Casa Vela

Discovering Casa Vela in Cascais was one of the wonderful surprises on our 10 day adventure in Portugal. The town if beautiful - affluent, oceanside, not so touristy, and the guest house was exquisite, from the grounds to the decor and location. Wrapping it all was the gracious hospitality of Jean Paul and his staff - they couldn't have been more helpful or accomodating. If you're looking for a convenient base to explore both the heart of Lisbon and Sintra, this is it.

We appreciated we were upgraded to a larger room in the new wing, with balcony and garden view. The gardens are beautiful and 2 pools that would be great for cooling off in the city in the summer. It is in a residential area that is a quiet retreat after being in town. There was some issue at check in and they were going to charge more than was quoted and were not very friendly. Once that was rectified by the manager they were more helpful. Breakfast is included in the living room which is comfortable and a good place to relax.

We have just returned from a very successful first stay in Portugal, partly at Casa Vela in Cascais, which we chose because of the coastal location and easy access to Lisbon and Sintra. We found that Casa Vela is a new small hotel in a quiet mainly residential part of Cascais. It is only a ten minute walk to the marina, town centre and promenade. The Paula Rego gallery is nearby and a lovely park. The hotel and gardens are beautifully designed - a combination of newly renovated rooms in the older house and in a brand new, modern extension. The garden is shady and peaceful, including a lovely poolside and loungers for reading and relaxing. There’s so much to describe and appreciate in the house, I’d recommend looking at the website photos to get an idea of the variety of rooms, seating areas, terrace, gardens etc. Management and staff were very welcoming and thoughtful, particularly Joao Paulo - recommending trips out, restaurants, car hire etc. We stayed for five nights and could easily have made it longer. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to others, and to return ourselves.