Address

Quinta do Barranco da Estrada, Santa Clara a velha, Beja, Portugal

Accommodation & Outdoor Amenities

Set in a beautiful lakeside location in central Portugal, the Quinta is surrounded by unspoilt countryside with a wide variety of wildlife and rare birds in its gardens and surrounding countryside.

The Quinta's 9 en-suite bedrooms are airy, cool and comfortable and they all have a small terrace with a wonderful view overlooking the lake. Decoration is a gentle mix of Portuguese and English and the overall feeling is simple and welcoming.There are two family suites, 4 normal double rooms, 1 twin room and 2 triple rooms.

The Family Suites:
The Quinta has two Family Suites.
The first option is Andorinha, the Quinta's most spacious double, and its attendant very small room, (when we say small we mean miniscule - it's big enough for the bunk bed and not a lot else!), and this is priced the same as "Andorinha as a Honeymoon Suite", (please see above), with either one or two extra beds, depending upon the number of children involved.

This option is ideal for those with younger families as one can shut the door of the private terrace outside and have privacy as well as heightened security for toddlers.

The second option is the two rooms Javali and Borboleta, which interlink through a shared bathroom; these two rooms are larger than our normal double or twin rooms and the bathroom is again larger with both a bath and a separate shower. It also has Disabled Facilities.

Javali has a large double bed while Borboleta has two single beds and a bunk bed as well. These two rooms are again priced the same as "Andorinha as a Honeymoon Suite", (please see above), with either one, two, three or four extra beds, depending upon the number of children involved, making them an affordable option for families in general, but more importantly for those with larger or older families as the second room, Borboleta, is larger and, as stated, it has more beds available.

It has 2 large drawing rooms with log fires, sauna, one roofed terrace, one vine covered terrace and various lawns within the 2 acre garden that drops down towards the water to the pontoon and the boats.

• Outside: garden, barbecue, vegetable garden, terrace, garden furniture, car-parking facilities.
• Inside: selection of games, Ipod, washing machine, microwave, heating, dishwasher, dining room, rooms with en-suite bathroom, kitchen, fireplace, library, lounge, conference room, sauna, fireplace inside the room.

Local Amenities and Activities

• Land: Mushroom forays, Mountain bicycling, Multi adventure, Hiking - trekking, Birdwatching, Massage
• Lake: Swimming, Canoeing - kayak, Boat tours, Windsurfing, Sailing, Fishing.
• Workshops: Courses and workshops, Photography, Flora and Fauna observation.

Birdwatching
The Quinta runs guided birdwatching trips throughout the whole of Southern Portugal with a resident English, German or Portuguese speaking guide.- The Quinta has a resident Shiatsu masseuse.- Canoeing and sailing are free for guests and fishing is available for beginners and experienced enthusiasts alike.- Badminton and table tennis.- For those that like to get out, by foot or bike, there is some wonderful countryside to be explored with spectacular views of the lake, offering a fascinating variety of birds and animals for the wildlife enthusiast.- Mountain biking.

Check in / Check out times

Flexible

Airports / Sea Ports / Other Transport

The Quinta is located in the Lower ("Baixo") Alentejo. As the crow flies, it is about 40 km from the West or South coasts.

The Quinta can be easily accessed by road, (though the last 4 kms in can be challenging if you arrive after dark), and there are regular trains from Lisbon or Faro, both of which are serviced by scheduled or charter flights from most major airports.

As well as all the low cost carriers such as Easyjet, Monarch, Thomson and Ryanair that fly into Faro and Lisbon, British Airways flies into Lisbon on a regular flight and for those who want something a little special there is a new service in 2011 flying into Beja from Heathrow run by Sunvil. These flights cost GBP169 pp return in low season and GBP189 pp return in high season and the prices include all taxes, full service catering and a 20 kilo baggage allowance. They're on a cuddly 49-seater Embraer and it’s a very civilised way to travel – real cutlery and proper glasses!

Guests can arrange their own car hire or they can be collected from the airport (Faro or Beja are 1 1/2 hours drive away, Lisbon about two and a half). The Quinta is happy to arrange road transfers between any of the airports or the local railway station. For those wanting to hire a car, there are many services available on the web, but the ones we've found is Europcar. Please be careful when hiring cars; check the tyre treads before you leave their premises, and if you book one with air-con, make sure it works and doesn't just blow warm air at you ... I'm talking from experience here!

