THE FACTS ABOUT POUSADA DE NOSSA SENHORA

Portugal

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to have a chic little hotel hideaway to yourself, head for Arraiolos mid-week and you may just find out. Tucked away outside the town, the property is a rural haven where eucalyptus trees swish in the breeze and lavender and honeysuckle jostle for space. Although the Portuguese cognoscenti pour in at the weekends, this place is not widely known among foreigners and, for the time being at least, weekdays are quiet. Established in the 16th century as a monastery, hospital and small farm, it was imaginatively restored in the mid-1990s by Portuguese architect/designer José Paulo dos Santos. Within the old building and its ultra-modern adjunct, long stone corridors are broken by the occasional panel in red or cornflower blue or one of the many monochrome canvases by Portuguese artist, David d'Almeida. The floors are mostly cherrywood, gromito stone (like pale granite) or covered in natural matting. Attention to detail is impressive, with chrome door handles and fittings and decorative touches such as vast Ali Baba urns and large, stone basins. The old and new harmoniously co-exist; both the dominant canvas in the sitting room and the black-and-white zebra-striped marble in the bathrooms could have been inspired by Jackson Pollock. And yet a few metres away in the old cloister, there are ancient wooden chests and the muted Persian-style tapestries for which Arraiolos is famous. Don't miss the incredible blue-and-white azulejos (painted wall tiles) in the church. Guest rooms are arranged along the corridors of the old monastery and in the new wing, they look out over the valley and up towards the ruins of a castle. The deluxe rooms are spacious: 103 has its own large, private terrace that faces down the valley across the tennis court and though the standard doubles are a little on the small side, the ceilings are so high, you never feel cramped. CONTACT Arraiolos (00 351 266 419340; fax: 419280). Standard doubles from around £70, deluxe doubles from around £83