10/10 Excellent
Nuno A.
Aug 17, 2021
Liked: Cleanliness
Great Place to Retreat from the World
We spent four days as a family, teens and tweens included. It was overall a great experience, and the place is highly recommendable if one understands what to expect (the pictures and description are accurate).
The owner José went out of his way to be helpful and made communication extremely easy. We felt that if we had had any problem (which we didn't) he would do everything in his power to solve it. The property keeper, who lives nearby, was also very helpful.
The house has many modern amenities, such as A/C in all the rooms, spacious and fully equipped kitchen and bathrooms, Apple TV and wifi (the latter not always very fast). The pool is also great, and is an essential feature if you visit in the sweltering Summer heat as we did. Bikes and a small gym are also available and functioning.
Otherwise, visitors should expect an authentic "old countryside" experience: from the beautiful but very irregular stone floor of the house to the ubiquitous additional guests from various branches of the animal kingdom surrounding it (geckos, bees, beetles, crickets, lots of ants, bats, chickens, even foxes); from the rusty iron locks of the ancient wooden doors to the narrow dust roads that get you to the property... We loved it in part because it was in many ways the exact opposite of a manicured five-star resort - it felt much closer to a visit to your grandparents in the old country...
The location is great if you want to be far from everywhere, meaning it's so isolated that you can spend hours staring at the starry sky or listening to all sorts of birdsongs, but you will have to pack food and drinks if you don't want to drive half an hour back and forth to a restaurant everyday. If you are eager to explore, then within a 30-minute radius you can visit at least four or five picturesque and historical spots that are worth spending a few hours at, including the villages of Monsanto, Penha Garcia and Idanha-a-Velha.
In summary, we strongly recommend this property to anyone who wants to spend a quiet time in an authentic, off the beaten track spot and get a feel for the old, rural Portugal.