We booked Maria Jose's cottage in order to have a relaxing 3 days in the middle of our vacation in Portugal and that's exactly what we got. It was nice to just sit outside and read, the temperature never being too hot. Sintra itself isn't really walking distance but we still walked there and took a taxi back (8 euros IIRC). Maria Jose was very helpful and caring, as was her dog Branca who seemed to enjoy our company a lot :)