I travelled with my three daughters aged 15 years, 13 years and 12 years respectively.
I booked the holiday at extremely short notice and was extremely fortunate to find this place for the only available week left of the Summer.
I was looking for a house in a quiet location with a pool but close enough to amenities given the ages of my girls.
We found our way from Lisbon Airport by motorway to Caldais da Rainha which is the nearest town to the house and with the help of Mick, the owner, we managed the last leg of the journey which turned out to be only approx. 10 mins from the town.
We arrived to a most beautiful country home which was situated in a small Portuguese village up in the hills. Our first impression upon entering the house was 'Wow!' - The house has been refurbished to excellent standard maintaining exposed beams and walls with tasteful decoration throughout. The main bedroom is very large and airy and the two other bedrooms are of good size also - one upstairs with twin beds and a travel cot and the other downstairs with patio doors leading on to a spacious terrace to the back of the house.
The kitchen and living room also have patio doors leading on to the terrace and large private back garden with a spacious pool which is immaculately kept.
The kitchen is well stocked with all necessary utensils for cooking and there is a gas/electric hob with an electric oven and extractor fan. There is also a washing machine and plenty of detergent and fabric conditioner.
The living room contains a flat screen TV with DVD and satellite TV with English speaking channels and although the viewing is limited there are a number of DVD's for watching although not all suitable for family as many are thrillers. No harm to pack a couple of your own should you chose this accommodation for holiday.
We were content to spend the majority of our time at the house but there are some fabulous beaches and lagoons in the locality and also the stunning Medieval town of Obidos which is only a ten to fifteen minute drive by motorway. If you travel in the last week of July as we did, there is a Medieval market which costs €6 per person but for an extra €1 you can rent beautiful period costumes for a number of hours which if you go is a must as it adds hugely to the whole experience.
There are also plenty of supermarkets including a Lidl in Caldas da Rainha where you can purchase a fabulous array of fresh fruit and vegetables for very little money. There are also plenty of restaurants in this town and a shopping centre with a large selection of clothes shops at very keen prices if that's of interest.
There is also a McDonalds restaurant where if you are feeling withdrawals from Wifi you can head in and hook up to their broadband as long as you have something off the menu!
Broadband was not generally available from what we could see in restaurants in general in this region.
Over all we enjoyed our stay at this location tremendously. I was looking for a quiet holiday where I could chill out with the kids without the distraction of internet and Facebook in a beautiful setting and this is exactly what we experienced.
Other points to note - the owners provide towels for bathrooms and also separate towels for around the pool/beach so no need to pack them.