Get in executive de-stress mode

The small boy in the oversized swimming shorts stood in a dive position, his toes gripping the edge of the pool.

His legs were shaking almost imperceptibly. In front of him, chest high in the water, stood Dad - a perfect example of an Alpha A male: tanned, muscular and exuding prosperity.

Waving his arms in encouragement, his gold Rolex catching the sun in occasional blinding flashes, one could easily picture him in his natural habitat: king of the trading floor.

'Come ON, big guy,' he bellowed. The boy remained frozen on the poolside. 'Look at your willy, George!' commanded Dad.

The boy's head tucked even deeper between his outstretched arms. Around the pool, books were lowered and breaths held as we all silently willed George to summon his courage and take the plunge.

Suddenly, he did so. With the tiniest of splashes he disappeared into the pool on the end of a perfectly executed dive. We all relaxed with relief.

Not so Dad, whose competitive streak doesn't get left at home when he goes on holiday. His arm slammed down straight on to the surface of the water and a 'No, no, NO!' reverberated around the pool. 'You have to jump off more, like THIS!' And so it went on, for the next two hours.

The Sheraton Pine Cliffs Hotel and Vacation Club is a bit like that. Sometimes it can feel as if you have inadvertently stumbled into a Goldman Sachs convention.

Everywhere you look, you see fit, lightly burnished, slightly fierce Americans, clutching armfuls of tennis rackets and trailing very thin, very blonde wives and several too-beautiful-to-be-true children.

It could feel a little intimidating, were it not for the relaxed, easy atmosphere which pervades the entire resort.

From the moment you arrive at Faro airport, to be collected by air-conditioned Mercedes and driven the 30 minutes to the exclusive club, you are lulled on to a level of luxury which remains with you throughout your stay.

Stress seems entirely inappropriate in such a setting.

The resort itself is situated in a spectacular position, high on the Atlantic cliff-tops, with breathtaking views across the sea.

A private membership club of 78 two- and three-bedroom apartments next to the five-star Sheraton Algarve Hotel, it can accommodate up to 1,000 guests.

Capicity was full when I stayed there, but it never felt so. There was always plenty of room by the pool, always a table in the restaurant (though you have to book), never a queue for breakfast (though it can get hectic), always a sense of space and calm.

This may have something to do with the vast range of facilities on offer at Pine Cliffs. At its heart is a rolling nine-hole golf course described by its designer as 'not a course to play in a hurry'. There is also the golf academy, with top-of-the-range instruction. With three pools (one indoor) surrounded by paved areas and rolling lawns there is never a need to squabble over the loungers.

Shade, too, is provided by the aromatic pine trees, so children and babies can enjoy being outdoors all afternoon.

There's a tennis academy with floodlit hard and clay courts and world-class tuition, and a well equipped health club with excellent changing facilities and constant supervision. More recently, a beauty spa has been added with a cornucopia of tempting treatments on offer, using Clarins and Matis products.

I enjoyed a massage and a facial which greatly enhanced the relaxation process, and could easily have found a reason to pop in there every day.

A hairdressing salon is also provided to deal with holiday hair syndrome, and I saw three children visit it for their new-term haircuts.

There's a shop selling postcards, small gifts, hair accessories and sunglasses, and - more dangerously - a tempting designer label (Dolce & Gabbana, Versace etc) boutique.

I managed to avoid the boutique for the first three days of our stay, but succumbed on the fourth. Although I was planning 'just to look', I emerged some time later with an impossible-to-resist emerald-green La Perla swimsuit and skirt combo.

If you prefer the sea to the pool - or like to spend the morning by the pool and the afternoon by the sea - this is provided by the private beach (with restaurant facility) at the foot of the cliffs.

My heart sank when I saw the drop, envisaging an arduous climb up endless steps when you're hot and exhausted by the sun.

Not so. Access to the beach is given by a decking walkway leading to a magnificent glass elevator cut into the cliff face which travels up and down throughout the day and evening. There are steps if you prefer.

Once on the beach, towels and loungers are provided, and if you feel like an early-evening drink at the end of a long hard day on the beach, you can either have one there, or take the elevator back up and enjoy a glass of chilled champagne on the Mirador deck, overlooking the sea.

It could pass as something out of a Hollywood movie, except that it is very definitely and unmistakably for real.

We were staying - my eight-yearold daughter Rosie and I - in one of the two-bedroom club apartments, air conditioned, of course, and close to the tennis courts and the excellent Porta Pirata children's club (fully supervised, with pool, mini-golf, games and creche, and open till midnight), and a short walk from the main complex.

Our pre-arrival shopping awaited us in the fridge. My daughter could never quite decide which of the three televisions to watch, or which of the two balconies to sit on, and was delighted to find that the bathroom was twice the size of our drawing room at home.

Comfortable and immaculate, our apartment provided a welcome refuge from the midday sun, and on days when we chose to have a light lunch there, we could buy food from the small supermarket right opposite the gates of the resort.

Although there are restaurants nearby, and plenty more within a three-mile distance, we found there was really no need to venture out. I rather lost count of the number of restaurants on the resort, but eight would be a pretty accurate number.

Rosie loved the Corda CafÈ, selling salads, burgers, baguettes, sizzling platters, pasta, pizza, and for children there is also the Porto Alegre, selling ice creams and crepes.

A more sophisticated dinner can be had at O Pescador, a beautiful fish restaurant situated right at the centre of the resort where you can dine outside by candlelight and listen to the sea.

Typical dishes are grilled tiger prawns, seafood selection (including oysters, spider or Atlantic crab, clams and shells, mussels, a variety of shrimps and langoustines), grilled lobster, marinated sardines, squid with garlic, and sea bass, tuna, swordfish and bream cooked in a variety of different ways.

For a buffet dinner, there's the Alem Mar, which offers an overwhelming array of starters, main courses and delicious puddings, and also an a la carte menu with grilled fillet of beef, lamb chops, and such puddings as caramelised apples served with saffron cream, and cold almond souffle with cherry compote.

Perhaps the most memorable meal we had during our stay, however, was at the newly opened 'Aldar' Moroccan restaurant. There, you can sit inside or outside in a lantern-lit courtyard. We chose to sit inside on jewel-coloured sofas, where the Moroccan music was playing low.

From the menu you can choose from a number of tajines (such as lamb tajine with black prunes and sesame seeds; chicken with olives and preserved lemon; beef tajine with vegetables) and couscous dishes, and typical Moroccan puddings: mille-feuille with rice cream, strawberries and almond ice cream; orange salad with dates, almonds and mint.

In the languid tranquillity of Pine Cliffs, it's easy for a week to slip by without you even noticing. Everything is so easy, every decision so simple, I sometimes wondered if I was sleepwalking. Rosie made lots of friends among the English children who were there, and I was able to switch off completely - surely the sign of a successful holiday.

I don't know how George and his family enjoyed their stay, but I'm pretty sure that, by the end, he'd have got that dive right.

Getting there

Scott Dunn Mediterranean (020 8767 6090) offers a week at Pine Cliffs from £899 per adult and £400 per child. This includes self-catering accommodation, scheduled flights from London Gatwick and transfers. Supplements from Manchester and Glasgow cost around £100.