Casa de Crasto

I've stayed here so many times now – on my own, with my wife, and with other family – that it has become a second home and the hostess and her family have become friends, but everything I say below was true from our first visit. This is an atmospheric place to stay with a romantic history, lots of space and an easygoing feel. It's old and grand, and built of great hunks of granite. You could ride a horse in some of the rooms, and that's its charm – don't come here if you want something bright and modern. The rooms vary from smallish to quite large (most are on the large side) and some are part of a suite. There is central heating in the rooms - important if you catch a spell of cool weather. We stay either in a wing comprised of the ground floor library (the former chapel), an upstairs sitting room, bedroom and bathroom; or in one of the cottages, which has two double bedrooms (one with twin beds) with bathrooms, and a sitting-room cum dining kitchen on the ground floor. You can sit outside in deck chairs and soak up a bit of sun at this end of the house, surrounded by the orchards and vineyards that are still part of the estate. Breakfasts are phenomenal, with the usual ham, cheese and breads supplemented by home-baked cakes and puddings (usually involving lots of eggs - such as enormous creme caramels etc), and really good home-made jams and marmalade made with fruit from the estate - don't miss the marmalade, which is 100% orange peel candied in a barely liquid syrup - really good. The hosts also went out of their way to accommodate some dietary requirements we had, and that is just the way they are - very helpful indeed. One note of caution: although Casa de Crasto is very conveniently located for Ponte de Lima centre (a pleasant five minute walk) it's not at all easy to find. There are no signs to it, and you may have to ask. Get a good idea of the location before you arrive (look carefully at the street layout) and try not to arrive late at night and fumble about finding it in the dark.