Casa de Terena

Rooms

If you want the view, try for the rooms at the back; if you want a tiny balcony, ask for those at the front. If you're not sure, stay for a week and swap halfway through; you won’t regret it. All the rooms are lovely: simple, but elegant with a very friendly price. Expect pure cotton sheets, freshly-cut flowers, ceiling fans and terracotta-tiled floors. Walls have been painted in smart creamy colours, so have some of the wooden beds. Funky rugs were woven up the road, groovy glass was blown by a local hippy.

You get power showers in neat little bathrooms. Some are tiled in Portuguese style, others are more contemporary with cast-iron lampshades and round terracotta sinks. Wander at will and find West African wall hangings, small TVs, decanters of port and angels above one bed. One room at the front has room for an armchair in an alcove; you can throw open the French windows, gaze up at the castle and lose yourself in a good book (there are many sprinkled around). All are shuttered, so you can sleep with the windows open in summer and still outwit the wicked mosquito.