Maison Heleno: vacances spectaculaire avec la nature

7 of us (4 adults and 3 teenagers) stayed for a week in July. The house is fabulous and exactly what we needed for a holiday. It is clearly a much loved house for Maria and, as a result, it is a fantastic place to stay. Maria was an excellent host.

The kitchen is excellent with a very good range of condiments and basic cooking items.

The bedrooms are great. There are two doubles on the lower level which are serviced by two bathrooms. There is a larger bedroom with 3 beds on the upper level with its own bathroom.

The grounds are just fantastic. The pool is large and was a perfect size for us. The lawn is luscious and the beautiful gardens are extremely well maintained.

There is a fabulous view across to the all the local landmarks (Palacio Pena, Palacio Nacional, Moorish Castle, Quinta De Regaleira, Monserrate, etc)

The bonus for us was all the fruit trees. We were encouraged to eat as many apricots as we could, because they were the trees that were in fruit at the time that we were there.

I would describe the location as semi-rural since it is on the outskirts of the village of Nafarros. We walked into the two restaurants in village. There is a small supermarket in nearby villages.

Sintra is very easy to access (a short drive) and there is a large supermarket there. There is also a large and free carpark at the Portela de Sintra station for access to Lisbon (40 mins by train). The nearby beaches at Praia Grande and Praia das Macas are sandy and clean. We found many good restaurants in the local area.

Best place to relax and appreciate this wonderful villa with it's pleasant swimming pool and barbecue conditions. Superb view with opportunities to stroll, visit palaces, beaches and breathe the pure country air. In 25 minutes we reached the centre of Lisbon with no problem. We will surely come back next year!!

Michael.

The villa itself is very attractive with all that is needed for a comfortable stay. The views across the valley to the hills are stunning and many of the sites to see in and around Sintra such as the Pena Palace can be seen from the villa. The garden is lovely and is ideal if you wish to have a quiet stroll around the grounds. The pool is a good size so that you can exercise doing lengths or just relax. The nearby beaches are stone free and extremely clean and are ideal for surfing, being only 10 - 15 minutes away by car. Maria met us at the villa and explained everything we needed to know and was very helpful, as well as being only a phone call away if needed, a very nice lady. All in all we had a lovely time and would like to thank Maria for her the use of her villa.

We stayed here for a week and couldn't recommend the villa highly enough. Very well equipped. Beautiful, idyllic gardens and beautiful views. We were genuinely sad to leave. The whole area is peaceful, close to the town of Sintra and the Atlantic Coast. Well located for shops and restaurants. Our hostess Maria was friendly and helpful and our pleasure staying at her villa was her main priority, so many thanks to her.

We stayed at the villa for two weeks and had a fantastic time. The villa was spotlessly clean and very tastefully presented. The kitchen was well equipped and the pool a great size and very well maintained.

The garden is wonderful with great views and we spent many a lovely evening on the patio watching the fireflies.

We could happily spend the day at the villa, the fully enclosed grounds were large enough for our children (9 and 6) to run around but the convenient location meant many day trips were possible.

We were joined by my parents for a few days and there was more than enough space and facilities. We were all very impressed and highly recommend this villa and want to return next year!