Sunshine & Serenity Respite Rejuvenating Holidays for families living with autism and neurodiversity
Escape to the Algarve, Portugal for a Relaxing Family Getaway
Hello welcome to our project. We are developing a respite holiday location in the Algarve, Portugal for families with Autism and neurodiversity.
Why are we developing this project? Many people appreciate and understand the complex needs of families with Autism & neurodiversity. Our holiday destination accommodations will be specifically designed to offer and support families with these needs giving them the freedom and space to enjoy a supported family holiday together.
The whole family will have the opportunity to enjoy Portugal’s amazingly sunny weather, famous beaches, and fantastic food and heaps of history.
Why did we choose Portugal? The sun shines almost three hundred days a year ! Whilst we can’t guarantee the sunshine, you can be sure of a warm friendly welcome from the Portuguese people. Most Portuguese people speak English, so communication is generally never a problem.
Of course all of your family members are important to you and to us.. But as a courtesy and respect to your neurodiverse family members, for the purpose of this document we shall kindly refer to them here ‘as your important family members. We would liked to stress that of course all of your family members are important to you and, no lesser important to us…
enjoy an hour or two alone time. Safe in the knowledge your important family members are being cared for by a safe experienced support team.
When Flying from the UK.
Just to let know we are planning to collaborate with airline companies who specialise and believe in travel inclusivity for everyone. In addition to their support for inclusivity, we are seeking to obtain discounted flights if possible.
All airlines and airports are offering lanyards which signal to their employees that you are travelling with important family members and the airport & airline staff will offer their automatically assistance, if required.
Most flights to Faro, Portugal are three hours flying time from the major UK airports. flights are offered throughout the week from many international and local airports.
School Holidays and mid-term school breaks.
Booking your holiday outside of usual end of school term can mean that beaches and the usual tourist locations will be significantly quieter and less busy which may be beneficial to your important family members.
We can help you book your flights from your location. Letting you know those airline companies that are offering discounted or subsidised flights. We can also advise you on quiet and low sensor spaces on your motorway journeys to the airport and within the airport.
Upon your Arrival & your Accommodation
We will greet you on arrival at Faro airport and transfer you to our holiday venue, and your accommodation. The travel time from the airport to your holiday destination takes about fifty minutes. Our driver will use slower non motorway roads. This will acquaint you with some of the local countryside as you travel at a much slower pace. We will be happy to stop off on route if you need a tea or coffee, or some forgotten essentials for your stay. Our time is yours. If you need a little break at anytime on your way, we will be happy to stop until you are ready carry on with the journey.
We will send you images of your accommodation in advance as we understand in some cases the important members of your family have to be familiar and acquainted with their surroundings. We will ask you in advance to advise us about anything you may need for your future stay with us. We will try our very best to provide all the resources we can, to ensure you have everything that meets your individual needs as a family.
Our accommodation has been designed specifically for the important members of your family.
Our accommodations will offer relaxing, restful places to rejuvenate. Offering you a quiet space to sit back and enjoy yourselves.
We have asked our families what they would like to see in specifically designed in our accommodations for people with autism. We will do our best to incorporate these features into our into our accommodations. Things like controllable soft lighting, soft furnishings and easy access doors and gentle access slopes, ample space and privacy between accommodations. These are some example are some of the things we are introducing. from suggestions of our WhatsApp community page.
For those people who want to share their holiday experience meeting up with friends and family members. We offer communal meeting and social areas. Where you can spend a loverly evening having a refreshing drink and a loverly meal. . And of course our accommodations will offer cooking facilities for preparing those special meals for your important family members, if necessary.
Our venue will offer a sensory garden where your important family members can enjoy playing and adventuring in the warm Portuguese sunshine.
Getting about and enjoying everything Portugal has to offer.
By far the best way to see the Algarve and all Portugal has to offer is by hire car and driving yourself. Remembering of course the Portuguese drive on the right hand-side of the road. Driving in the Algarve is relatively easy and it only really gets congested or busy on the roads at the traditional rush hour as the Portuguese are going to and from work. The road conditions are generally well maintained. Smaller cars are common. If you are going to hire a car we can make recommendations, if required. A large selection of hire companies are available at Faro Airport. Most cars are gear stick however they are some automatic and electric vehicles avaiable.
However, if you don’t fancy driving yourself we can offer offer bookable days out were we will take your whole family to the beaches, shopping and other places of interest. We will offer some of these suggested venues in advance of your visit.
you just have to cool down in the sea .
