Jose picked us up from the train station and gave us a tour of the town, recommending places to visit (some of which we did visit and enjoyed very much!). He was friendly and welcoming and made it clear that he would be on hand if we really needed him. He even gave us a bottle of wine, which was impressive!

The villa itself is tiny inside, but whoever designed it made intelligent use of the space; it had everything you could possibly need for a self-catered holiday. The beds were ever so comfortable, and the shower excellent. I was very impressed by the amenities, as we've stayed in places with far less than this - if you need, for example, towels, a beach umbrella, air freshener, a microwave, wine glasses or a vacuum cleaner at any point during your stay, they're all here in abundant supply! That helped me to relax.

The villa was very cool even on hot days. It wasn't as quiet as we'd hoped, but it could have been worse, considering how close it is to town. With the shutters and windows closed, we slept fine.

Cascais is a lovely place to get away from it all and it's close to Lisbon by train if you're looking for culture. It has some beautiful beaches, great restaurants and nice little museums. It's hot in summer but pack some jumpers because it's on the coast! We bought rolls and cakes most days from the fabulous Bijou bakery in town and had lunch in the villa before setting out to the beach. We enjoyed ourselves a lot.