Casa do Rio Vez
Arcos de Valdevez, northern Portugal
An ancient millhouse with a contemporary slant offering B&B rooms and a self-catering Loft, beside the crystalline waters of the Vez River
My book of hotel idylls would include a chapter dedicated to
riverside retreats: give me a leafy river bank and I'm a happy man.
And this ancient millhouse with its pristine slice of the River
Vez, where trout and otters stir amongst the eddies and herons
stand motionless amidst mottled shadows on its grassy banks, would
merit a very special mention.
If guests at Rio Vez - you'd recognise some of their names - come
to this hidden corner of the Minho to share its bucolic perfection,
they're also treated to beauty in great measure within its walls of
dressed granite. A double-height dining room, big window openings
and iconic furnishings add urbane sophistication to this pastoral
peacefulness: RV's owner Anibal is an architect by trade and he's
got the Midas touch, for sure.
Expect to find every creature comfort in your big, river-facing
room (there are 4, plus a self-catering Loft); to wake to
birdsong rather than passing traffic, and to experience those
Proustian moments when the elusive Temps Perdu seems
tantalisingly close at hand.
Reviewed by Guy Hunter Watts
Last updated 31 August 2011
Highs
- An exquisite sense of escaping to a hidden, secret world
- The waters of the River Vez run crystal clear, and the trout fishing here is some of the best in the country (bring your own rod)
- Anibal and Valerie are very good hosts and natural communicators, yet never impose on their guests
- This is a place where much of the pleasure lies in doing very little: just being here is enough
- Hikers will be in their element: you're on the doorstep of the pristine beauty of the Peneda-Gerês National Park and the little known Soajo mountains
Lows
- Only breakfast is served so unless you're staying in the Loft, you'll have to drive out for lunch and dinner, though there is 1 simple restaurant within walking distance (2.5km)
- The 4 millhouse bedrooms aren't enormous, but with that stunning living and dining room down below, your style won't be cramped
