Dar Beida

Rooms

Dar Beida means "The White House" and it certainly lives up to its name. Even the floors are whitewashed. Despite its ice-cream cool shape, Dar Beida is solidly built. It has been plastered from floor to ceiling – the support arches and columns actually had their plaster removed, revealing intricate symbols from the Portuguese colonial period of the 1800s and adding a nice sandstone trim to the all-white interior.

There are 4 double bedrooms: one on the first floor with a private walk-in shower room and two on the second floor which share a large bathroom with a semi-circular tadelakt bathtub and shower. These upper rooms also have access to a pueblo-style terrace, complete with hammock, cactus and a rather ingenious awning made of bamboo sticks. The fourth double bedroom at the very top has sliding glass doors and its own private roof terrace with a handy sink.

The dining room opens off the all-mod-cons kitchen and afterwards, the cozy living area complete with stereo, is perfect for lounging. Along with the two terraces on the upper floors, the ground floor has a quiet courtyard with meditative tinkling fountain so there's plenty of space to chill.

All the rooms have fireplaces (the top bedroom has a plug-in radiator) ensuring the house is still cosy when it does get really chilly on winter nights.