As the Martinhal Group celebrates 15 years of luxury family hospitality, its founders, Chitra and Roman Stern, eagerly look to the future

By: Alexandra Stilwell

From the Algarve to the world, redefining family hospitality with exciting plans ahead

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Martinhal Sagres Beach Family Resort: an iconic beachside retreat for discerning families founded by Chitra and Roman Stern.

This exquisite destination of understated luxury, designed by the award-winning British design group founded by Sir Terence Conran, was the seed planted by the entrepreneurial couple.

Roman and Chitra Stern

Over the past decade and a half, the brand has grown into a luxury hospitality and real estate group with a flourishing portfolio.

As the founders of the prosperous group reflect on and celebrate their achievements, they also look ahead to the next 15 years, which will feature new hospitality and real estate projects, the possibility of expanding overseas, and the continued growth of their educational hub in Lisbon.

Martinhal Oriente

Behind every successful brand lies a remarkable journey filled with passion, dedication, and challenges.

For Chitra and Roman Stern, this story began in 2001 when they relocated from London to the Algarve. At the time, they firmly believed that Portugal was the least explored country in western Europe.

Martinhal Sagres

“There was so much potential. English was already widely spoken. People were lovely, very genuine. Expo 98 had just taken place, and all the European Union infrastructure funds were being rolled out. Major infrastructure projects were underway,” recalls Chitra.

Like many successful business founders, Chitra, a Singaporean chartered accountant of Indian descent, and Roman, a Swiss-born consultant, conceived their award-winning business venture in their garage.

Martinhal Chiado

“Neither of us had come from the hotel world,” admits Chitra. However, this did not stop them from building a globally recognised luxury lifestyle brand, cherished by discerning families the world over, which earned them a prestigious Condé Nast Traveller award for “Best Hotel for Families in the World”.

Martinhal Chiado

To differentiate themselves, they introduced a concept that did not exist in the Algarve: a year-round luxury family resort that would counter the region’s seasonality. Chitra recalls: “Golf courses already existed in the area or were in the planning stage. Therefore, we needed to develop a new idea. And that’s when we came up with a family concept.”

Opening a large resort after the global financial crisis was a monumental achievement, but as true entrepreneurs, the Sterns identified opportunities in the situation.

Martinhal Sagres

“We were surprised by this crisis, and one key thing that happened was that the Portuguese government announced a ‘Golden Visa’, which enabled us to attract more investment,” says Chitra, reflecting on how Martinhal provided the ideal properties for this innovative programme together with the profitable lease-back scheme they developed.

Following the successful opening of Martinhal Sagres in 2010, the business-savvy couple began exploring new business opportunities. “We had the will to grow the Martinhal brand after we had proven that we could successfully develop a hotel business in the furthest corner of the Algarve,” exclaims Chitra.

Martinhal Sagres

Today, the Martinhal brand encompasses resorts, hotels, branded residences, and even an international school, in several locations across Portugal – a country Chitra often refers to as “the California of Europe”.

Built on the same family concept, each Martinhal property offers a unique environment and experience, blending luxury accommodation and family concierge services with a curated art collection, a rich cultural heritage, and contemporary design.

Martinhal Quinta Luxury Villa

Located in Sagres and Quinta do Lago in the Algarve, as well as in the neighbourhoods of Chiado and Parque das Nações in Lisbon, these exclusive tourism products attract families seeking opportunities to invest in premium real estate, and for some, a new lifestyle.

Martinhal Residences, Algarve, Praia da Luz

Although Martinhal is currently focusing on two new projects in Portugal – one in Praia da Luz and another in Belas close to Lisbon – Chitra reveals they are considering expanding the Martinhal brand internationally: “If we listen to our guests, they would like to see us in America. They’d like to see us in the rest of Europe and Asia. I mean, the world’s our oyster.

Martinhal Living, Belas Clube de Campo

But, as usual, it comes with hard work. I think we could easily expand in the next 10 years into 10 to 20 hotels, there’s no doubt.”

Hospitality and residential real estate may be the Martinhal brand’s core business, but this does not mean the group is not exploring new avenues and acquiring additional skills.

Martinhal Oriente

Whilst Martinhal Lisbon Oriente, the group’s fifth project, was under construction, Chitra and Roman were tasked with developing a commercial venture: the new headquarters of the Ageas insurance company in Parque das Nações.

In parallel, through Chitra’s involvement in a foreign direct investment task force set up by the Prime Minister’s Office in 2016, they also serendipitously created the United Lisbon International School (ULIS).

United Lisbon International School

Chitra explains that with these new projects, they have been able to expand their business portfolio: “The idea was to diversify our abilities and know-how. We took on these projects, despite having no prior experience,” she admits.

ULIS opened in 2020 in the Marvila district, right in the heart of Lisbon’s emerging “technological district”.

United Lisbon International School

Today, it teaches over 630 children from 53 nationalities, from kindergarten to 12th grade. But education does not stop here for the Martinhal Group. Faced with the vast campus to develop, the Sterns realised they could expand their venture by establishing an educational hub (Edu Hub) that offers primary, secondary, and higher education, along with accommodation for the whole ecosystem.

Marvila Studios, Edu Hub, Lisbon

With two residential projects being built and Edu Hub in full bloom, the Sterns are not about to stop. “I still think Portugal has so many opportunities. People say it’s all done. It’s not”, stresses Chitra, who believes that “Portugal could easily double its economy if it pushes the right buttons”.

The passionate entrepreneur recalls her TEDx talk from 2019, in which she discussed why Portugal was on the upswing: “I would say many of the things I said then are still true today. Whilst some of the incentives, such as accessible Golden Visas, have ended, some things don’t change,” such as the country’s sun-fuelled lifestyle, growing international investment, tech start-ups and unique family-centric hospitality. “I think that the future of Portugal is still bright,” she concludes.