Villa Pedra Natural Houses

I had a feeling this place was going to be special and it ended up completely exceeding expectations. It's truly so beautiful. The setting is lovely, the decor and furnishing of the villa was amazing, and just so comfortable. We enjoyed exploring the area, hanging out at the pool, and just relaxing. It was the perfect mid-trip chill out spot during our tour of Portugal.

Our holiday at Villa Pedra was originally booked for 2020 but due to Covid restrictions we had to postpone our trip twice. Villa Pedra were very accommodating in letting us rebook and they also charged us their 2020 prices. We had a wonderful 2 weeks staying in Jasmine House (although we did have an overnight stay in both Porto and Lisbon). The Villa is beautiful (love the unique art pieces!) and very private. We very much enjoyed the view. My husband and I had a lovely meal cooked by Marta in an intimate part of the restaurant. We also enjoyed the Villa Pedra wines that we tried. We explored so many wonderful places around Villa Pedra. Thank you so much to Priscilla and Marta for being fabulous hosts!

Booked 4 nights here in June following a promising Times travel review, and other good feedback. British Airways and Matt Hancock combined to scupper that trip, but we managed to squeeze a couple of nights in during October. On reflection, 4 nights would have been a mistake. I just don't quite get Villa Pedra. Communication was poor at the outset between the two staff who were liaising with me on Whatsapp prior to check-in. I would have liked a meal in the on-site restaurant on the first evening, but was not told we would have needed to confirm by noon first day and can perhaps understand why it would have been a pain to open up with hardly any guests staying on the complex. I can appreciate what the owners are trying to do with the interior design and artwork within the houses, but for me it is a bit hit and miss. We stayed in the old girls school which was a bit dilapidated in places, a hole in the settee, a loose tap, and a loose toilet fitting, as well as a feeling of dampness and a slight smell. This is a pity, and I hope when covid has passed that the owners will successfully rejuvenate their business. I must admit that I was told beforehand that the old school house was 400m from the houses, but not that it was not onsite at all, but at the other end of the village. This was not a major problem as I would still have preferred to have stayed at the school house rather than the houses within the site complex, as they were very close to one another and the outside of the properties did not look that appealing. This all I suppose added to my feeling of not getting it. I think the photographer used by Pedra Villa to market their complex has done a tremendous job. There is an outdoor pool on site, which we used, and had to ourselves. It is a very charming, retro looking pool... but very narrow, and I would imagine it would become very crowded with more than half a dozen people in. It was however very clean. The surrounding area is very agricultural. Tractors are the most commonly spotted form of transport. The nearest supermarket is a 20 minute drive away through some winding lanes... which we ventured to on our first evening. One final point. We were shown to the one open and spacious green location on-site which on the face of it was a nicely landscaped communal area. On closer inspection, we found in one corner of the area an enclosure containing peacocks, a swan, doves, ducks, and various other birds. In my opinion, this was a horrendous sight, like something from a nightmare. It was very sad to see such wildlife cooped up together within such a small and restricted environment. And one for which I could see no useful purpose. I would urge the owners to dismantle this cage and release the birds to a more natural environment.