The Carvalhal Beach Residence

We absolutely LOVED our stay at The Carvalhal Beach Residence. The photos perfectly depict the space, which is clean, modern and beautiful. The set-up of the two buildings is amazing, and each of the three bedrooms has their own entrance from the pool, which gave us great privacy. We had a ton of fun in the pool, and we spent a lot of time at the beach, which is just minutes away by car (my son even tried surfing). The whole area is full of incredible restaurants and fun activities, and we would come back in a heartbeat.

We had an amazing and relaxing stay at Carvalhal Beach Residence in April 2023. Ed and Mafalda were communicative and shared many recommendations prior and during our stay; wonderful host and caretaker. We had a rough start with a flight delay and were so thankful for the welcome basket since we got there in the evening. My kids (2 and 5) were thrilled to go in the pool everyday and enjoyed being so closed to the beach. It was exactly what we needed. Highly recommend staying at Carvalhal Beach Residence!

This property exceeded our (already high) expectations in every single way. Ed was a wonderful communicator and gives you so much information that you could just go through his list of suggestions one by one and not have to do any research yourself. The food was incredible at every stop, the beaches felt like untouched secrets (we went in low season end of March) and the people were welcoming and kind. We will definitely be back!

We had an amazing stay at The Carvalhal Beach Residence in June 2022! There were seven people in our party. Four adults and three children. The entire space is just lovely - very comfy, laid out well and decorated very nicely. We spent most of our time sitting out by the pool together eating, drinking, swimming, reading, and enjoying the lovely architecture and landscaping. We cooked in the cute, little kitchen a few times and the kids enjoyed the loft area. We ran into Carvalhal each morning for pastries to bring back to the cottages. Rode the great bikes that are provided a few times to the bakery and to closest beach, went to the lovely spa at Quinta da Comporta, did an ATV tour at Feel Comporta, and made several reservations to nearby restaurants. I highly recommend 5 Sentidos Comporta (our fave - went two times) and Sublime Comporta Beach Club. We also had lovely meals at Sal Comporta, Museu do Arroz, PizzaPisco and Gomes. When we weren't eating or hanging at the cottages, we were at one of the two beaches nearby. They are both beautiful spots and our kids had so much fun in the waves. The sand is so soft and hunting for shells is exquisite!

Lovely stay would definitely return!

We had the most wonderful time at The Carvalhal Beach House. It exuded rest and relaxation. Our boys 2 and 4 loved the pool! The location was perfect, delicious food and beautiful beaches. We highly recommend. Thank you for the hospitality and your beautiful place.

We fell in love with this place the moment we walked in. It was truly even more beautiful and relaxing than the photos depict. We came with our 4 1/2 yr old and almost 2 yr old and thought it was a beautiful set up for our little family. We had to monitor our nearly 2 yr old at all times around the pool and a few garden areas but we expected that. Ed was amazing and helpful prior to our stay and gave us all of the great insights about the area. We used the bicycles and rode into the village a couple mornings- what a great place! There is a nice little playground across from the bakery- it was a real hit with our kiddos. Thank you Ed for such an incredible stay!

Extraordinary place- extremely nice owner and caretaker. We spent a wonderful holiday week in a very nice surrounding. Beach and surf school in walking distance.

We had a wonderful stay at the Carvalhal Beach Residence. The home is as beautiful as it looks in the photos, and very private. The kitchen was stocked with fresh produce, bread, cheese, eggs and a bottle of wine when we arrived. There is also a cabinet with a variety of kids games, as well as Netflix, so we were never at a loss for down-time activities for the kids. We enjoyed spending time by the pool, visiting the beautiful local beaches (the closest is a 10-15 minute walk or a short 5 minute drive), and taking day trips to Lisbon and other nearby sites. The local area is very laid back, and the beaches were vast and not at all crowded. There seems to be a fair bit of development in the works, so I imagine the area will become a bit busier in coming years, but on our visit, the area was perfectly quiet. The nearby town of Comporta has one stretch of high-end boutiques and art galleries, which was fun. And all of the nearby beaches have delicious seafood restaurants overlooking the ocean. Thank you Ed for a wonderful stay! Shanta & Nate, NYC

We had a wonderful stay at the Carvalhal Beach Residence! The cabanas are beautiful and peaceful, and we especially enjoyed the fully stocked kitchen. Ed and the house staff were responsive, available, and easy to coordinate with. Comporta itself is wonderful; we had a relaxing vacation on the gorgeous beaches, hanging out by the pool, and enjoying all the delicious food. It was close enough for a few fun road trips up to Lisbon and Sinta, as well. Highly recommend for all!

The cabanas are super stylish and luxurious with comfy beds and crisp linen and extremely well equipped - we had everything we needed from top of the range cooking equipment to smart TV, which we amazingly didn't use as the kids had lots of other things to occupy them such as bikes and board games and the lovely pool which, in August, was just the right temperature. We love this area of Portugal, so much nicer than the packed southern Algarve and works well with a combined city break with Lisbon. The big golden beaches have waves for bodyboarding but not too cold or rough for swimming, great seafood restaurants, a surprising number of lovely boutiques and a very authentic, untouristy feel. We could have done with another week!

Carvalhal is a small, quiet village. We appreciated its easy-going, slow-paced "feel": buying just harvested veggies at the farmer's doorstep, the wonderful fish from the truck. Lets hope it will stay like this. (The construction site where a big hotel is being built, however, does not bode well.) The accommodation was very good: well furnished, comfortable living and sleeping cabanas, spacious enough for us (4 adults and three children). The star of the area, obviously, is the Atlantic Ocean with its beaches: really superb; an experience that allows you to really "switch off" and let the spirit flow.

This villa is a little piece of paradise. In a special and naturally beautiful destination that still feels relatively un-discovered by the masses, the Gardiner-Hill home feels like an oasis of calm and luxury. The linens and beds were incredibly comfortable, the kitchen equipment and appliances were of the highest quality - which made preparing snacks and meals a pleasure. The pool and deck are perfectly prepared for ultimate relaxation, and the pool cover gave us piece of mind at night. The proximity to incredible beaches, beach bars and cafes/restaurants made it the perfect place to explore from, but we always enjoyed returning home after a day out and about. I would recommend this special place to anyone looking for a true holiday and the old-fashioned sense of the word. We were on a multi-generational trip and it worked out so well for all of us from 5-65!!