Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros

This was one of the two best places we stayed during our two weeks in Portugal (the other being another guest house near Sintra called Quinta do Scoto). The view from our private patio - outside of our room - was of the lovely grounds and the terraced hills in the distance.  I had actually seen a photo taken from the same patio which was featured in a New York Times article on the Douro Valley, which was how I found out about this wonderful guest house. The hostess Ursula and her staff were all friendly and helpful. My husband even had a cooking lesson in Portuguese even though they couldn't communicate in words. The rooms are all large and beautifully furnished. I loved the little touches, such as the decanter of port that was in our room when we arrived, the sachets of lavender, and comfy robes. Breakfast was included in the price of our room and they even have a self service bar area next to a game room (with a pool table). The guest house also offers dinner, and we happily ate "at home" both nights while we were staying here - (and it was here that we enjoyed our favorite meal of our trip). During our trip, we stayed in two places recommended by Karen Brown's Guide to Portugal and found The Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros to be at least as charming (and even more so actually) and would highly recommend that you include it in future publications.