The Best Luxury Farmhouse Hotels in Portugal

There’s so much more to Portugal than Lisbon, Porto, and the poshest parts of the Algarve. The country’s hospitality often shines the brightest in its rural, off-the-beaten-path accommodations. Some are farmhouses, some are wineries, and some are just soulful small hideaways. What they share is an attention to detail and a strong desire to make every guest feel at home.  Our list of the Best Luxury Farmhouse Hotels in Portugal (listed from north to south)…

LUXURY FARMHOUSE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL

Quinta de Ventozelo, Douro Valley

The naming is intentional. Jorge Dias, the CEO of the prestigious port house Gran Cruz, chose not to make it a hotel and spa (though it has a pretty dreamy swimming pool) but to emphasize the quinta (wine estate) aspect instead. And for all its fancy new trappings, the 29-room hotel is still a historic farm that’s focused on producing excellent wines and maintaining Portugal’s countryside traditions. It’s one of the biggest and oldest farms in the Upper Douro Wine Region (the oldest demarcated wine region in the world), with nearly 1,000 acres of space and 500 years of history. The design starts from the buildings that existed on the farm, with their weathered stonework, roofs, old plaster, and whitewashed surfaces. Rustic wooden door and window frames were remade. The interior design extends that architectural simplicity to the rooms, which feel like they belong in a genuine and welcoming farmhouse. The most unusual accommodations are the spacious suites inside giant wine storage tanks, and the most lavish is Casa Grande, a private six-bedroom villa with a gorgeous swimming pool overlooking the Douro.

LUXURY FARMHOUSE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL

Quinta de São Bernardo, Douro Valley

While other hotels in the Douro Valley tend to halfway up the region’s steep hills, Quinta de São Bernardo has more of an up-close view of the comings and goings along the river. The boutique hotel occupies a family farmhouse that dates from 1912 and was carefully restored while keeping the family spirit alive. It’s an intimate affair, with just seven double bedrooms (five with river views) in the main house and two pool villas, an organic garden for the farm-to-table restaurant, spa and an infinity pool overlooking the river. The rooms have some playful touches, like claw-foot bathtubs and wallpaper printed with rabbits and other forest animals. While enjoying a glass beside the pool or on the terrace is highly encouraged, serious wine lovers will find their joy in the signature three-hour tasting of eight wines produced on the property.

LUXURY FARMHOUSE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL

Casas do Côro, Marialva, Guarda District

Tranquil and idyllic, Casas do Côro is the longstanding dream of Carmen and Paulo Romão. There, they’ve created 29 guest rooms across 13 houses that combine contemporary materials and styles with the traditional stone architecture of the “historic villages” region in central Portugal. They serve fresh food from local markets in the restaurant and pair it with wine made from their own grapes, overseen by Carlos Raposo with input from Dirk Niepoort, one of Portugal’s most respected winemakers. There’s an eco-friendly concept spa with a panoramic sauna and an indoor pool.

LUXURY FARMHOUSE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL

Casas da Lapa, Lapa dos Dinheiros, Serra da Estrela

Hugging the hillside at the edge of the village of Lapa dos Dinheiros, this small mountain retreat has gorgeous views over the surrounding valley. Owner Nuno Bravo grew up in Lapa dos Dinheiros, and he always knew this land, and especially its waterfall, had tourism potential. But it was only after his wife, Maria Manuel Silva, went to Italy for a Ph.D. program and discovered that country’s agriturismi (rural accommodations), that they got the final push to make it happen. They bought a house in 2005 and opened it as a fairly rustic guest house with six rooms. After some expansions over the years, they got serious about upgrading it to a full-service, design-forward hotel in 2015. This was a five-year project because of what Bravo describes as “architecture that looks simple but is not simple.” Rather, it’s the kind of comfort that you take for granted, considering how seamless it is.

