Fazenda Nova Country House, near Tavira, Eastern Algarve, Portugal, June 2013.
Within an hour of
arriving at Fazenda Nova Country House, I meet two other couples who,
unprompted, tell me that they are already planning a return visit later in the
year. One couple are so enraptured that they rather despairingly confide that
it will be difficult to holiday anywhere else in the future. Oh yes, Fazenda
Nova is rather that sort of place.
I am not sure whether
it is the endless blue skies and golden sunshine, the dozens of gnarly old
olive trees with tiny buds of green fruit just starting to appear, the fields
bursting with wildflowers – a riot of cornflower blue, buttercup yellow, lilac,
scarlet and snowy white, the beautiful 19th century farmhouse filled
with a mix of vintage and contemporary custom-designed furniture, the gardens fragrant
with lavender, jasmine and rosemary, or the eucalyptus tree which stands
majestically at the front of the property reminding me of home, but a half-day
into our stay and I am already plotting our
return visit to Fazenda Nova Country House.
Located in rural Eastern
Algarve about a 25 minute drive from Faro airport, Fazenda Nova is tucked away
in the sleepy village of Estiramantens. Run by British couple Hallie and Tim
Robinson, Fazenda Nova is an oasis of tranquillity and calm, the kind of place
where you come to escape the stress, bustle and noise of city life…..which is
exactly what Hallie and Tim did in 2008. Living in London with high-powered
jobs, Hallie as a director of Purple PR and Tim running a logistics business,
the couple had long held the dream of moving to the Eastern Algarve with their
young family. Having holidayed in the area for many years (Hallie’s parents own
a property not far from Fazenda Nova), it took a wee health scare to finally push
them to swap their hectic London lives for the traditional 19th
century Portuguese farmhouse which they have renovated* into a gorgeous 10-suite
boutique hotel.
Opened in September
2012, the farmhouse had sat unoccupied and unloved for a number of years before
Hallie and Tim chanced upon it and realised its potential. Set in 10 acres of grounds dotted with
carob, almond, lemon and olive trees (the Robinson’s press and bottle their own
olive oil), the central whitewashed farmhouse contrasts beautifully against the
landscape of green trees, soft blue sky and swathes of wheat-hued grass. Inside,
industrial features (smooth polished concrete floors and bar, and contemporary pendant
lights) blend seamlessly with treasures Hallie and Tim have picked up on their
travels, flea-market finds, salvaged objects from the renovation and cultural
pieces that reflect both their British heritage and adopted home of Portugal (a
shocking-pink cockerel, the beloved Portuguese Galo de Barcelos, sits alongside an interior design book called New London Style and a stack of vintage copies
of The Face magazine** ). As Hallie shows us around the dining
room and library, I interrupt her every few minutes to ask where things are from,
mentally calculating whether they would work in our own apartment – a enormous
old wooden bread tray mounted on the wall next to the fireplace would hold a
selection of my monthly magazine subscriptions rather nicely – while pondering exactly
how I could manage to get them back to London with us***. Much of the wooden
furniture has been custom-made to the couple’s specifications, while many of
the quirky vintage objects are pieces Hallie has unearthed through monthly
visits to the flea market in the nearby fishing village of Fuseta (Hallie tells
me that guests often time their stay at Fazenda Nova to coincide with the
market!).
Guest suites are located
either in the main house or in the surrounding buildings. Each, bar one, has
its own little private garden or terrace with a fire pit for the cooler months.
Our suite, located in the old stable building, has the most glorious 100-year-old
lemon tree brimming with almost-ripe fruit just outside the front door. Simply
decorated, the suites are cool and inviting, a welcome retreat from the harsh
midday Algarve sun. Ren toiletries (the seaweed and sage bodywash transports me
straight to the beach each time I lather up) and a beautiful bar of Portuguese
Confianca lime soap**** are stocked in the dark and sexy polished concrete
bathroom with its rainfall shower and egg-shaped Villeroy & Boch washbasin.
Outside, the grounds
of Fazenda Nova are dreamy: raked white gravel paths lead past garden beds full
of flowering lavender and rosemary – I spend a good few minutes each morning watching
dozens of bees gather pollen on their tiny legs; little wooden signs under
shady olive and carob trees invite guests to “Relax” on recliners or in cosy hanging canvas pods; brightly coloured
squashy beanbags form a rough semicircle beneath an ancient carob tree – a
favourite spot for pre-dinner drinks with other guests; a herb and vegetable
garden is tended by the wonderful Juliana, a lady from the local village who I delightedly
discover grew up in the old farmhouse; a saltwater swimming pool, bordered by a
hedge of rosemary and lavender and partially shaded by olive trees, forms the focal
point of the rear of the fazenda.
