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A quiet house in the hills above Sintra, cool under the trees when the coast is baking.
You leave the coast road just past Sintra and climb, and within a few minutes the temperature drops and the light goes green under the trees. Casa Aurora sits at the top of that climb, an old quinta the family have run for three generations, low and thick-walled with a veranda that runs the length of the house.
The house
It is the kind of place that does not announce itself. A gravel courtyard, a dog that cannot be bothered to get up, and a hallway hung with the sort of paintings nobody buys any more. The sitting room has a fire for the cool evenings, which up here happen even in August, and a shelf of books left by other guests.
There is no reception in the usual sense. Someone from the family meets you, shows you your room, and tells you when dinner is if you want it. That is the whole check-in.
The rooms
Seven of them, no two the same, all with the shuttered windows and cool tiled floors that make sense in this heat. Ask for one at the back if you can, where the windows open onto the hills rather than the courtyard. Beds are firm, linen is good, and the plumbing is old but honest.
Breakfast on the veranda, the hills still in mist, and nowhere you need to be.
Food and the day
Breakfast is included and worth getting up for: fruit from the garden, bread from the village, eggs from the hens you can hear from your room. Dinner is on request, cooked by the family, one sitting, whatever the kitchen garden gave up that day. Down in Sintra there are grander tables if you want them, twenty minutes away by car.
Days here are for doing very little. Walk the wooded trails behind the house, drive the coast to the wilder beaches, or join the crowds at the palaces if you must. Most guests end up back on the veranda by mid-afternoon, and that is rather the point.
“Breakfast on the veranda, the hills still in mist, and nowhere you need to be.”
Reviewed in person by Meghan, Crew Portfolio
The house
An old quinta the family have run for three generations, low and thick-walled, with a veranda that runs the length of it and a fire for the cool evenings.
The rooms
Seven, no two the same, all shuttered windows and cool tiled floors. Ask for one at the back, where the windows open onto the hills rather than the courtyard.
Food and the day
Breakfast on the veranda from the garden and the hens. Dinner on request, cooked by the family, one sitting. Days are for the pool, the trails, or nothing at all.
What we love
Facilities
Location
Casa Aurora is in the hills above Sintra, west of Lisbon, cool under the trees when the coast is baking.
By air
Lisbon (LIS) is about 40 minutes by car. A taxi or transfer to the door is easiest.
By road
An easy drive from Lisbon. A car is useful up in the hills but not essential if you stay put.
Good to know
Getting there
40 minutes from Lisbon airport by car. A car is useful up in the hills but not essential if you stay put.
The food
Breakfast at the house. Dinner down in Sintra town, a short drive or taxi away.
Worth doing
Walk the wooded trails behind the house, or the palaces of Sintra if you must join the crowds.
The detail
Seven rooms, so it books up. Cool in the trees even in August. Bring a light jacket for the evenings.
A few things to know
- Seven rooms, so it books up in summer
- The road up is narrow but fine for any car
- Cool in the trees even in August, bring a light layer
- Dinner is one sitting, on request, so say in the morning
- Sintra town gets very busy midday, go early or late
What crew say
First Officer, A320
Captain, B787
Cabin Crew
