTRUCTION

Q: What are the plans are for villa 97 and will remain there when the new pool is built and can be rented whilst the works are taking place?
A: Villa 97 will not be available while the project is underway. During Phase 1 it will be used by the resales team, prior to being demolished.

Q Do we have to do Villa 97 – can’t we leave it as it is?
A: We have to do villa 97 for two main reasons: it's construction no longer complies with modern Health & Safety standards and, as part of the rebuild, the villa will be slightly relocated providing a one-off opportunity to create space for the new pool.