It is no exaggeration to say that this was our first home in Portugal. After being transferred to the area by my company, we stayed here for a total of 88 days while we settled in, found a permanent home, and got our feet under us.
We had initially been deeply relieved simply to find a place that would take our dog, but on arrival we were delighted by the house, the neighborhood, and by the warm welcome and care given by Dona Gilda, the housekeeper. Dona Gilda is a true gem, and despite us being constantly underfoot because of the lockdown during our first 30 days, she went out of her way to make us feel welcome and to offer to help in any way she could.
The house is large enough that we used three bedrooms for sleeping and one as an office. The yard has a nice fish-pond and a pool. The electric gate made it convenient to park inside the grounds (there is no garage, but we did not feel the lack). Dona Gilda kept it spotlessly clean for us and when small things came up she handled them quickly, while always checking to make sure that the timing was convenient.
Sāo João is a compact village within the larger area of Estoril, and it has a reasonable number of shops within very easy walking distance of the house. There are bread and pastry shops, a fruit-seller, a churrasqueira, as well supermarkets and convenience stores. As the lockdown eased, the town also reinstated a periodic market on the square near the train station. Because our dog needs a fair amount of walking, we also got to explore a bit further afield and found routes to the Estoril gardens, the local urban park, and a number of the beaches (he was allowed on the beach until the bathing season officially opened, after which his access was restricted). While we limited eating out because of the lockdown, we did enjoy meals brought in, both from the nearby Indian place (Taj Palace) and the restaurant across the street.
The house is very near a school, and after the return to in-person instruction, the kids were understandably a bit excited when playing together in the yard. That could get loud if you are sitting out by the pool, but it was good hearted and we enjoyed sending the occasional errant ball back over the fence. Inside the house it was not a problem.
Our experience is a bit atypical, both because of the Covid situation and the length of the stay, but I would not hesitate to recommend this property to families looking to live on their own while visiting Portugal.