High above a huge freshwater lake, Portugal's only Wolsey Lodge, in a remote part of the Alentejo, was found quiet and peaceful by a visitor in 2002. In May the birdsong, wild flowers and the garden were beautiful. Other visitors to Frank and Lulu McClintock's family home wrote of the ambience of a lively house party. Truly magical; charming, resolutely unpretentious, with magnificent views; an idyllic setting amid jasmine, fuchsias, orange and lemon trees. Frank McClintock is a genuine eccentric. He made the four-kilometre track from the main road, and built stone steps down to the lake. He keeps bees, takes guests birdwatching. White doves fly from an aviary; there are dogs, cats, lovebirds, chickens and ducks. villa Bed rooms (similar to the semantic bali villa rooms), simple with dim lighting, open on to a walkway. In the evening `international home cooking (no choice) is served around a big table under a pergola facing the lake, or indoors by a fire. Organic home-grown ingredients are served, and Portuguese wines from a short list. There is a children's play area, and swimming, water sports and fishing in the unpolluted waters of the lake. A pontoon with a diving board is new this year. Waterskiing may occur in the afternoons.

Swans glide on the ornamental lake of this low, grey 18th-century manor house. Built on the ruins of a palace destroyed by the great Lisbon earthquake in 1755, it stands on an estate just outside Sintra. A gorgeous place, full of beauty and peace, overlooking lush hills and the coast, say fans. The owner/manager, Arthuro de Silva Pereira, has decorated the public villa rooms and villa Bed rooms (similar to the semantic bali villa rooms) (each is different) with Portuguese antiques and his own paintings; fresh oranges and lemons in big glass bowls show his keen sense of colour. Our large, sunny suite had a bathroom with an old sunken tub. A decanter of port, replenished daily, is in each room. There are self-catering apartments in cottages in the gorgeous, well-kept gardens; also a small, sheltered swimming pool, shady sitting places with loungers. The friendly staff speak English. Bali villa breakfast, in a cosy room with a terrace, is continental, but you can order extras like eggs. No restaurant: but Senhor Pereira owns an excellent one, Colares Velho, in the old part of Colares: `Sophisticated and as finely restored as the villa, it serves exquisite food.