Best Vale de Agua Hotels

This is our 3rd (or 4th?) stay at Herdade da Matinha over the years. It has grown and changed, but kept the wonderful simplicity and farm-stay (not your usual, ‘comercial’ resort!) feeling that make it such a special place. Don’t be put-off by the dirt road - it’s a rural setting, the road is well kept and good enough, and you wouldn’t want to spoil the area with yet another tar road in such an important ecological spot. The road to Praia do Malhao is much worse but you shouldn’t miss it either, by the way! Besides the 3 sweet dogs Gina, Paz and Dino (who will disappear at night ), there are at least two cats, horses, sheep roaming in a nearby fence and some wild animals if you are so lucky to spot them. This was a bonus point with my kids. Also, it’s very safe for kids - my boys loved wondering about with a map to explore every corner. The 3 pools (one for adults only) have comfortable decks with shaded areas. Our bedroom was a ‘family farmhouse deluxe’ - simple, no TV, but spacious enough for a mother with two young kids. Breakfast is good - many options available also upon request. Dinner was very good most days - great improvements here since our last stay. Even the kids’ meal is now proper food; tasty, healthier and better balanced! My only suggestion would be to offer a choice of salad to replace the soup (even for children) and a choice of fruit to replace the desert (to help reduce the sugar intake for people staying for longer periods). It’s a set menu (with a vegetarian option), but it worked fine for us. I find laundry too expensive. No ironing is available… There’s a new art gallery in the Herdade as well - be sure to check what’s going on there. Finally, everyone is super nice, cheerful and professional. Thank you all for your commitment. We’ll be back, hopefully!

We stayed at Casas de Mirobriga for a week in August having been recommended the same by family who have been going there for a few years now. We wanted peace, quiet and tranquility, Casas de Mirobriga promised and delivered this and more! We took our three year old grandson with us and he absolutely loved it (he would kick up a fuss when it was time to go home at the end of a day at the pools!). The apartments were well appointed with everything one could want or need. The beds were very comfortable and the air-conditioning was a life saver! The staff were also amazing. Would we stay again? Most definitely yes.