The endorsement was given earlier this year by Channel 4's Place In the Sun team to the relatively undiscovered eastern side of Portugal's Algarve between Faro and the Spanish border and centring mainly on the beaches and villages around Tavira.

It's exactly here that Irish developers the Newlyn Group have, for the past 18 months, been planning their second Portuguese development, O Pomar, a 250-home leisure complex beside the fishing village of Cabanas.

This Portuguese villagestyle development of apartments and townhouses radiating from a central piazza follows from the successful launch last year of their development in ritzy Villamoura.

The difference this time, says Newlyn's managing director, Robert Kehoe, is that at O Pomar, they are creating something entirely new, while in Villamoura, most of the wider plans had already been decided and it was more a question of building them out.

"For us, " says Kehoe, "this is our flagship project in Portugal and we've spent a lot of time and effort making sure we get it right. We really wanted something a bit special that would make a lasting impression and it is of a far higher quality compared with anything else in the area.

"Obviously Villamoura is more sophisticated and more developed and the much higher prices there are a reflection of this and, of course, the higher land prices. But O Pomar has a real and authentic charm of its own which we wanted to reflect in its Portuguese village style. For people looking for a holiday home or investment in the Algarve, the entry level prices are also much lower in this area."

Newlynn hired renowned international leisure architects WATG to come up with a master plan for O Pomar, which is situated in an old almond and orange orchard near the village of Cabanas.

Portuguese architects were then used to introduce the local feel and flavour, so that the red-tiled rooflines and typical village design features, materials and finishes could be as authentic as possible.

"We have gone for a very high level of quality in everything from the landscaping and streets to the design of the apartments and houses, " says Kehoe.

Local shops, restaurants and cafes will feature within the upper "village" part of the development. This is very much the "public area" of O Pomar . . . a place for people to gather, swim, have a meal, have a drink.

From here, the threestorey residential accommodation fans out down the site which slopes towards Cabanas.

Prices in this area are very keen compared to the rest of the Algarve, but as Kehoe says, it is "the same country, same people, same sunshine, same beaches".

At O Pomar there are 208 apartments and penthouses (two-bed apartments from 210,000 , three-bed apartments from 275,000 and four-bed apartments from 335,000) as well as 44 threebed townhouses with prices from 315,000.

Floor areas are from 87.11 sq m to 123.78 sq m and the properties have large terraces from 18.41 sq m to 151.38 sq m.

Features include fully-fitted kitchens with quality appliances.

Optional extras are available including a jacuzzi spa in the townhouses and penthouse apartments.

This part of the Algarve is designated for more development but, says Kehoe, the mayor of Tavira has strong ideas about expanding tourism in the area without losing the local charm that attracts people in the first place.

"We are right beside a nature reserve which can never be built on, and we have endorsed the principle of developing in the right way.

We are miles ahead of everything in the area.

"It is well located, well conceived, well finished and there is a generally good feel to the design. We spent a lot of time planning this in order to get it right. We could have taken a quicker route, but that's not what it's about."

Cabanas de Tavira is half an hour's drive from Faro airport and about an hour from the Spanish city of Seville, just across the border.

Tavira itself is an historic and interesting Portuguese town, full of shops and good restaurants.

Cabanas, where most of the development is happening, is a fishing village but really now a tourism centre. There are four golf courses in the region.

Newlyn is launching O Pomar at Dublin's Westbury Hotel next Saturday and Sunday, 6 and 7 May, from 11 am to 7pm.

Gabrielle O'Malley of agents Splash International says they have had a very strong response so far.

Splash international Properties (01-6764572)