This property is a little bit of heaven and for our group of 3 adults and 3 teenage children it was perfect in every way. It is the converted stable block in a huge terraced garden which used to belong to a grand villa, but which was sold off separately, along with another property now occupied by Maria and Pedro. Hence the garden has a feeling of ancient grandeur, and whilst parts of it are still to be restored, it was a wonderful place to wander, with flowers and fruit trees in abundance, and a beautiful fresh green lawn around the pool. As you wander the different levels, you come across hidden water features, tiled benches and even an unexpected grotto. We loved being able to pluck ripe plums and apricots off the trees as we passed, and then make ourselves glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice from oranges picked from the garden, we even had an avocado which had fallen from the huge tree on the lawn. And the views are just breathtaking. In every direction there is lush greenery with palaces and villas peeping through. We were happy to sit and look at it for hours!
The house itself is beautifully converted and very spacious. The beds are comfortable, the showers hot and strong, the Wifi reliable and the views from every room are spectacular. It has been so tastefully decorated throughout with carefully chosen tiles, antiques, paintings and embroideries. Everything was exactly as you'd want it.
We had chosen this property because we wanted somewhere with a pool, but which would enable us to explore places without a car. Again this place couldn't have been better. We paid €30 for a transfer for all 6 of us from the airport to the house (GetTransfer.com) which took about 30 minutes. Once there you are literally a 5 minute walk from the historic centre, 15 minutes walk to the train station to take you to Lisbon or where you can catch a bus for a day trip to Cascais (the 403 bus takes the most wonderful scenic route!), and 25 minutes walk from the historic tram that takes you down to the local beach. The tourist buses that take you up to the castle and palace run very regularly but it ended up being cheaper for us to use 2 Ubers rather than take the buses because we only ever wanted a lift up to the top, there were several lovely routes down by foot. We used Ubers quite a lot because they were cheap, friendly and incredibly quick and easy to get. We needed 2 Ubers each time but we never had to wait for longer than 5 minutes for both to arrive. But despite being so close to everything, as soon as you stepped back into the garden through the big metal gates, all was so quiet and peaceful it felt as if you were the only people in the valley.
There is a huge amount to do in Sintra and the surrounding area. We were there for 6 days but could easily have filled another 2 days. There is a fantastic website called sintra-portugal.com that gives every detail you might need to know when planning a trip to Lisbon and Sintra.
We ate out most days and there are hundreds of eating places in Sintra, some better than others! However on the first day we got an Uber to the local superstore and stocked up on general provisions for the week. After that the tiny grocery store in the historic centre met our needs.
Maria, our host, was absolutely lovely. She lived in a house a short distance from us but after the initial introduction we only saw her once and she gave us total privacy. However it was good to know that she was always at the end of WhatsApp if we needed her.
For beauty, comfort and convenience I don't think you could find a better place to stay in Sintra - although I don't think I would have liked to take children any younger than teenagers, rather too many steps and big drops both in the garden and in the area in general!