Portugal is famous for is variety of foods. None less so than Pastéis de Nata. Pastéis de Nata are traditional Portuguese custard tarts with a flaky, crisp pastry crust filled with a rich, creamy custard. They are typically enjoyed warm, often sprinkled with a dusting of cinnamon or powdered sugar. The custard is made from a mixture of egg yolks, sugar, milk or cream, and sometimes flavored with lemon zest or vanilla. These tarts are a popular treat in Portugal and are often enjoyed with a cup of coffee. They originated in the 18th century at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon and have since become a beloved pastry both in Portugal and around the world.
Another famous dish is salted Cod fish called ‘Bacalhau’. Bacalhau. is salted and dried codfish, a staple in Portuguese cuisine. It’s prepared by soaking the dried fish in water to remove excess salt before cooking. Bacalhau is used in numerous traditional dishes, such as Bacalhau à Brás (shredded cod with potatoes and eggs) and Bacalhau com Natas (cod baked with cream and potatoes). Known as the “faithful friend” in Portugal, it holds cultural significance, especially during festive occasions. Nutritionally, it is rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids but should be consumed in moderation due to its high salt content. Be warned the Portuguese use a lot of salt in their dishes.
SUNSHINE & SERENITY
About us… who are we and what drives us…
Hi I am Derek Pool– Project Manager
I’m the founder of the project Sunshine and Serenity along with my wife Gillian Hodge-Pool. The project is currently in the development stage as we seek to put all the strings together both in terms of what the project can achieve, purchasing the land and building the accommodation and infrastructure to make this project a realistic proposition. my background is very much in facilities and operations management running large buildings and supporting their infrastructural needs and more recently running major cleaning contractors and facilities management services. This experience I bring to the project along with my management skills.
What we have realised, talking with so many people about our project and aspirations is the absolute enthusiasm from people who understand the need for holiday accommodation that can support families and particularly those with autism. We believe we are creating the opportunity for the whole family with neurodiverse family members to vacation together. For those caregivers who wish it offering a little of alone time together, maybe for the odd few hours to rest, relax and rejuvenate and share some quality time together safe in the knowledge their important family members of family cared for by experienced people.
As of august 2024 we begin our funding campaign to raise the capital cost of buying the land as well as developing the accommodations and infrastructure we believe the cost to be around €500,000 of which 200,000 euros is the purchase price of the land and disbursement costs. For our part we are selling our house in the UK to support our own accommodation on the land as we plan to live and managed the site together with our team.
the accommodation is going to be initially limited to four units units specially designed to accommodate our special guests. The design and internal structures are subject to the information our membership has advise us as things to consider which would make their stay more comfortable. Our plan is also to bebe a sustainable project, trying to reach zero carbon missions if possible minimise the impact on the environment, as well as, integrating with the local ecology. we hope to have four buildings which are both practical but also stunning in their design as we believe that we shouldn’t substitute quality for practicality but try to integrate both.
The land that we hope to purchase in Faro, Portugal overlooks in Number lakes and benefits from Local villages and towns and minutes away from beaches excellent restaurants and amazing Portuguese people.
it is hoped by August 2025 that we will have purchased the land and be in the process of development of the accommodations. We have already been researching the various planning permissions as well as identifying potential grant from various organisations as well as identifying the possibility collaborative projects with other organisations.
For myself, and at a latest stage Jilly, we are in the process of undertaking our NVQ two in autism awareness. I believe is essential for us to understand the complexities of people with autism and neurodiverse symptoms. and complexities families have to endure to simply have a holiday. This is knowledge is further complimented by our growing WhatsApp community who are amazing at providing information and sharing experiences and we hope many of these will come to our venue that we hope to build on their behalf.
Gillian Hodge-Pool
Hiya, my name is Gillian Hodge-Pool, I work alongside Derek as part of the project team for Sunshine and Serenity. Unlike Derek my background is in care where I’ve had a very varied caring career in various guises and bring to the project my caring experience. Recently I’ve been involved as a Sheltered Housing Manager for 55years old independent people. But you never lose the caring side of you and I believe this will be instrumental supporting our families that use our holiday venue.
Another part of my background, is of my interest in holistic foods and how they can help and support the body
I absolutely love Portugal, its people, beaches, food, wine and culture. I am sure you will love it too. Whenever we fly from the UK to Portugal we feel we are flying home and are always reluctant to leave such is the allure of the country and its warm and friendly people.
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The support team-to be appointed.