Casa da Areia

Sleek, Open-Air Villa on the Sand

This newly constructed luxury retreat is tucked under a piney wood canopy in an exclusive coastal enclave walking distance to Carvalhal village. Despite its easy village access, this villa for rent in Portugal benefits from a sense of seclusion, showcasing a limpid saltwater swimming pool that dominates its sandy lot, a spacious shaded terrace for easy outdoor living, and a protected nature reserve surrounding it that keeps the home ultra-private.

An open-air, modern palapa-styled villa, this sleek coastal retreat occupies a privileged spot in the sand. It’s located in an exclusive luxury condominium enclave with concierge service and security, but feels like your own barefoot paradise secluded in the pines.

The spacious indoor kitchen, living and dining areas are set under a soaring pitched wooden ceiling reminiscent of beach bungalows and palapa roofs, and the open-air room maintains a decidedly contemporary look with its sliding glass walls, concrete floors, giant built-in floor planters, and clean-lined, bloc-styled furnishings. The living room features a large sectional sofa and a low, modern firebox running along the base of a wood paneled wall. Overhead, inset windows flood the space with sunlight.

Outside the sliders, the terrace lounge and dining area nearly doubles the home’s living space, and the patio overlooks neat landscaping of natural sea grasses and shrubs. A wide wooden deck leads to the saltwater swimming pool that gleams in the sandy lot enclosed by the piney woods.

Inside, a sleeping annex extends from the common living area/palapa room, featuring three double bedroom suites. The rooms continue the airy, breezy décor, and are minimally decorated with built-in wooden platform beds that combine a mid-century modern look with 21st-century modular styling. En-suite bathrooms have double-sized, poured concrete trough sinks and glass-enclosed shower stalls with rainwater heads. A bunkroom sleeps six, with a flexible trundle bed set up, perfect for families with children.

AROUND

The villa is located within the Comporta Retreat community, a small luxury development of 28 plots bordered by a nature preserve. Close to both Pego and Carvalhal beaches, the village of Carvalhal is also within walking distance of the home, and offers all necessary services as well as more upscale boutique shopping. Recreation opportunities nearby include the horseback outfitter Cavalos na Areia for rides on nearby beaches and in the picturesque rice paddies and fruit orchards that make up the inland Comporta area. 

This villa for rent in Portugal is located about a 10-minute drive from Comporta itself, the once off-the-radar, now hip and happening coastal village abuzz with creatives and well-heeled vacationers seeking the serenity of its unspoiled coastline and its artsy, coastal cool vibe. Soaring sand dunes outside of the town of Melides are also a major draw, and the trendy region is full of galleries, boutiques and an easygoing nightlife found in seaside restaurants and cafes. Along the nearby Atlantic shore, miles of windswept beaches with their backdrops of earthy, tawny cliffs and pine forests await.

LOCATION

Carvalhal, Comporta, Portugal. Nearest airport: Lisbon

BEST TIME TO VISIT: May to October