1/4 WHAT Convento is a few light, white, airy bedrooms. A townhouse, a family home, a place to be yourself. Convento is a roof terrace to gaze over the sea and the white roofs of Olhão. Two miradouros, a place to catch the soft sea breeze. Convento is a hidden courtyard and a smiling fountain under the high southern sky. A pattern of hand made tiles in washed indigo, a whitewashed bench, a place to read, and chat, and think. Convento is our home, where you’re welcome to make yourself at home. PRESS 2017 THE TIMES & SUNDAY TIMES They centre on an open courtyard where pink bougainvillea blooms up three storeys to the blue skies above. Up the winding stone staircase is a rooftop pool and white sofas from where, across the flat roofs of the squat Moorish townhouses, you can watch the sun sink into the lagoon. Mary Lussiana . 19 Aug 2017 2016 THE GUARDIAN The best hotels in Portugal for under £100 a night A leading (if reclusive) Portuguese architect and his family run Convento, a very sexy riad-style, nine-bedroom ex-convent house hidden in the medina of this charming, salty fishing town. Kevin Gould . 18 Jun 2016 2015 JAMIE OLIVER MAGAZINE Come Cook with us in Portugal! Olhão is a hidden gem, so we’ve chosen it again for its amazing markets, undersea clam fields, its easy access to Faro International Airport, and, of course, its gorgeous, sensual boutique hotel. Convento is exclusively ours for this weekend. Jamie Magazine, 12 Jan 2015 2014 THE TELEGRAPH The top 5 food and drink holidays in Portugal Shellfish in the Ria Formosa If you want to try your hand at digging for raz or clams or finding cockles and mussels, try the warm waters of the Ria Formosa. Recently named one of the seven natural wonders of Portugal, the Ria Formosa Nature Reserve is made up of lagoons, marshes, saltpans, islets and channels on the south coast...” Mary Lussiana, 23 Dez 2014 2014 THE GUARDIAN Five little-known gems in Portugal Ria Formosa, Algarve Good for: unspoilt beaches and natur e Most people head west from Faro airport unaware of the peaceful, estuarine national park – a twitchers’ heaven – on its eastern fringes. The laidback fishing town of Olhão feels a world away from Algarve’s tourist droves; beyond it is the car-free sand island of Culatra. Gaby Koppel. 10 May 2014 2014 THE GUARDIAN Walking the Algarve: to Portugal’s land’s end The Algarve Way has walked us through deliciously old places with their fine old ways. As the magnesium-fringed clouds glow on the horizon, the sea’s surface turns to burnished chain mail. Kevin Gould. 11 May 2014

Convento The Architect 1/3 WHO We are a local family and an extended family from around the world. We are two architects, a teacher, and an agronomist fond of history. We are an entrepeneur and wellbeing therapist couple, passionate about traveling, well-being and hospitality. We are the stonemasons and artisan carpenters, the gilders and painters, the poet and the church candle-stick maker that have come together to help Convento to be. We are your hosts, who will help you feel at home. The welcoming friends you will meet in Olhão. Your private guides with the best tips and suggestions to enjoy the best of the city and Ria Formosa Reserve. Like you, we love travel, but not tourism. Like you, we find luxury in simplicity. Like you, we adore peace, light and very fresh, local food. We first came to Olhão a decade and a half ago, since when we’ve been faithfully restoring and managing a handful of quietly simple houses and B&B's for our guests and friends. To know what we like in Olhao click HERE . (For Guests Only) For prices and booking see BOOK

1/4 WHEN The Eastern Algarve has a kind climate, where fruits, vegetables, animals and people live happy lives. Olhão enjoys around 300 days of sunshine each year. It does rain sometimes, but rarely for too long. Winters are mild, and Convento has underfloor heating throughout. Spring is long, as is summer, when a shady corner or a splash in the pool become very welcome. At this time, there are festivities all around the Algarve with the peak in August when Olhão hosts the Festival do Marisco, the largest seafood feast in the country. Autumn is often glorious: the year before last we were still swimming off Culatra on November 15th.

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