Vidago Palace Golf
Vidago Palace Golf sits within the grounds of the historic Vidago Palace, a Belle Époque hotel deep in the mountains of northern Portugal, near the Spanish border. The original nine holes opened in 1936, designed by the Scottish architect Philip Mackenzie Ross. In 2010, the firm Cameron & Powell, specialists in Mackenzie Ross's style, extended the course to a full eighteen holes and rebuilt it to USGA specification, working to preserve the character of the original design rather than override it.
The join between old and new is part of the course's charm. The front nine, true to its 1936 roots, plays through mature pine, oak and cedar, with tee boxes set on raised granite outcrops that are unmistakably of their era. The back nine is the more demanding half, with real elevation change that asks more of your fitness as much as your swing. Fairways stay tight throughout, and this is a course that plays harder than its length suggests.
Facilities include a driving range, golf academy, resident professionals and a clubhouse restaurant, all set against the backdrop of the Palace itself. There's no buggy GPS here, in keeping with the setting's unhurried, old-school character. For golfers heading into northern Portugal who want history alongside their golf, and don't mind a walk with real hills in it, Vidago Palace is a genuine find.
Reception: Everyday from 7:45am to 8:00pm
Golf Clubs: Callaway
Club House: With Restaurant and Snack bar
With driving range
With an Academy
Trolleys: Pull Trolleys & Electrical
With locker room
Pro Shop: Everyday from 7:45am to 6:00pm
Golf Lessons: Resident professionals
Buggies: Without GPS
With putting green
Juniors: Up to 18 years oldVidago Palace Golf - latest comments and reviews
Derek o'Brien
2026-07-09
Staff were pleasant and helpful.
Golf course very challenging, particularly the back nine holes.
Green were in beautiful condition.
Overall we had a good experience.
Clubhouse amenities could have perhaps been better.
Ariejan Tulen
2026-06-09
A beautiful, well-maintained golf course where we love to return! But Ponte de Lima, Estela, and Amarante also continue to feature in our annual playing schedule!
Rui de Matos Machado
2026-05-26
????
Michael Frank
2025-07-20
Fun course .,, old school.,, tricky layout.,, back 9 more interesting,,, tight fairways,., harder than it looks
Ariejan mannen Tulen
2025-05-27
Playing at Vidago Palace Golf Course was also part of our golf week in Northern Portugal. A beautiful golf course with beautiful tee boxes on granite elevations. It is clear from the vegetation that the first 9 holes date back to 1936, it is beautiful. A beautiful classic look over all 18 holes, a pleasure to play!
Jaime Martins
2025-04-22
Golf magnifique, tous amis ont été ravis. Accueil prémium et entretien du parcours au top.
Doublet Arnaud
2024-10-20
Superb
Marc Maisonneuve
2024-10-20
Un golf de très grande qualité dans un environnement extraordinaire.
Des départs manucurés, des fairways assez bien entretenus des greens de qualité.
Parcours très exigeant avec de belles longueurs et des dénivelés importants sur le retour nécessitant une bonne condition physique. -**- A very high quality golf course in extraordinary surroundings.
Manicured tees, fairly well-maintained fairways and quality greens.
A very demanding course with good lengths and significant changes in level on the return, requiring a good level of fitness.
Jakob Lundgaard
2024-10-20
A bit dated compound - nice course but muddy/wet ground.
martin milner
2024-09-27
great course some greens a bit iffy because of leaf mould. no atmosphere in bar area so didn’t stay for a drink. hire clubs were excellent.
Gilles AGOSTINI
2024-08-22
No problem with the booking but it is weird that it is possible to book from 7H30 whereas the club-house does not open before 7H45.
The greens were not as good as expected (maybe because the greens have been aerated not so long ago ... but nobody have mentionned it)
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