Casa de Terena
Alentejo, Portugal
Facilities
- Stella and Jeremy are both hands-on. They know the lay of the
land, speak the language and will point you in the right direction
for whatever you want to do. Many of the decorative artworks were
collected on their travels to Malaysia, Macao, Mozambique, Angola,
Brazil...
- There’s an honesty bar in the sitting room, so help
yourself, then wander out to the table by the church or curl up in
front of the fire. Good music plays in here most evenings –
jazz, salsa – there’s a collection on interesting
ethnic art on the walls and candles burn by the dozen. A great spot
to relax.
- There are three other residents at the casa: two dogs and a
cat. If you want to stroll round town or up to the castle (a mere
50 metres), they will happily show you the way.
- The house itself is 300 years old, and during its lifetime has
been a bishop's residence, a courthouse and a school
- Yoga can take place in the Casa itself, or more popularly
at au naturel spots: in a 1000 year old lakeside
olive grove; atop a nearby hill covered in wild lavender, fennel
and rosemary; at one of the many 5000 year old archeological sites,
fantastic 'ley energy' for those who can feel that sort of
thing!
- Try your hand at local cooking, lessons are arranged in genuine Alentejo kitchens - some state of the art, some wonderfully medieval - with Stella acting as interpreter for the lil' old ladies dressed in black who're imparting their culinary secrets. For further culinary adventures, try the in situ sessions in the kitchens of some of the top local restaurants, market visits, cheese makers, wild honey and olive producers
When to go?
The Casa is closed December through February. July and August can be extremely hot.
Features include:
- Bar
- Organic produce
- Vegetarian menu
- Breakfast
- Lunch by arrangement
- Dinner by arrangement
- Walk to restaurants (offsite)
- Guest lounge
- Internet access
- In room treatments available
- Bicycles available
- Pets welcome by arrangement
- Off street parking
- Airport Transfers
