Nestling in a majestic place, Casa da Confraria offers you a peaceful and private setting in the heart of Portugal's enchanting Sintra region. The recently refurbished manor house, thirty minutes from Lisbon airport, is situated in one of Portugal's most treasured areas, with magnificent views of the surrounding mountains, the village, and the distant coastline. The picturesque old town of Sintra, with its 18th-century pastel-hued palatial facades, is only five minutes distant, and within another fifteen minutes you enter the colorful, bustling seaside towns of Estoril and Cascais, with their lovely vistas and beaches. The Casa’s two houses are individually and tastefully furnished in period antiques. The sitting room and the traditional dining room give Casa da Confraria a warmth and home-like atmosphere that is rare among luxury guesthouses of its type. The terraced gardens are perfect for a quiet and relaxing visit.

The House is located in the most elevated area of the town. It is surrounded by the large estates. Sintra train station is about 1 mile away. The train is scheduled every fifteen minutes and it takes about thirty minutes to get to Lisbon. The distance to the coast and the town of Cascais with several beautiful beaches is about 5 miles. The Lisbon Airport is located eighteen miles from Sintra. Casino Estoril, the largest in Europe, is only about ten minutes by car.

Activities: Cycling, diving, fishing, golf, horse riding, mountain biking, mountaineering, paragliding, roller blading, sailing, surfing, swimming, tennis, walking, water skiing, wind-surfing

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Reviews left by previous renters:

(+) We stayed at the Casa da Confraria in September 2004 for my wife's 40th birthday. We couldn't have been happier with the house and Sintra itself.

The house was furnished with beautiful antiques and decorated with exquisite Portuguese tiles. There were two bedrooms, one on the first floor and one on the second with an adjoining room that I believe had another single bed. There were three sitting rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and two terraces - the higher one complete with fruit trees and a table for alfresco dining.

The house is at the top of a hill, and at night, you can walk out the front door and see all the way to the sea. At the bottom of the hill, there is a natural spring where the locals fill their water bottles, and we did as well.

There were plenty of restaurants, both down the hill to the main part of town and over in Sao Pedro, which is walkable from the house. Sao Pedro also has a market every second and fourth Sunday with a wide variety of foods and products for sale, including an amazing bread stuffed with chouriço made in clay ovens permanently installed in the square there. Getting it hot out of the oven made it even more delicious.

There is also a local bus that stops at the bottom of the hill and goes into another part of Sintra where there is a grocery store.

Sintra itself is wonderfully beautiful, with two royal palaces and amazing courtiers' houses. We were very comfortable in the house except that the beds were quite narrow and the mattresses rather hard. But the surroundings were elegant and the site manager extremely helpful.

The owner even gave us the number of a taxi driver who picked us up at the airport in Lisbon and took us to the house. We look forward to returning to Casa da Confraria, having had such a lovely time there.

Matt Flynn and Megan Mooha

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Bedroom configuration

The big house bedrooms:

One bedroom with a double bed with a bathroom
One bedroom with two single beds with a bathroom
One bedroom with a single bed with a bathroom
One bedroom with a single bed

Total four bedrooms, six sleeping places, three bathrooms

The small house bedrooms:

One bedroom with a double bed with a bathroom
One bedroom with a double bed
One bedroom with a single bed

Total three bedrooms, five sleeping places

Parking is available at Santa Maria church yard, about 100 meters from the house. It is very quiet and secure.