Rooms

The main house holds an apartment, a suite and a small double room, all with private entrances, while in the garden you'll find 3 more retreats: a windmill, a cabin and a huge suite tucked under the terrace. Most have a kitchen or cooking corner so you can self-cater with ease.

Our favourite was the Moinho do Luar (aka the windmill) which dates to 1802. Here you can lie in bed and gaze out through French windows on the ocean below - great for a special occasion.

We also loved the private Casinha, a small wooden cabin tucked into a lush corner of the garden. Throw open the glass doors and step into a small but colourful world: vibrant tiles, a day bed in the sitting room and an uncluttered bedroom. Also charming is the Refuge, which has a whole wall of glass, opening onto a private terrace.

The Blue Suite is connected to the main house, but has a private entrance. You get a bedroom and a sitting room, plus a bougainvillea-shaded terrace. Expect stripped wood floors, cast-iron daybeds, white walls to soak up the light, dining tables inside and out. The White Room, also connected to the main house, is very similar to the suites, but is just a little smaller.

Since our visit the 2-bedroom Casa do Mar ao Luar apartment has been added, it sounds spacious and homely (with its own kitchen) so we can't wait to stop by and road test it soon.

Features include:

• Fan

Eating

All rooms except the White Room have kitchenettes with a couple of hobs, a fridge and a microwave, so you can prepare picnic lunches or whip up pasta and soups. If you wanted to cook dinner you could, but most people retreat from the pool for a spot of home-made lunch, then head down to town for a bite in the evening. For traditional fare we like Cozimha de Abade, while Fernando’s does tasty fish and seafood. Equally, you could head west along the peninsular to find good fish restaurants at most of the beaches.

As the White Room has no kitchen, breakfast is either served on its terrace in good weather or in the main house if it’s raining. For all the other rooms, breakfast is left in your fridge the night before and in the morning small loaves of freshly-baked bread are delivered to the front door. You’ll get milk and juice, cheese and ham, jam and bread. There’s coffee and tea in each kitchen, too.

Features include:

• Breakfast
• Fridge
• Full kitchen
• In-house cook
• Kitchenette
• Microwave
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

• Setúbal, once an old fishing village, is now a busy port and the district capital. The alleyways of the old town are full shops and restaurants. There’s a market every day except Monday (Saturday is busiest). If you want something a little bit different take to the water and search for dolphins or sail the estuary of the Rio Sado and look for flamingos. Boats leave from the marina. The town was settled in prehistoric times and has thrived ever since the Iron Age. Christians, Romans, Barbarians and Moors have all fought over it. It is also the home town of the special one: Jose Mourinho.
  
• The Setúbal Peninsula juts west for about 25km. To the north the spectacular bridge across the Rio Tejo takes you into Lisbon in style; in the middle rise the Arrábida Hills. Explore them and find the Arrábida Convent (it dates to the 14th century), pretty white villages, the beaches at Galapos (great scuba diving) and Portinho da Arrábida (popular fish restaurants). The grape harvest festival at Palmela takes place on the first Sunday in September and is very well attended; the odd drop gets drunk
  
• The Tróia Peninsula is a great day-trip. Ferries whizz you and your car across in about 20 minutes. Try Tróia for Roman ruins or golf, Comporta for 30 miles of beach (don’t expect a crowd), Alcácer do Sal for the Sado Estuary (canoe trips and flocks of flamingos), Santiago do Cacém (where the Knights Templar defeated the Moors in 1157) for the well-preserved ruins of a hilltop castle and a pretty old town below.
  
• Lisbon is close. If you don’t want to stay in the city, but wish to visit, you can drive (40 minutes), take the train (an hour) or park the car at Almada and take the ferry across the mighty Rio Tejo

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Birdwatching
• Golf
• Hiking
• Historical sites
• Sailing
• Scuba diving
• Shopping / markets
• Swimming

Best Time to go

Our Top Tips

Location

Ha Mar ao Luar is 5 minutes by car outside Setúbal, 50km south of Lisbon on the coast. It is 7 minutes from the nearest railway station.

By Air:
Lisbon Portela Airport (40km) is the closest (about 45 minutes-1hour away). Click on the links below for a list of airlines serving it.

From the Airport
Jump in a taxi or hire a car (see below).

By Car:
See our car rental recommendations.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.com.

More on getting to Portugal and getting around