The Pestana Hotel Group pioneered the concept of selling weekly intervals in mixed-use hotel and holiday resort properties in Europe. The Group believed that the Pestana Vacation Club concept required a long-term vision, which would be best served by integrating holidays into existing hotel properties. By incorporating professional management skills and a full range of facilities associated with hotel properties, customers were given the guarantees and credibility needed to make a long-term commitment to Pestana.

The Pestana Vacation Club is celebrating 40 years since sales began in 1985 at the Madeira Beach Club, which is integrated into the five-star Pestana Madeira Carlton Hotel. On average, 1,000 couples have joined the Pestana family each year by acquiring weekly intervals. The members’ database has grown to over 40,000 families in more than 50 different countries. The number of holiday properties in Madeira and the Algarve has grown to 10 (four in the Algarve and six in Madeira), including over 750 luxury apartments. The objective has always been to establish a long-term relationship with our members by offering a quality product backed by excellent service and professional management.

Based on the success of this concept, in 2001 the Group launched four resorts in Brazil and was recognised as a major pioneering force within the tourism industry on the South American continent.

OPTIONS was introduced in 2010 by Pestana Vacation Club to coincide with our 25th anniversary. We realised that as times changed, so did the holiday requirements of our guests. OPTIONS was created to give members more flexibility, even greater value for money, and more choice: the choice to stay where you want, when you want, and in the size of accommodation you and your loved ones require.

In 2014, we introduced OPTIONS PLUS. This newly designed initiative offers members three levels to choose from – DISCOVERY, LIBERTY, or CELEBRITY – and included access to the Pestana Guest Club programme, which offered preferred entry to the world of Pestana Hotels & Resorts and the Pousadas of Portugal.

More recently, we introduced OPTIONS PREFERRED, an enhanced product that offers the flexibility of OPTIONS combined with the possibility of reserving specific apartments and intervals at designated resorts.