The Quinta is located in the Lower ("Baixo") Alentejo. As the crow flies, it is about 40 km from the West or South coasts.

Driving directions (from airport or sea port)

From Faro Airport:

- Exit Airport & take signs to Faro and the A22 Portimao.
- After 2.5 kms take the blue signs to Lisboa, Portimao and Loule.
- This swings you down onto the EN125; watch out the junction is dangerous.
- After 4.5 kms filter right signed to Faro and Almancil and then, when the road splits, keep straight on signed to Almancil.
- After 3kms keep on the main road signed Albufeira and Quarteira; don’t turn off to Almancil, and then 4kms later turn right at the roundabout, signed to Loule.
- After 3.5kms turn right off the dual carriageway signed to S. Bras de Alportel, and go right around the roundabout back the way you’ve come, down to the next roundabout and straight across, signed to S. Bras and Boliqueime.
- Up to the next roundabout after 1.5kms and turn left to wards Boliqueime onto a single lane country road.
- After 3.5 kms go straight across the roundabout, up over the rise for 500 mts and turn right signed to Alte and Benafim.
- After 11.5 kms you arrive in Benafim where you turn left signed to Alte.
- Arriving in Alte after about 5kms keep on the same road and at the far end of the village go straight across the roundabout signed to Messines.
- 5kms later you’ll come to the little village of Messines de Baixo, and at the far end of this go straight across the roundabout signed to S.B. Messines.
- 1km further on turn left at the roundabout signed to Lisboa and Albufeira and 500mts later left again at the next roundabout signed Lisboa and S.Marcos da Serra.
- 14kms later turn right signed to Monchique and S. Marcos da Serra.
- Cross the bridge and bear left, turning right at the T-junction. - After 200m turn left over the railway line signposted Monchique.
- After about 4 kms turn right, (at the bottom of the big hill), signed Benafatima and carry on all the way, roughly 10 kms, to the end at the small village of Nave Redonda.
- At the T junction, turn right, signposted Odemira.
- After another 15km and having crossed 4 bridges (3 rivers and 1 railway), you will see Santa Clara on your right. Drive 200m past Santa Clara and turn right, signposted Cortes Pereiras.
- Follow this road for 8.5 km until you see a signpost for Quinta do Barranco da Estrada on your right.
- Follow the Quinta do Barranco do Estrada signs for a further 4km and you've arrived!

The whole journey usually takes 1.5 hours, depending on traffic.

From Lisbon:

- Take either the Ponte 25 Abril or the Ponte Vasco da Gama south towards the Algarve.
- Get off at Grandola and take the IC1 towards the Algarve.
- About 25 kms south of Grandola you come to the small village of Mimosa at the end of which you turn right onto the N262 signed to Alvalade, Cercal and Lagos.
- Carry straight on for 10 kms, (the BP station you pass after 1 km at the roundabout is the last one for ages so fill up if you need to), and turn left signed to Fornalhas Velhas and Val de Santiago.
- You reach Val de Santiago after 12 kms and take signs to Odemira and the Algarve.
- 2 kms later you come to the little village of Santa Luzia, at the end of which you turn right onto the N263.
- Go straight across the roundabout and 3 kms later turn left towards S. Martinho das Amoreiras.
- After another 8kms, arriving in S.Martinho das Amoreiras, take signs to Portimao.
- 10kms further on, just as you’re coming into Luzianes, turn left signed to Corte Brique.
- After 4.5 kms turn right at the cross-roads.
- At the T junction after 3 kms turn left, signed to Cortes Pereiras.
- After 3.8 kms turn right at the sign for “Paradise in Portugal, Hospedaria, Guest Lodge, Quinta do Barranco da Estrada” and then it's 4 kms straight on down the track.

The journey normally takes about two and a half hours from either of the Lisbon bridges.

Policies & Disclaimers

Our minimum stay is two nights during Mid Season and 4 night during High Season.

Deposits are needed to reserve any room at the Quinta. This can be done via PayPal, (via the "Book Online" page of this site), or to our UK or Portuguese accounts. Please note though that there is an additional 4% Banking Charge when paying via PayPal and a 4% Currency Conversion Charge if paying to our UK account. There is no charge for payment in euros via transfer to our Portuguese account. Should you wish to pay to either our Portuguese or British accounts we will send you the details by email.

The standard deposit is 25% with a minimum of the equivalent of 2 night's stay. Once accepted, this deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable except in exceptional cases and cancellations within two weeks prior to arrival incur the full cost of the nights reserved.