Elevating spirits knowledge and service confidence at Quinta do Lago Resorts

Quinta do Lago is one of Europe’s leading luxury lifestyle resorts, located in the heart of Portugal's Algarve region within the protected Ria Formosa nature reserve.

Spanning more than 2,000 acres, the resort attracts an international clientele of golfers, leisure travellers and families and offers a diverse food and beverage programme across 14 restaurants and bars.

To strengthen beverage expertise across its venues, Quinta do Lago partnered with WSET to deliver structured spirits training for its front-of-house teams.

The challenge

With multiple dining concepts and bars across the resort, maintaining consistent beverage knowledge and service standards across teams was a growing priority. 

Quinta do Lago identified several opportunities to strengthen its beverage programme: 

• Beverage knowledge varied between outlets, leading to inconsistent guest experiences 

• Front-line staff had limited formal training in spirits and cocktails 

• Premium spirits sales were below expectations for a luxury resort 

• Bars were often perceived as secondary to dining experiences rather than destinations in their own right 

The resort wanted to build stronger drinks knowledge across teams while helping staff feel more confident recommending beverages to guests. 

The solution

In partnership with WSET Approved Programme Provider SouthSide Bartending, Quinta do Lago introduced the WSET Level 1 Award in Spirits for bartenders and front-of-house professionals across several outlets.

Participants came from venues including Bovino Steakhouse, Casa Velha, Umami, Casa do Lago, The Shack and Dano’s Sports Bar.

Delivered as part of a wider beverage training initiative, the programme combined structured spirits education with practical communication and upselling techniques.

The aim was to unify beverage knowledge across outlets and strengthen staff confidence when engaging guests about drinks.

The results

Improved guest experience scores 

Quinta do Lago regularly uses independent mystery guests to assess service quality across its restaurants. These anonymous visits evaluate areas such as staff attitude, sales behaviour and overall dining experience. 

Comparing evaluations before and after the training, scores improved across every category. 

• Staff attitude: +32% 

• Sales behaviour: +35% 

• Dining service & food quality: +19% 

These improvements reflect stronger team engagement and greater confidence when interacting with guests. 

Increased spirits sales share

Sales analysis following the training showed an increase in the share of spirits served across participating venues. The strongest-performing outlets recorded increases of up to 17 percentage points in spirits sales share, suggesting greater confidence among staff when recommending spirits to guests. 

Continued professional development

Following the success of the programme, additional staff progressed to the WSET Level 2 Award in Spirits, expanding beverage expertise across the resort. 

Want to boost your team’s spirits knowledge and confidence? Discover the WSET Level 1 Award, Level 2 Award and Level 3 Award in Spirits and see the difference structured learning can make.