The pool at Casa dos Cavalos, two chairs under the cork oak, looking over the rice fields of Melides on the Comporta coast

Casa dos Cavalos

Melides · Alentejo · Portugal

Above the rice fields of Melides, on the quiet southern reach of the Comporta coast, Casa dos Cavalos is a whitewashed farmhouse restored for long summers: a wild and near-empty Atlantic beach two kilometres in front, shaded terraces and quiet courtyards behind. We open it to guests for selected weeks of the year.

The terrace dining table, laid and shaded
Shaded seating under the pergolaThe oleander path through the garden
The covered dining terrace, laid for lunchA double bedroom with green shutters
The house and grounds from the air

The house

A single-storey farmhouse made for long lunches

Everything happens on one level: wide sitting rooms filled with natural light, whitewashed walls, terracotta floors and beamed ceilings, stone bathrooms cool underfoot, doors that stand open to the garden all day. A den with an enormous television, ping pong and table football takes care of the rare rainy hour.

Days gather around food. Breakfast in the eat-in kitchen, lunch carried out to the long covered terrace, dinner in the dining room or under the pergola as the light goes.

The farmhouse from the air, bougainvillea over the terraceThe whitewashed farmhouse facade
The long dining terraceThe long table under the cane roof
The inner courtyard between the bedroom wings, benches in the shadeThe inner courtyard, planted urns by the bedroom wing
Bougainvillea over the terraceThe veranda through the garden foliage
A chair on the terrace, looking over the rice fieldsA corner of the outdoor table, cushions on the bench

Inside

The sitting room, windows looking over the gardenThe console table with its tapestry
The dining nook, botanical prints above the tableThe dining room, table set
The den, with its enormous TVThe games room, table tennis and table football

The bedrooms

Six bedrooms, all en-suite

Each bedroom has its own stone bathroom, white and cool underfoot, with wooden shutters against the morning sun. Doubles for the grown-ups, twins for the children, every room opening onto garden, courtyard or fields. All bedrooms are air-conditioned.

A double bedroom, doors to the gardenA double bedroom with French doors to the garden
A double bedroom with green shuttersA twin bedroom with green shutters
A bedroom window with plumbago in flower
A walk-in shower roomA stone bathroom with bath
The stone bathroom with its deep tub

The grounds

Pool, tennis, and room to roam

The pool sits above the rice fields with its own outdoor kitchen, shower and changing room, and daybeds in long shade. There is a tennis court and a football pitch among the cork oaks, and two outdoor showers for sandy returns from the beach.

The garden does the rest: a wildflower meadow in spring, an orchard and kitchen garden that supply the table, and a shaded corner for every hour of the day.

The pool looking over the rice fieldsLoungers by the pool
The pool pergola, shaded seatingDaybeds by the pool
The football pitchThe football goal
The tennis courtThe wildflower meadow
Quince trees in the gardenThe fountain trough with its tiled medallion
The house and grounds from the airThe pool and tennis court from the air

The beach

The Comporta coast at its wildest, 2km away

The beach at Melides is a long pale sweep with a lagoon behind and the Atlantic in front, rarely busy even in August. Melides village and its restaurants are five minutes by car; Comporta's beach clubs and rice-field lanes are fifteen.

The long empty beach at MelidesThe lagoon behind Melides beach
The beach from the dunesSandstone cliffs and steps above the beach

Practicalities

The details

Enquire

Selected weeks only

€12,500 per week, July and August
€10,000 per week, September, Easter, May and June
€8,000 per week, all other dates

Write to us with your dates and we will come back to you.

Enquire

Or email us at [email protected]