Villa Dom Fernando

Villa, child friendly, gated safe pool area, Central Portugal.

# Accommodation

# 1 master bedroom with en suite bathroom & spa bath.
# 1 double bedroom.
# 3 twin bedrooms.
# 1 children's play room.
# Gated pool safe for toddlers.
# Large and fully equipped kitchen.
# Large living room and dining area for 10.
# Extensive garden and terraces.
# Roof terrace with fantastic views.

Large 5 bedroom villa with private pool overlooking the seaside village of Foz do Arelho. Perfect for large groups or multiple families. The villa is just 10 minutes walk from the beach, bars and restaurants. The villa has a master bedroom with king size bed and en suite bathroom with hydro-massage bath. There is also one double bedroom and a further 3 twin bedrooms, in addition to a young children's playroom with two pull out beds. There is a substantial kitchen as well as a large living room and dining area, with dining table to seat 10.

The property has an extensive garden area with gated private pool perfectly safe for small children. The rooftop terrace with views of Foz lagoon and the Atlantic ocean is perfect for evening barbecues whilst watching the spectacular sunset.

Location

The Villa sits on a hill overlooking the seaside village of Foz do Arelho, a small beach resort located at the mouth of the Obidos Lagoon and adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. The calm waters of the Lagoon are perfect for sailing, windsurfing and swimming whilst the more lively Atlantic Ocean provides a surfers paradise. It is a 10 minute walk to the beach, bars, restaurants and local shops.

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Not to be confused with the establishment of the same name by the fruit market in Caldas the Café Central in Foz do Arelho is a restaurant offering good Portuguese cooking at very affordable prices.
The owner, Fernando Aleixo, invested what must have been a small fortune in developing the extension to the ever-popular café which is adjacent to our office. The result is a smarter than usual Portuguese restaurant which, although catering principally to the local inhabitants, manages to attract a significant number of tourists during the summer season.

The restaurant is managed by Fernando junior and offers many of the usual dishes to be found in every Portuguese restaurant but with some additions. The quality of the fare is higher than usual with the chef having previously worked at the Grelha Nobre restaurant in Caldas.

Last night three of us ate at the Central; between us we had “fish and chips”, excellently cooked with sizzling hot chips; a tamboril rice stew, liberally sprinkled with prawns which was one of the day’s specials ( along with roast pork and fried chicken ). Our third diner ordered Naco na Pedra which is a sizeable piece of steak served to the table raw but all ready to cook on the fiercely heated stone which accompanies it. You can suit yourself how well you want it cooked and the meat is of exceptional quality.

All but one of us was too stuffed to cope with dessert as well but the odd one out enjoyed a chocolate tart which, although a generous portion, was light and, seemingly, highly enjoyable.

We ordered a carafe of wine which has to be the best house wine I have ever had and, with two coffees the bill came to a staggering 33 euros for the three of us!! Why eat in at prices like that?

I should not close without mentioning the service which being principally in the hands of our own delightful Andreia was, of course, impeccable.

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Many thanks to Andrew Steel of Nadadouro for his contribution to this month’s restaurant review.

“São Pedro de Moel is a still relatively unspoilt resort on the coast opposite Marinha Grande, crossing through the National Pine Forest.

The journey time from Caldas via the A8 is about 45 minutes, so lunch at the Estrela do Mar, rather than dinner, would probably better suit readers of the www.portugalholidaydestinations.com blog.

This review is based on two lunches the first at Easter 2004 and the second in June of this year. We will certainly return. On both occasions there were only a few other tables occupied and when we commented on this to the courteous middle-aged headwaiter /proprietor, who speaks some English, he said that they do most of their trade in the evenings, that they are open all year and do not rely mainly on summer visitors.

According to him their regular customers comprise mainly local business and professional people plus visiting groups of medics and academics from Coimbra and Porto Universities. We believed him, of course,

The Estrela do Mar is very much worth a detour, if not the entire journey from Caldas and environs.

It is perched directly above a rocky beach and the views from the window tables is quite spectacular.

It is not especially cheap (eg €66 for two with oysters to start, grilled sea bass, wine coffee and brandy) but there is none of the uncomfortable feeling of being cheated and ripped-off that one invariably gets in the restaurants in Nazaré (but, by contrast, not usually in Peniche).

You would be very pushed to find as good a fish restaurant in Foz do Arelho, Saõ Martinho or Peniche, other than perhaps A Casa in São Martinho.

Our oysters, strangely something of a rarity round here were, to borrow from Michael Winner, mega-historic, and the sea bass, caught the night before, we were told, was cooked not a second too long, filleted at the table and properly served.

We were gently steered away from the house white wine to an excellent but not alarmingly expensive bottle from the fairly short and unconfusing list.

The entradas look, and indeed are, exceptionally delicious, but are probably best refused unless there are four of you and you have at least one glutton in your party.

There is a wide range of other fresh fish and shellfish (including allegedly delectable goose-necked barnacles) together a number of meat dishes which looked excellent when being, for some inexplicable reason, eaten instead of fish at a nearby table.

It was altogether on each occasion a thoroughly pleasant experience. If you decide to explore the coast a little further north, or should happen to find yourselves near São Pedro de Moel for any other reason, do visit the Estrela do Mar.

We hope that you will enjoy it. Incidentally, can any reader please explain the expression “Esperamos que não enjoêm” (errors and omissions excepted) that we saw at the end of a menu in São Martinho many years ago?

This seems to mean “we hope you won’t be sick!” We never took the risk of eating at the establishment in question, which closed soon afterwards.

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A LAREIRA - NADADOURO
Situated off the main Foz to Caldas road. Excellent quality and service and a little more expensive than the average. Has an extensive range of Portuguese wines for you to try - ask the head waiter, Sr Manuel, to recommend one. The restaurant is often quite busy and service can be leisurely. A good place for a steak.

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A COZINHA DAS SENHORAS DA RAINHA – ÓBIDOS
A very tastefully decorated restaurant just inside the walls of this lovely town. The food is imaginative and beautifully served. The desserts are definitely different and are not to be missed. Many good wines. The service can be leisurely but the wait is worth the while. Quite expensive by Portuguese standards.

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ILUSTRA CASA DO RAMIRO - ÓBIDOS
A top-class restaurant in Óbidos with prices reflecting its excellent quality - still amazing value by U.K. standards. A selection of Portuguese and international cuisine served in a spectacular setting and to an impeccable standard. Definitely the place for that special night out or to get rid of the currency you haven’t managed to spend during your stay!

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SABORES D’ITALIA - CALDAS DA RAINHA
In the middle of Caldas a few doors away from the main post office. One of the restaurants locally offering something a little different, in this case Italian food . Great food beautifully presented in comfortable surroundings. Everything here is very good and the price reflects this. Often very busy on Saturday nights so worth calling in to book a table in advance.

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Voted one of the top three places to invest by Channel 4 in the UK.

Stretching from Lisbon to Fiqueira da Foz, Portugal’s Costa de Prata (Silver Coast) is a gem of largely undiscovered beauty and gets its name from the effect of the sun on the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike its more famous and populous cousin in the south of the country here you can discover pretty villages and a real Portuguese way-of-life amongst stunning coastal scenery fringed with the best beaches in Europe. Because much of this area of Portugal remains undiscovered by the mass tourism market you can guarantee a beach to yourself even in the height of the season if you are prepared to drive and walk a little way.

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