Quinta De Guimaraes

We spent three days here with friends and had a wonderful time. Fernanda made us comfortable and helped make the stay memorable. The food was a real highlight, especially the farm-fresh fruit, generous meals, and homemade jams. Everywhere you look there's something lovely: the Douro valley and river views, the vineyard, the estate, the 300 year old house and chapel, and the friendly dogs. The whole group enjoyed it, and we'd definitely come back.

We stayed in the vineyard house again, and loved spending warm evenings on the porch looking out over the vines and valley. This was our second visit to our favourite place in the Douro Valley, and Fernanda and her family were as kind as ever. We picked raspberries with them, and cherries were ripe enough to eat straight from the trees. The pool was warm enough for swimming and lounging, and we brought tennis rackets and balls for the court. We love it here so much that even day trips along the Douro River are hard to pull ourselves away for. It's just the kind of place you want to stay. We'll be back.

Fernanda's cooking was the highlight of our two nights here. She prepared regional Portuguese dishes from a menu, served in an old aristocratic style, and every meal felt like an experience. One dinner included salad, meat croquets, grilled bacalhau with potatoes, eggs and greens, plus beef roast with mustard sauce, sweet potatoes, zucchini, beets, and mint rice. We finished with baked meringue, sweet yolk sauce, walnuts, seasonal fruit, house wine, and porto. The next night brought bacalhau a bràs, slow-roasted lamb with potatoes, cauliflower and greens, baked brie with honey and walnuts, croquets and salad. Dessert was avocado ice cream with dark chocolate, followed by estate wine and porto. Each meal cost around 49, which felt fair for the experience. I'll remember this stay for a long time. We had the big room in the main house. The estate feels magical, tucked up a small hill and accessible only by car, with sweeping valley and vineyard views and, from some spots, a bit of the duoro River. There are beautiful gardens, a viewpoint, a pool we couldn't use because it was cold and raining, tennis and basketball courts, a little chapel, and lovely rooms for reading, breakfast and meals.

Fernanda is the heart of Quinta de Guimares. She's hospitable and takes good care of her guests. We didn't realize dinner service was available until we'd already bought groceries, so we missed out on her cooking this time and will try it next visit. The house in the vineyards was a perfect place for a relaxing five day break. We travel a lot and live in London, and wanted somewhere to disconnect and slow down. It felt comfortable and homey as soon as we arrived, simple but generous, with three bedrooms each having its own bathroom. The grounds are fantastic, and the pool has a beautiful valley view. There's tennis too, so bring your own equipment if you want to play.