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. Bedrooms (similar to Bandung,Jakarta & Bali hotels - 5 star Hotel ( Jakarta Hotels )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 rooms (similar to Bandung,Jakarta & Bali hotels - 5 star Hotel ( Jakarta Hotels )rooms) and bedrooms (similar to Bandung,Jakarta & Bali hotels - 5 star Hotel ( Jakarta Hotels )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. 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 Hotel ( Jakarta Hotels ), it serves exquisite food.