LUXURY FARMHOUSE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL

São Lourenço do Barrocal, Monsaraz, Alentejo

José António Uva, the eighth-generation owner of São Lourenço do Barrocal, likes to point out that the vast Alentejo houses only about 4% of Portugal’s population, less than half a million people. That emptiness is what makes it so appealing. Under Uva’s direction, the family behind São Lourenço do Barrocal has transformed it into one of the dreamiest rural accommodations in the country, with farmers’ quarters that have been reinvented as super-comfortable bedrooms, a fire-kitchen restaurant in the gardens, and an outstanding stargazing situation in an arena that dates from Roman times.

LUXURY FARMHOUSE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL

Herdade dos Grous, Albernoa, Alentejo

Managed by the same people behind the Algarve’s legendary Vila Vita Parc, this large wine estate produces half a million bottles a year and also has outstanding wine tourism offerings. Its large grounds include a manmade lake, organic farming, animal husbandry, and a stunning landscape. The 24 guest rooms are furnished in traditional style, and some have fireplaces to cozy up the region’s frequent chilly nights. Fittingly for a place whose name means “estate of the cranes,” it offers guided birdwatching, riding on the Belgian horses that are bred on the farm (some are former show-jumping champions but now they offer gentle tourist-friendly rides), and opportunities to learn about the production of olive oil, wine, and the native cattle that produce carne Alentejana.

LUXURY FARMHOUSE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL

Craveiral Farmhouse, São Teotónio, Alentejo

A former carnation farm near the Costa Vicentina offers the best of both rural realities: the seaside Alentejo and the countryside version. Its 38 cottages range from studios to a two-bedroom house. All of them come with a design that marries luxury with simplicity, and some of them have extra-comfy Hastens beds. The owner has made major commitments to environmental responsibility (including an organic garden) and community integration, in the form of artisan workshops. He also made big commitments to the good life, kitting out the property with four swimming pools, bringing on board Michelin-starred chef Alexandra Silva (Loco in Lisbon) to consult on the fire kitchen Farmtable restaurant, and forming a partnership with the organic Lisbon pizzeria In Bocca al Lupo to serve fresh, tasty pies at the hotel while employing young people with slight disturbance of intellectual development.

LUXURY FARMHOUSE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL

Herdade da Malhadinha Nova, Beja, Alentejo

This super-stylish Relais & Châteaux resort got its start as a simple farmhouse hotel with a handful of bedrooms in the sunny, sultry southern Alentejo, where summer temperatures generally force a certain kind of languor. Just before the 2020 travel season (yikes!), owner Rita Soares made a major creative investment in five new accommodation units on her 1,000-acre farm and vineyards. Together the buildings have 30 rooms, some configured to coddle couples and others more suitable for families with children.

LUXURY FARMHOUSE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL

Octant Vila Monte, Moncarapacho, Algarve

After a 2022 rebranding, the iconic Vila Monte Farm House (and a handful of other notable hotels in Portugal) became Octant. What hasn’t changed is its soul, starting with a location away from the beach-going crowds, in the interior northeast of Olhão. It’s a hotel with subtle architecture and decoration—heavy on woven straw, be it in oversize lamp shades or decorative hats—well-organized gardens and wild nature, a relaxed all-day restaurant emphasizing local ingredients, and a focus on meaningful activities, such as private picnics in the Ria Formosa (lagoon), master classes with a local potter, and guided visits of the salt flats that supply most of Portugal’s top chefs with their salt. Onsite, there are alfresco yoga classes, a holistic spa, and regular culinary events.

LUXURY FARMHOUSE HOTELS IN PORTUGAL

Quinta das Perfumes, Cabanas de Tavira, Algarve

The 17 rooms at this family-run agriturismo are the real deal: They’re surrounded by the orange, lemon, and avocado trees of a working farm. (The pool, scented with orange blossoms, deserves special mention.) The design of the rooms is simple but soulful, with softly colored, locally woven blankets folded at the foot of the beds. Would-be digital nomads can trust the wifi speed, and anyone can appreciate the locally sourced breakfast.