Facilities and Accessibility
- Facilities
- Accessibility
- Alojamento Local
- Ground Plan
- Swimming Pool
- Dogs Allowed
- Wifi
- The Annexe and Tower
- Supermarkets and Fuel
Facilities
- Large 5-bedroomed main house
- 10 bed spaces, plenty of camping space outside
- 3 double bedrooms, one with fully tiled ensuite shower room
- 2 twin bedrooms
- Dining room for up to 10 people both inside and outside
- Entrance hall
- Living room with comfortable sofas
- First floor veranda
- First floor box room
- First floor coat hanging areas
- First floor fully tiled shower room and WC
- Large fully tiled ground floor bathroom with shower, WC and bidet
- Anti-slip foot mat and grab handle in all showers
- Sheet and summer duvet bedding, extra-filled soft pillows, spare blankets
- 700gsm Royal Egyptian Luxury double yarn cotton towels and face cloths
- Powerful 3-speed 14 inch desk fans in each room
- Wooden shutters for light and additional temperature and ventilation control
- Bedside cabinet for each bed space plus various other furniture
- Large full length mirror per bedroom and large mirror in the hall, other smaller mirrors
- Table tennis table
- Garden chess and draughts table
- Large swimming pool
- Lockable garage on request
- Two-car car port with verandah above
- Large cobbled area for additional parking
- Fully walled and gated garden
- Mains utilities: water, electricity, sewerage, phone, internet, cable TV(MEO)
- Large fully tiled kitchen with many units
- Breakfast table and five bar stools
- Additional raised eating area (view of pool)
- Microwave oven with grill and convection functions, 30 litres capacity
- Food processor
- Electric toaster
- Coffee machine
- Electric oven
- Gas hob
- Whistling kettle
- Citrus juicer
- Food blender / coffee grinder
- Full set of cooking pots and other implements
- Refrigerator with ice box
- Chest freezer
- Washing machine
- Dishwasher
- Oil central heating in winter
- Well for additional water
- Three garden taps
- Telephone
- Windows PC and 42-inch LCD monitor with guest access and cable broadband internet
- WiFi connection to the internet (~100MB/s, access key printed on underside of router)
- WiFi repeater for stronger whole site coverage
- Two basic bicycles, by request
- Bicycle helmets and fluorescent tabards, by request
- Barbecue pit
- Wood-fired bread/pizza oven
- Storage areas
- Granite barbecue table and bench
- Outside dining area
- Additional outbuildings
- Fruit-bearing eating-grape vines
- Fruit-bearing orange, lemon, lime, persimmon, pomegranate, cherry, peach, and olive trees
- Vegetable patches (please take some)
- Total property footprint about 2000 square metres
Front view of Annexe with Tower and Main House:
Please note: Annexe and tower access by arrangement only.
Rear view of House and Annexe with Tower:
Please note: Annexe and tower access by arrangement only.
Bedrooms:
More details and photos of the Bedrooms.
Dining Room:
More details and photos of the Dining Room.
Plenty of parking space:
The Annexe and Tower:
Please note: Annexe and tower access by arrangement only.
Fully Tiled Upstairs Shower Room:
Fully Tiled Downstairs Shower Room:
Fully Tiled Kitchen:
Fully Tiled Downstairs Bathroom:
A bit of the large Walled Garden:
Accessibility
The house currently has no specific features to facilitate access by the physically less able-bodied, but access by wheelchair is easy via the side door using the removable ramp stored under the stairs. Floors are smooth, and access to everywhere on the ground floor (with the one double bedroom) is easy. The garden is largely flat and laid to cobblestones, which enable easy (if slightly bumpy) wheelchair access to most areas, and the rest of the garden is flat short grass which can also be crossed easily by wheelchairs when dry. Rua Lavoeira to the side of the property has a slight slope (which you can see in the photo on the home page), and Rua do Seixo to the front of the property is largely flat.
Alojamento Local (official rental licence number)
My villa has Alojamento Local Number 25719/AL and meets (or exceeds) all of the relevant criteria below.
