Herdade da Matinha Country House, Alentejo

The Alentejo country house hotel Herdade da Matinha doesn’t fit the traditional definitions of luxury. It doesn’t have manicured gardens or gleaming surfaces. Rather, it has the realest of all luxuries: deep nature and silence.

The family-owned property extends over 110 hectares of cork oak and umbrella fine—much of which the owner regenerated himself when he began the hospitality project, back in the 1990s—which are filled with wildflowers and birdsong. The centerpiece, is the original family house, which dates from 1917.

After several renovations and expansions, that main house now holds several living and lounging areas, a library and workspace, a restaurant, and indoor and outdoor bars. Some of the 35 rooms are in another historic farm house, with blue shutters, sliding barn-like doors, and red tiles.

The newer rooms make no secret of their recent construction—they don’t try to pretend to be anything they’re not. The five-bedroom Surf Lodge is all right angles and vivid blue exterior walls, and the deck has plenty of room for surfboards or bikes. The metal-clad Family Barn has 16 interconnecting rooms and a shared sitting areas indoors and out. The newest building, also made of metal, is the Rose Club, an adults-only enclave with its own swimming pool.

All 35 rooms are decorated with locally sourced, natural material. There’s virtually nothing plastic in them, which contributes to their calm feeling. Aside from the Rose Club, the hotel is full pet- and child-friendly.

As for activites, Herdade da Matinha is just a short distance from the coast and the Vicentina Route, an extensive system of hiking and biking trails that the hotel’s owner helped develop. Pristine beaches and the Alentejo countryside are close at hand.

The food also comes from close by—much is grown on site, and the rest is purchased from local farmers and fishers. Dinner is a daily set menu (with a vegetarian option), and the lunch options are tightly edited, but the farm-fresh breakfast—included in the rate and now served a la carte to cut down on food waste (the owner is very committed to sustainability)—is worth getting up for.