Quintal de Além do Ribeiro

After two weeks of walking through the local countryside, we’ve already booked to come back next year. The peaceful setting, away from busy neighborhoods and traffic, made it easy to unwind on our days off. There’s a lovely garden with flowers, little decorative touches and a pool. For dinner, you’ll need to head to a local restaurant, and the hosts are happy to suggest places or reserve a table. We’d arranged our spring stay four months ahead. Quintal de Além do Ribeiro was the only place on our shortlist that replied promptly, and the booking and deposit were sorted out within a few days. We flew into Porto on Easter Saturday and drove 170 km to get there. Marie-José, Manuel and their son Filipe welcomed us and showed us to the room, with all the practical details explained easily. We stayed in the carpenter room. The website had given us an idea of it, but the real thing was even more charming, especially the hand-finished embroidery on the curtains and sheets. The bathroom was small, though it had everything we needed. Breakfast was busy on Easter, but there was plenty to choose from: bread, meat, cheese, jam, omelet, local honey, four kinds of cereal including muesli, fresh fruit and different yoghurts. Marie-José told us she chooses organic food whenever she can. Since we were hiking in places where there might be nowhere to eat, we ordered a lunch pack for two. It came with two bottles of water, two large sandwiches with different fillings, two pieces of cake, two bananas and two other pieces of fruit. It kept us going through full days of walking. Marie-José often checked whether it suited us, so I imagine you can ask for changes if you prefer something else. This review is overdue, and it reflects both my wife’s experience and mine.