This is where we live. It was a ruin when we found it, on Cabeça, the hill beside the castle, and it took a year to make it a home. When we travel, we let it, so it is only available in windows. It is the one place here we cannot always say yes to.
It is a family house, not a holiday let dressed as one. There are children’s books on the shelves, a chalkboard on the fridge, and marks on the door frame where we measured them. The children’s room has a bunk bed, a desk and a shelf of games, and it is the reason families choose this house over the others.
There is a separate office with two desks, two chairs and a door you can shut. Two people can work at the same time, or one can take a call while the rest of the house carries on being a house. If you are travelling with children and still have to work, this room is the difference between a holiday that works and one that does not.
The terrace on the roof looks over the tiled roofs of the old town and up the valley to the Monchique hills. It faces east, so this is where the sun comes up. That is why we bought the place.
| Sleeps | 4 · a king bed of 1.80 × 2 m for the parents, and a bunk bed with two beds in the children’s room. A family with up to two children. |
| Rooms | Two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, office room, bathroom |
| Bathroom | An extra large bathtub as well as a shower |
| Kitchen | Fully equipped, with a dishwasher |
| Outside | Roof terrace with mountain and valley views, and covered storage for surfboards and wetsuits |
| Working | A separate office with two desks, two chairs and a door that locks |
| Also | Washing machine, boards and bodyboards to borrow, dogs welcome |
| Good for | Families with up to two children, surfers, and anyone who has to work while the others are at the beach |
| Getting there | High in the old town. The last stretch is narrow and steep, which is the price of the view. |
| Availability | Only when we are away. Write and ask which weeks are open |
| Licence | 136157/AL |