Hotel establishments are tourist developments designed to provide tourist accommodation and other complementary or support services, with or without the offer of meals and aimed at daily letting.

Hotel establishments are classified as Hotels or Hostels.

Minimum requirements for Hotel establishments:

• • Minimum number of 10 accommodation units, such as rooms, suites or apartments;
  • Set of spaces for common use and to assist the hotel, including a reception, a dining room to provide breakfast service, parking area, toilets for common use, storage area and staff area;
  • They are classified into categories (no. of stars). They are classified into categories (no. of stars), and the mandatory requirements and optional requirements listed in Annex I of Ordinance nº. 55/2012 of 16th May must be met in order to obtain the desired category (1 to 5 stars);
  • They must have at least one accommodation unit duly adapted for users with reduced mobility, and all the leisure facilities and areas of the development must also allow their use by these same users.

Tourist villages are tourist developments made up of a set of functionally interdependent facilities with a coherent architectural expression, located in areas with territorial integrity, even if crossed by municipal roads or paths, water lines and stretches of land used for the protection and conservation of natural resources, designed to provide tourist accommodation and complementary services to support tourists.

Minimum requirements for Tourist Villages:

• • Minimum number of 7 accommodation units, of the apartment or villa type;
  • Internal circulation paths, outdoor green spaces and areas for common use and a concierge;
  • Restaurant;
  • Swimming pool with its own annex for children and respective changing rooms;
  • A set of spaces for common use and to assist the development, including a reception, staff area and storage area;
  • Private car parking, with a minimum capacity of one space per accommodation;
  • The developments to be included in this tourist class are classified into categories (number of stars), and the mandatory requirements and optional, puncturable requirements set out in Annex II of Ordinance nº 55/2012 of 16th May must be met in order to obtain the desired category (3 to 5 stars);
  • The total area assigned to the development must correspond to a minimum of 100 square metres per person (3-star), 120 square metres per person (4-star) or 140 square metres per person (5-star);
  • It must have at least one accommodation unit duly adapted for users with reduced mobility, and all the facilities and leisure areas of the development must also allow these same users to use them.

Tourist Apartments are tourist developments made up of a coherent set of furnished and equipped accommodation units intended to provide tourist accommodation and other complementary and supporting services to tourists.

Minimum requirements for Tourist Apartments:

• • Minimum number of 6 accommodation units, of the apartment type;
  • A set of spaces for common use and to assist the development, including a reception, staff area and storage area;
  • Private car parking, with a capacity of one space per accommodation;
  • The developments to be included in this tourist class are classified into categories (number of stars), and the mandatory requirements and optional requirements, which can be scored, set out in Annex III of Ordinance nº 55/2012 of 16th May, must be met in order to obtain the desired category (3 to 5 stars);
  • They must have at least one accommodation unit duly adapted for users with reduced mobility, and all the facilities and leisure areas of the development must also allow these same users to use them.

The Regional Director for Tourism may authorise a lower number of accommodation units as stipulated by the legislation in vigour, provided that the following additional conditions are met:

• • Use of existing buildings, located in an urban centre and whose architectural value is recognised by the Regional Directorate for Culture;
  • The development must reach a minimum category of 4 stars.

Tourist complexes are tourist developments made up of centres of functionally interdependent facilities, located in areas with territorial integrity, even if crossed by municipal roads or paths, water lines and stretches of land used for the protection and conservation of natural resources, intended to provide tourist accommodation and additional support services for tourists, subject to a common administration of shared services and equipment for common use, incorporating at least two tourist developments, one of which must be a 5 or 4 star Hotel Development, autonomous entertainment equipment and a catering establishment.

Manor Houses enterprises are family-run properties installed in private old buildings which, due to their architectural, historical or artistic value, are representative of a certain era, namely palaces and estates, and may be located in rural or urban areas.

Minimum requirements for Manor Houses:

• • It is mandatory for the owners, operators or their representatives to reside in the property during the respective period of activity, sharing the common areas with the guests;
  • Accommodation units must be of the room or suite type and must be equipped with private sanitary facilities, with a maximum of 15 accommodation units allowed for guests;
  • A set of spaces for common use and to assist the development, including a reception, a lounge for guests' use, which should be located in the main building, and storage;
  • Breakfast service.

Rural Tourism developments are establishments designed to provide accommodation services to tourists in rural areas, with an appropriate set of facilities, structures, equipment and complementary services for their operation, aiming to offer a complete and diversified tourism product in rural areas.

Rural Tourism developments are classified as Country Houses, Agritourism, Rural Hotels or Rural Accommodation.

General requirements for implementing a Rural Tourism type development:

• • The requirements for being classified as a Rural Tourism, in any of the groups, are location in a rural area, with a traditional and significant connection to agriculture or an environment and landscape with a distinctly rural character, as well as the existence of traditional buildings that can be restored, rebuilt, rehabilitated or expanded;
  • All interventions within the sphere of the Rural Tourism must preserve, restore and enhance the architectural, historical, natural and landscape heritage.

Country Houses

Country Houses are properties that are part of the typical local architecture due to their design, building materials and other characteristics.