As I lie in the shade
of an olive tree in the late afternoon, the air heady with the scent of
jasmine, looking out over the fields awash with golden light, the only sounds I hear are the distant
rumble from a tractor, an occasional splash and giggle from the swimming pool,
the twittering of swallows as they duck and dive for their supper, and a rather
mixed-up rooster on a neighbouring property who seems not to care that dawn has
long since passed. Contemplating
the Relax sign in the garden next to
me, I make a mental note to tell Hallie and Tim that it really isn’t needed…. it
would be simply impossible not
to.
Eat + Drink:
A complimentary light
breakfast (freshly squeezed orange juice, croissants, bread, cereals, fresh
fruit, yoghurt, charcuterie, local cheese, and coffee) is served in the bar
area at Fazenda Nova each morning. If you are very lucky – we were! – Juliana
will bring a bowl of delicious, impossibly light, homemade pasteis de nata with
her from the village to savour with your coffee. Who needs a cronut when you
have these!
The restaurant at
Fazenda Nova, a’ cozinha, is open most nights a week (Hallie will direct you to
other restaurants in the area if a’ cozinha is closed) and the menu is posted
on a chalkboard in the dining room each morning. Sitting on the terrace next to
the 200 year old bread oven, savouring Portuguese wine expertly selected by the
delightful Ricardo (who also makes a mean espresso and knows a thing or two
about cameras!) while filling our tummies with food, it was comforting to know
that our suite was only a short stroll away.
Café dos Mestres,
Fuseta. On our first morning at Fazenda Nova, I asked Hallie whether there was
anywhere local that grilled fish over an open charcoal fire (I had a
particularly good piece of fish done this way in Spanish Basque country last year).
Hallie directed us to the old-fashioned, traditional fishing village of Fuseta
and said that if we drove into the village, we couldn’t miss the gentleman grilling
fish over open oil barrels. It was exactly what we were looking for: blazingly
fresh fish (the trawlers dock right next to the little terrace where you eat)
cooked simply but expertly by a gentleman who was obviously passionate about
his craft. We had sardines and mackerel grilled with salt and olive oil, salad,
boiled potatoes, bread, olives, drinks and an espresso, and the bill came to….17
euro! If you are a wee bit squeamish with the um, inner workings of fresh
sardines (these are big critters, not the little ones that come in tins), you
could ask nicely whether they could fillet them for you. I just closed my eyes,
took a gulp of wine, and dug in. Best not to think too much about these things
sometimes!
Restaurante A Casa,
Santa Luzia. Simple seafood and pork dishes in a very pretty town.
Activities:
There is so much to
see and do in the Eastern Algarve …..we barely scratched the surface. Hallie
and Tim can guide you according to what interests you the most whether it be
laying on a secluded beach, trawling markets for beautiful treasures like those
at Fazenda Nova, taking a boat tour of the Ria Formosa or exploring villages
seemingly untouched by time (and hoards of tourists!).
We managed to visit Tavira,
the teeny white-washed village of Cacelha Velha, the beach at Manta Rota and my
favourite place, Santa Luzia (the coloured tiles! the cobbled streets! the
white-washed buildings! the vibrant bougainvillea! I could have stayed there the entire day).
Fazenda Nova also have
bikes (with helmets) for guest use, and can lend you beach towels, maps, umbrellas
etc if you are heading to the beach.
Hallie also sells a
small range of traditional Portuguese products which make excellent gifts…..either
to yourself or friends and family back home. We took home a selection of
sweetly packaged soaps (lemon, fig, donkey milk with verbena, and apple), a
little calico bag of Marisol sea salt (which comes from the salt pans near Tavira),
and a tin of Jose Gourmet tuna fillets in olive oil (adore the cute packaging!)
to remind us of our trip.
*The house was completely
dismantled and rebuilt (given the “full do-over” as my friend Peony’s father
would say!) due to the amount of structural damage to the foundations.
**Hallie’s dad founded
The Face, Arena and Smash Hits
magazines
***Hallie reassures me
that they are able to organise shipping of any large purchases back to the UK!
**** I shamelessly
take this home with me to put in my underwear drawer!
