The Casa

Our restored granite Calf House sleeps four people in two bedrooms and is set over two floors with a beautiful, large covered terrace that is cool and shaded and just made for rest and relaxation. The cottage is a perfect spot for views of the River Cobral, farmland, forest and the Serra da Estrella mountains.  

 

facilities at casa da bezerra

  • Dining areas inside and out

  • Fully equipped kitchen with luxury granite worktops, breakfast bar and cooker with an oven.

  • Fridge with small freezer

  • Tea and coffee facilities and supplies

  • Gas Barbecue

  • Fresh bread/eggs/seasonal vegetables and meat BBQ packs available

  • Complimentary breakfast for your first morning, breakfast available every morning (extra charge)

  • Hand picked extra virgin olive oil

  • picnics can be provided

  • Ample free covered parking

  • No smoking in the house

  • Solar electricity

  • Our own borehole water supply

  • Unlimited free Fibre WIFI

 

  • Luxury, hypoallergenic bedding and towels

  • Cozy woodburner

  • High chair and travel cot

  • Clothes storage/wardrobe

  • Hair dryer, Iron and Ironing board

  • Sofa bed which can sleep another 2 people (extra charge)

  • Hammock

  • Board games and cards

  • Small library stocked with paperbacks in English and guide books

  • Kids camping (great for teens)

  • Beautiful NEW saltwater pool with loungers, hammocks and shaded pergola

  • Natural soap and cleaning products

  • Stunning bathroom with feature stained glass window

 

the ground floor

The ground floor is tiled with cool ceramics underfoot and thick colourful rugs.  The casa is really unique being built into a huge granite rock and you really notice this amazing feature in the open plan living area.  The casa is completely self-catering offering a small, well equipped kitchen with cooker, fridge and breakfast bar.  In the living room there is a gorgeous wood burner easily capable of heating the whole house with cozy areas to sit and read.  Just off the living area is a good sized bathroom with locally crafted copper wash basin, luxury shower and a gorgeous, colourful hand made stained glass window.  Stairs then lead up to the bedrooms.

 

THE UPPER FLOOR

At the top of the stairs is the main bedroom with a king sized bed and feature window/door to the outside.  A dressing table and large wardrobe area complete this room.  The small end gable window offers a fantastic view of Torre, the highest spot in Portugal, and the room feels light and airy and has a ceiling. The second bedroom has two adult sized single beds with one arranged as a bunk bed.  

 
 
 

outside casa da bezerra

the terrace

Casa da Bezerra has its own private terrace with lovely wide views of the gardens and land around the Quinta.  You can also look down on the swimming pool area which is on a lower terrace.  The main terrace is always shaded and has a dining table as well as chairs for relaxing.

the farm

Our Quinta is situated in a beautiful and natural part of Central Portugal, as such its always difficult to image how we can make our environment better.  The Farm was abandoned for many years before we came here (we think 45 years) so much of the planting, gardens, irrigation and terraces were in a very bad state.  We have started the task of restoration of the landscape but this is a long, ongoing project.

The Olive trees have mostly been moved to the top terrace by the car park.  When we arrived here they were nothing more than olive bushes, small shoots surrounding the massive stumps of the former trees which must have been magnificent to look at.  They are now slowly coming back to individual, useful trees in their own right.  The fruit trees consisted of 6 original apples which, again, had been cut down to stumps, and a few plums so we have begun a planting programme to get back to how we think it might have been.  We have planted peach, nectarine, apricot, different varieties of apple and plum, nut trees and cherry and we hope to add to these.

The ancient granite landscape including the massive rock that the farm is built on is incredible.  We have created a series of new, lush gardens around the houses and the main “Rock” with a mixture of native drought loving plants and some other plants too. Even though we have our own borehole water supply water is at a premium here in the hot summer months so we use a system of weed suppressant membrane and a thick layer of bark to help conserve moisture.  Most of the vegetable garden, vines and fruit trees are on an irrigation system which delivers precious water only to where it is needed.

Vegetables are grown via a mixture of large beds and raised beds to increase fertility and yield.  We are still experimenting to see what can be grown successfully here and how best to use the land and the poly tunnel to enable us to maximise the growing season.

We have a wonderful, permanent outdoor kitchen with a huge oven, great for pizzas and a smaller grill area which also doubles up as an amazing outdoor fireplace.  This allows us to sit outside, cozy and warm, all year round!

The pool

New for 2022 is our gorgeous, saltwater pool, It fits the terrace perfectly, is surrounded by granite and marble paving, has a large 2 person Brazillian hammock and a safety railing.

The pool also has a shady Cabana with a huge, comfortable sofa that can accommodate a whole family in the shade. If you prefer you can increase your tan on our hardwood loungers or the hammock!

The reason for the saltwater system is simple. We are an environmentally friendly guest house and we do not want to use harsh chemicals anywhere. The salt system gives great sanitation coupled with no chemicals and is gentle on the skin.

Our pool is designed to be family friendly. It is 9m x4m at the deep end which at its maximum is 1.6m. The rest of the pool is 1m deep, so perfect for kids who are swimmers but not so confident in deeper water and the steps are different sizes and shapes (and depths) and are great for very young children with their parents to paddle and play.

During the summer months we use a purpose made thermal cover that does 3 things, it maintains the temperature, it keep bugs and dust (we do get quite windy weather every afternoon in hot weather) off the surface making the pool cleaner and lastly it prevents water from evaporating meaning we need to top up the pool far less frequently and so saving water. We are happy to open the cover any time you want but it is so simple you can easily do it for yourselves.

In the winter we have a fully fitted, very strong security cover so it is totally safe.

The pool will be open from April until November.