I could not have asked for better hosts for my stay in Estoril than Helena and her husband Cesar! My four friends and I had a wonderful time staying in their beautiful, and sizeable (much larger than expected) apartment, right by the sea. It is even better in reality than the gorgeous photos suggest. If you want a very relaxed holiday by the beach...LOOK NO FURTHER!

From the outset, we were made to feel right at home. Helena and Cesar met us at the apartment (communication before the trip was great as well), showed us around, bought us a beautiful bottle of red wine as a welcome present, and left us fresh fruit and other groceries in the fridge. Above and beyond the call of duty!

Everything about the apartment itself was perfect: all the amenities (the coffee machine was great!), location, the offer of using Cesar and Helena's pool at their condominium, the hosts, the warm welcome, the size of the bedrooms, kitchen and living area. Basically I felt like I was a local for the four days that we stayed there - only I didn't want to leave!

It exceeded my expectations entirely, and I have stayed in quite a few Airbnbs in Europe now. If you want to stay on the coast in Portugal, I would definitely drop Helena a message! Estoril is only 30 minutes by train from Lisbon, and it is much nicer than the nearby touristy town of Cascais, which is still accessible by foot from Helena's apartment in Estoril. In fact my friends and I ran along the boardwalk to Cascais every morning. We also tried SUP (Stand Up Paddle-boarding), at an area of the beach towards Cascais, which was great fun! Everything in Estoril was incredibly reasonably priced (especially compared to Dublin/Belfast, where we are from) and I can't wait to go back!

Thank you so much Helena and Cesar - hope to see you again very soon!