Holiday rentals near Arouca Convent

A beautiful renovation of an old existing hillside farmhouse into a combination of very modern and original features. Excellent accommodation with five en-suite bathrooms, a stunning lounge area and a chef's kitchen. Glass walls to the SE side of the accommodation to provide stunning views over the garden, hillsides and down to the Douro. Early morning fog bands make it very atmospheric. Highly recommended, but it is down the end of a long narrow lane. So travelling in a full-size car is a challenge for the unfamiliar! Excellent bakery in the village as well as a homely restaurant.

We travelled to Portugal from Australia for a short, 2 week holiday. We had 5 nights in the Douro Valley at Quinto Do Loureiro. Our holiday was over the New Year period. We found the winter weather in Portugal mild rather cold. Gathering from the QDL guest books, most folks staying there did so when the weather was warmer and the days longer. For us, though, QDL provided a fine base for our touring (even venturing to Spain one day) and after a day's driving it offered us the warmth of a bright fire with a good stack of dry wood, where eating the fine food prepared by one of our group and drinking big local reds was the order of our evenings. The highlight of our entire trip to Portugal was lunch at the DOC restaurant of chef Rui Paula sitting alongside the Douro River at nearby Regua. Fabulous. QDL had everything that we needed. Its old age brought a charm and grace but this was coupled with all the mod cons. It was very clean and tidy. QDL fitted in well with our holiday plans that included nights in Lisbon and Porto. I must say that the owner Francisco Neto was very pleasant to deal with - he is a hassle free person.