• • Specific requirements for Country Houses:
  • Accommodation units must be rooms or suites, with a maximum of 15 units allowed;
  • Reception and guest services can be provided at a reception office, which can be located outside the resort, as long as it is on the same island;
  • They must include a storage room separate from the guest areas and a parking space;
  • Breakfast service is mandatory, and may consist of simply providing guests with the necessary food items.
  • Village Tourism is the name given to a group of five or more country houses located in a rural area, in close proximity, which are operated in an integrated manner by a single organisation.

Agritourism

Agritourism developments are properties located on agricultural farms that allow guests to accompany and learn about agricultural activities or participate in the work carried out there, in accordance with the rules established by the person in charge.

Specific requirements for Agritourism:

• • Accommodation units must be rooms or suites, with a maximum of 15 units allowed;
  • There must be a reception and guest service area, properly identified, as well as a storage room separate from the guest areas and a car parking space;
  • Breakfast service is mandatory.

Rural Hotels

Rural Hotels are hotel developments located in rural areas or settlements which, due to their architectural design and construction materials, respect the dominant characteristics of the area where they are located.

Specific requirements for Rural Hotels:

• • Accommodation units must be of the room, suite or apartment type, with a maximum of 30 units allowed;
  • Rural Hotels are classified in the 3 to 5-star categories in accordance with the regulatory standards applicable to Hotel Establishments, set out in Annex I of Ordinance nº 55/2012 of 16th May;
  • These developments must have facilities, equipment and at least one accommodation unit duly adapted for users with reduced mobility, as defined in Article 19 of Ordinance nº 55/2012 of 16th May;
  • The construction of complementary buildings is allowed, but the construction of accommodation units in them is forbidden, as provided for in Article 17 of the RJET-A and Article 19 of Ordinance nº 54/2012 of 16th May.

Rural Accommodation

Rural Accommodation is an exceptional type of accommodation in the context of the Rural Tourism, not only because it allows the complementary construction of new buildings from scratch to create accommodation units, but also because of the superior quality of the facilities, and it is up to the Regional Directorate for Tourism to suggest, to the member of the Regional Government responsible for tourism, the granting of this classification, provided that the development does not fit into any of the types of tourist developments provided for in Article 5 of the RJET-A.

Specific requirements for Rural Accommodation:

The requirements for rural accommodation are those defined in Article 20 of Ordinance No. 55/2012, of May 16, of which the following stand out:

• • Good integration into the rural landscape;
  • The use of built heritage, representing traditional architectural models of the region;
  • Surrounding private green space, with an area of no less than 50 m2 per accommodation unit;
  • Demonstration that the new buildings are of a scale consistent with the pre-existing ones;
  • The superior quality of the facilities;
  • A maximum capacity of 25 accommodation units;
  • The use of buildings with a maximum of three floors;
  • Private sanitary facilities in all accommodation units;
  • Additional verification of at least three of the requirements listed in Article 20 of Decree 54/2012 of 16th May.

Camping and Caravan Sites are developments situated on duly delimited land and equipped with structures designed to allow the placement of tents, trailers, caravans or motorhomes and other material and equipment necessary for the practice of camping and caravanning, as well as accommodation facilities, and may be public or private, depending on whether they are intended for the general public or only for members or beneficiaries of the respective owning or operating entities.

Camping and/or caravan sites may be exclusively intended for the placement of one of the abovementioned types of equipment, adopting the corresponding designation.

Developments of this type are classified as Camping Sites, Caravan Sites, Camping and Caravan Sites or Rural Camping Sites.

Minimum requirements for Camping and/or Caravan sites:

• • They must be located on wooded land and have good shade, and new trees must be planted when there are none or not enough.
  • They may have complementary facilities for accommodation, provided they do not exceed 25 per cent of the total area of the park for campers;
  • The capacity of camping and caravanning sites is determined by the minimum usable area for each camper or caravanner (minimum 13 m2), with the exception of ‘Accommodation Facilities’, whose maximum capacity is determined by the respective number of beds;
  • They must have an electricity grid, water supply and internal sewage system, or, if this does not exist, they must be equipped with a sanitary water collection and treatment system;
  • They should include waste collection points, internal circulation routes, entrance and exit gates (accessible to rescue or emergency vehicles) and toilets for common use;
  • They should have a reception desk next to the main entrance;
  • Coffee/Bar;
  • Convenience store/minimarket/supermarket for sites with a capacity of more than 90 campers;
  • Social room;
  • Children's playground;
  • Area for outdoor sports, which may be replaced by outdoor sports or leisure activities for sites with a capacity of less than 90 campers;
  • If the promoter or operator so requests, camping and caravanning sites may be classified in categories from 3 to 5 stars, whereby, depending on the category desired, compliance with all the specific requirements listed in the annex to Decree 1320/2008 of 17th November must be considered.

Minimum requirements for Rural Camping Sites:

• • These establishments consist of a maximum of 30 permanent dwelling, tents, RVs, or other habitable vehicles;
  • Each permanent dwelling must have at least one bedroom with a bathroom; it may have up to three bedrooms, but may not have more than two stories or occupy a surface area greater than 75 square meters;
  • Maximum of 90 campers;
  • Maximum land area may not exceed 5000 m2;
  • Each accommodation facilitie must have a free area of approximately 150 m2 and 50 square metres per camper;
  • Toilet facilities for public use. Common use space for processing clothes and crockery;
  • A reception area next to the main entrance.