LUXURY HOTEL | CARMO’ S BOUTIQUE
In the second, there are 12 further prestige rooms on two floors. All the suites and rooms are individually designed and furnished to an exceptional standard. The layouts are unique, and breath-taking, but they are functional, too, and never compromise practicality for effect. The attention to detail and insistence on quality is apparent in the construction, the furnishings and the fabrics, and you luxuriate in their sumptuousness. Moreover, the whole project has been designed and built to the highest specification, including the latest ecofriendly techniques.
In the Spa there’ s a Ufuro Japanese bath, and an overflow heated pool. If you prefer, you can bathe in 100 % goats’ milk or indulge in aromatherapy using 100 % organic essential oils. The atmosphere in this area is relaxing and calming, of course, but it’ s also open and welcoming with clever use of light and colour, and no sense of enclosure.
Back to the salão. It is unique, and rather difficult to describe; part reception, part bar and restaurant, and part sitting-room. That hardly does it justice, though, because it’ s also part library, part gallery, part music room and part conservatory. It is truly the hub of Carmo’ s( the kitchen and work areas are to one end), and does bring that feel of staying in someone’ s home that is sought. You could spend your whole visit just discovering the books, pictures and craft work on display, but then you’ d miss the wines, ports, and aguardentes. The furnishings alone demand your attention, but we must move outside.
In front, there are terraces with views across the Lima valley to the mountains beyond. Wonderful to sit here before and after the heat of the day to enjoy the fruits of Carmo’ s cellar and kitchen. The gardens behind are bounded by vineyards. Within the grounds is a solar-heated pool, a display ring for horse and music events with a grass terrace for viewing. There are shaded areas for quiet relaxation, and a paddock in one corner for the Shetland ponies, visiting horses, and the occasional kid goat, which is not used to supply the Spa!
Carmo’ s has its own horse-drawn carriage, and guests can ride down to the riverbank, and
enjoy the sights of the Eco-Via( Green Route). They can take in a vineyard, too, and with a picnic, maybe try their hand at catching the local lampreias( eels). Portugal is the home of the Lusitano horse, which can be seen and ridden at the local equestrian centre – Vale do Lima Riding Centre – which does an awful lot more than just teach riding, and is associated with the hotel.
Naturally, food plays an important role at Carmo’ s. They seek to guide you through the regional variations of Portuguese cuisine, which is everywhere based on the natural bounty of sea and land. Portugal is rightly renowned for its fish, but its meat and poultry is often under-estimated. Most pork is still produced organically, and features greatly in northern recipes. Moreover, the abundance of fruit and vegetables is second to none, again because much of it is produced on small scale farms, using traditional methods. Taste and smell are the keywords here, not appearance, not that Portuguese produce bows its head to any in quality. Also, unique to the local area is Sidra Lagoas( cider), a match for anything produced in Somerset or Normandy.
36 | Summer 2012 | www. portugal-life. net |