Usually I am not writing evaluations, because the cottages ( which has been a lot in different countries) always met my expectations and I was too comfortable to confirm existing recommendations. But in this case I have to write something.
Positive:
+ hirer has been very friendly , helpful and easy to contact
+ the kids enjoyed the pool
+ with a hired car you can get easily to Lisbon by taking the ferry in Casilhas (20 minutes to Casilhas, 1 Euro for parking a full day)
+ 6 to 10 minutes to get to the beaches by car and the beaches are really not bad!
+ 85 minutes to get to Evora (which is worth a visit!)
Negative:
- the house smells musty, was cold and wet
- dishes, glases, cutlery, barbeque grill was dirty. Nearly everything in the kitchen has to be cleaned before using
- a dirty cupboard
- mold in the freezer
- mold on the kitchen table , in the tablecloth and seat cushion (kitchen)
- rusty burner
- garden has an edge full of trash
Despite this long list of issues I give two stars, because the hirer always try to fix it and they give us a financial compensation. And I had the impression that the house is usually not in this condition. I guess it was empty for some time and it has not been ventilated regularly. And maybe the hirer did not control the kitchen after the last tenant.