Hotel review: Casa das Pipas at Quinta do Portal, Douro Valley, Portugal

As Mr. Lisbonite is fond of saying, there's nothing that a recent holiday-maker likes more than to bang on about a hidden gem they've uncovered. We stayed at Casa das Pipas on the Quinta do Portal estate, a lovely little home that's been turned into a guest house with a lot of luxury features such as an amazing restaurant, an award-winning tasting installment and truly spectacular views over the whole of the Douro valley. The house has been lovingly redecorated using traditional Portuguese furniture in a modernised setting (consider the double-height sitting room with a modern fireplace or the re-worked dresser with antique pelicans on top). Every single feature, from the hand-upholstered satin dining chairs that are artfully mis-matched though to the simple but hand-carved four poster beds, is perfect. The wine cellars look like a scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as the lights flicker on and look out for the decorative corks that suspicious tourists have pulled from the walls believing wine to be stored behind them (bizarre).




There really is nothing like spending an evening looking up at the stars and out over the vineyard as you drink a bottle of wine made from the grapes in front of you and the Douro gets very few wine buff visitors compared to, say, the south of France or Italy. In short, go now before the world discovers this wonderful place. Turning family homes into luxury guesthouses is quite fashionable at the moment and provides an excellent way to tour Portugal and stay in touch with the "real" country rather than the bleached same-ness of a Mariott. Try Solares de Portugal for listings and expect to pay €120 or less for the best room in the house. Go now, the chilled Moscatel is waiting!