Have you ever imagined owning a country estate? Pottering in a vegetable garden, basket in hand, perhaps even tending to a few pigs or sheep? We certainly have. Yet the truth remains: we are city folk through and through — our most valiant attempt at self-sufficiency being four lemon trees and wildly enthusiastic rosemary.
That romantic dream of rural life flickered back into focus as we visited Malhadinha Nova, a Relais & Châteaux estate in Albernoa, Beja — deep in the Alentejo, Portugal’s cradle of agriculture and viniculture. It’s a place where time slows, traditions linger, and the horizon stretches into soft golden hills. Remarkably, it’s just one hour from our home in the Algarve and sends off vibes from Alan’s home country, South Africa.
At the recommendation of owner Rita Soares, we booked Casa da Ribeira, one of several restored farmhouses scattered across the property, and perfectly titled, The Slow Living Villa. The Soares family, known since the 1980s for their wine and spirits distribution business, decided in 1998 to stop merely selling wine and start growing their own. Malhadinha was born from that dream, and the ruins that once dotted their land are now soulful lodgings — homes, not hotels.
Casa da Ribeira felt less like a hotel and more like being guests at Rita and João’s private retreat. With three bedrooms, a cozy living room and kitchen, and our own pool, it was the perfect sanctuary for privacy and play. The interiors are casually elegant in soft blue hues, complete with matching SMEG appliances (you had me at duck-egg blue kettle). Our room alone was a love letter to Alentejan farmhouse design — angled beams, warm woods, an open fireplace, and bookshelves beckoning for a lazy afternoon. Instead of robes, each room offered Moroccan-style djellabas, woven from cloud-soft cotton… the ideal outfit for barefoot wandering. In the bathrooms: Claus Porto — a fragrant reminder of where we are.
Each morning, breakfast arrived like a small celebration: fresh honey, local cheeses and olives, yogurt, the sweetest mangoes and figs, orange juice pressed that hour, and strong coffee.
Over three days, we:
- Rode Lusitano horses, Portugal’s noble dressage breed
- Met the acorn-fed Iberian black pigs
- Slipped into the spa for necessary decadence
- Tasted their wines and olive oil, ending with a farm-to-table feast
You don’t need to read their manifesto to understand their ethos. Sustainability here isn’t a strategy — it’s inheritance. Where others see land, the Soares family sees legacy. Even the wine labels are designed by the next generation, their original drawings framed in the cellar. Tradition is not preserved—it’s lived.
Activities abound — for couples, friends, families, and dreamers of all sizes — with thematic stays from two to four nights. (Explore them here.)
As for us? We’ll return soon — to harvest honey, wander the vegetable garden, hop on a quad bike, ride again through changing seasons, and greet every animal like an old friend.
At last, we’ve found our Alentejan country estate — and it’s even better than the one we imagined.
Herdade da Malhadinha Nova
7900-601 Albernoa, Beja, Portugal
+351 284965432