Properties with an Alojamento Local number by law must:
- Be in good order externally and internally
- Be connected to mains water (or bore hole)
- Be connected to mains sewer (or septic tank)
- Have hot and cold running water
- Have adequately furnished rooms
- Have sufficient ventilation
- Have a system in place to block natural light when necessary (blinds/curtains)
- Have suitable locks for security and privacy
- Have at least one bathroom for every three bedrooms, with toilet, sink and bath (or shower)
- Have sufficient fire extinguishers and blankets for the size of the property as well as first aid equipment and instruction manuals for all appliances
- Display the international emergency phone number 112 in a prominent position
- Be regularly cleaned with towels and linen changed at least once per week
- Have an official complaints book
Ground Plan
The property is large (around 2000 square metres). There is plenty of garden to relax in and masses of car parking space for larger groups. Very large vehicles such as motorhomes may not be able to pass under the arbour over the main gate, but can be parked in the village square in full view of the villa, or with the neighbours by arrangement.
Click on the image for a Google Earth placemark and open it with Google Earth. Also see Why Rent This House? and Why Central Portugal?
The Swimming Pool
The swimming pool is large (approx 8m x 5m x 1.5m) and is ready to use. It has been fully renovated as an (optionally) eco-friendly hybrid bio-pool, together with a powerful direct-flow solar heating/cooling system. In summer it maintains between 25 and 28 degrees Celsius, day and night (there is night-time lighting). During the summer high season, the pool has a little chlorine added to prevent algae growing in the strong sunlight. At other times, when the pool system is biological, you don't need to worry about swimming with frogs, etc. because the bio-filter pond (basically a technically-advanced reed-bed system with various layers of specially-chosen aggregates) is separated from the main pool by the wall (seen in the foreground). However, some insects can fly and do make it over the wall, and also, with sunlight and as there can be nutrients in the water, you should expect some algae on the pool walls and floor. THIS IS HARMLESS AND PERFECTLY NORMAL! Whichever system is in use, there is a pump-driven circulation with an ultraviolet lamp to sterilize the water, ensuring that any unpleasant organisms do not survive the filtration processes.
See below for just a few links to bio-pool information.
- BioNova Natural Pools
- Bio Piscinas, Lda., Portugal
- Bio-Top Pools
- Clear Water Revival
- Daily Mail: chlorine in pools giving children asthma
- EcoPools Online
- Good Housekeeping: Natural Swimming Pools
- Living Pool USA
- Organic Pool courses (DIY), Norfolk, UK
- Surrey Swimming Pools Bio Design Pools, UK
- Wikipedia: Natural Pool
- Woodhouse Natural Pools, Cambridge, UK
Dogs Allowed
Dogs are welcome - I love dogs, however... please keep them off the furniture at all times. Dogs may walk on the floor downstairs but please do not let them upstairs at all. If you can control your pets, that's fine, but if not, please make alternative arrangements for them. I have plenty of rope if you want to make an outside run for them.
Please note that if it becomes necessary to deep-clean the property as a result of your pet's contamination, or if a pet damages the property or furniture in any way, the return of your security deposit may be affected.
WiFi
There is high speed WiFi in the villa and many parts of the garden: the main router is near the telephone in the living room. The passwords are listed under the routers. Also, the cafés in the centre of Santa Comba Dão, Arcada and O Pão Quente both have free WiFi and friendly staff... just by the taxi rank and the Galp petrol station. In fact, cafés and restaurants in Portugal have free WiFi more often than not.
The Annexe and Tower
Access to the annexe and tower is by prior arrangement only. An excellent view of the village and surrounding area is available from the top of the tower. When going up the tower, I strongly suggest climbing down backwards, because the stairs are much more like ladders, rather steep. Guests climb the tower at their own risk!
Also, please note that the annexe is an outbuilding and is therefore not cleaned. There may be dirt and spider webs throughout! There is a low resolution web camera at the top of the tower, which enables me to view the overall state of the weather, garden, and the colour of the pool water. If you wish this camera to be covered during your stay, please let me know.
