booklet
Welcome to
Quinta do Catalao
Enjoy every moment of your stay here
We are very excited to welcome you in our home and proud that you choose this place for your holidays!
Let us tell you more about how our small farm respects nature, preserves the local Portuguese heritage, and creates an additive value to the local community.
When renovating the farm, we were paying attention to the hallmarks of the traditional farm style of our region. If you look around, you are going to notice that apart from you and your family, there aren’t many people here on the farm – it is so, because we accept only as many guests, as we can take a good care of. Mass tourism on our farm isn’t in our plans, as we don’t believe it would be sustainable in the long run.
Like you might have guessed from looking around, we are avid fans of the wabi-sabi concept. For us, beauty doesn’t need to equal perfection.
We decorate our places with handmade crafts, and re-use furniture to save forests and give them unique character. You won’t find the luxuries of the 5-star hotel here, but instead, the beauty of natural scenes and serene atmosphere which are truly matchless.
Our main recycling goal is… less waste.
Since we are mindful of our planet’s wellbeing and future, we do our best to limit the amount of trash produced by our small farm.
First of all, whenever possible,
we stick to natural materials and environmentally-friendly products. Second, if something at our farm breaks, we don’t throw it away – rather, we take it to repair. We have a small ‘recycling center’, where we give old parts new purposes.
Third, all kitchen waste goes either to our animals, or to the compost. We want Quinta do Catalao to be as environmentally friendly, as possible
Something about food
We take special care of your food. Therefore, please let us know if you have any special preferences or allergies. We believe that the healthiest and most sustainable food comes direct from garden to your plate.
We source superior sustainable products. If we can’t grow them ourselves, we make sure we get them from neighbours and quality-minded producers in the area.
We try not to make purchases in large grocery stores, as most goods offered there are imported – and as we all know, it wastes energy, pollutes air and puts our region’s farmers at a disadvantage.
Our freshly made breakfast is available for 12 euros per person if you order online before your arrival.
Orders on site have a price per person of 15 euros. Help us plan our menu by ordering ahead — we are all about zero waste.
Breakfast is not included in price of your stay. Please note that we serve breakfasts during months of July and August, outside of this period pls inquire before reservation.
You can find menu on our website:
We use natural methods to grow our plants
We grow our vegetables and fruits organicly, we prefer holistic approach. We use rainwater to water our vegetable garden: we collect the rainwater mostly in winter, it goes down through pipes from our house’s roof, into a big tank. If you’d like to take a peek, ask us to show it to you!
Our flowers are watered with grey water therefore soap that we give you is organic.
We never add any chemicals to the soil on which we grow our vegetables or fruits. We let everything grow naturally, putting trust in Mother Nature’s powers.
We use eco-friendly cleaning products
We take special care of your health, health, of our housekeeping team and mother nature that’s why we do our best to choose certificate ecological cleaning products. Our guests don’t receive hotel cleaning products, either – we refill shampoo and soap bottles with organic options.
We have well water – and we save it.
We aren’t fans of plastic, so, we don’t buy water in plastic bottles – instead, we draw it from our own well! It is certified as safe, and has a perfect balance of potassium and magnesium. Make sure to try it out! You can drink water from any tap on the farm.
Grab one of the bottles from the kitchen and take it with you to your hut.
We figured out, that the best way to help our guests be mindful about their water consumption, is by giving an example.
Hence, we use an eco-friendly washing machine that requires less water. We also ensure that the guests get to use their towels more than once – to save water, energy, and avoid using too many detergents.
Please, help us to safe this good quality water, by taking short showers.
We provide free of charge beach towels and bathrobes. Please let us if you need one.
Whenever possible we use solar energy
In some of our accommodations, only solar lights are available. We use solar panels to heat water as well – whenever there’s sunshine
Another good habit that we have is never using a tumble drier. Trust us, nothing feels better than fresh sheets dried on the sun, and with the
sweet-smelling, natural wind
Find more about our sustainable practises on our Instagram @quintadocatalao
How we work
Quinta do Catalao is family run business. By choosing a stay on the farm, you support us – a family of 5.
We would like to thank you for that!
We deeply care about positive relationships in our housekeeping team and we are proud to declare that all our employees get a salary that’s 30% higher than the average wage here in Portugal.
We also receive help from volunteers, who while staying with us, are exposed to highly ecological lifestyle and learn about sustainable gardening. Our cooperation is mutually beneficial – we provide education about a sustainable life, and tourism, and our volunteers help us spread a good word about our farm.
During the summer time we host on the farm students who wants to learn about sustainable tourism. This way they have chance to combine student internship with great holidays. We participate in Erasmus Student
Ex- change Program.
Let‘s be transparent
When one night cost 100 euro:
-18% Airbnb Service Fee 18 euro
-18% Tax 18 euro
-6% VAT 6 euro
-farm maintenance
-amortisation
-utilities fees
You can see on this example what makes up the price.
Now something very, very IMPORTANT
It is strictly forbidden to make any open fire and light candles during summer time (yes we know that you already thought about romantic evening with candles but with this weather it is simply to dangerous ). Portuguese law forbidden to make any open fire from May until first rain in October.
If you smoke cigarettes please use bottle with water or ask ask for safe ashtray. Out of respect for the environment, please do not leave cigarette butts on the ground.
Let‘s talk about rules
– No unregistered guests are allowed. If you would like to invite someone for the day, please first talk to us.
– No illegal substances allowed on the premises
-DO NOT light ANY candles, incense and/or anything else
– No commercial use, filming, photography, or any non-standard use of property allowed
– Please note: kids are welcome, but property is NOT kid-proofed or baby-proofed, please ensure children are supervised at all times by parents
Something about photos
Our property is a beautiful place to shoot photos, and we welcome you to tag us on Instagram.
Although we charge production fees for all commercial, professional, promotional, editorial and or revenue generating photography and videography generated on property. These must be paid in advance of your arrival along with a signed production agreement, production insurance, film permit and a location release.
If it’s a couple of casual photos during your stay that’s totally fine.
We consider a shoot commercial if it involves any lighting, support crew, professional equipment, or if the end purpose of the images is tied to any product, service or revenue generating activity or used for editorial or publicity or if any economic benefit is received by you or any of your guests—even if it’s just shot on your phone. If you are in doubt as to whether your shoot would be considered commercial, inquire first.
Pizza on the farm
Did you know that from time to time we bake pizza on the farm?
Since this is long-maturing pizza dough, please place your order 2 days before.
Coffee&Cake break?
From time to time, when we have more fruits on the farm, we bake cake.
You can find it in the kitchen from 3pm until 6pm.
Let us know what coffee do you drink.
There is no fixed fee for that, we have a donation box.
Farm shop
Why not to bring some local treasures home?
In the kitchen (have a look on map) you will find a tiny shop with local products.
We sell there local products like ceramics, beautiful natural scents produced in the Algarve, hand made cosmetics and jewellery.
At the end
Now, after learning more about our organic farm, we hope that you will love your holidays here even more!
If you have some extra ideas, what we could do to become better, don’t hesitate to share your suggestions with us! We will be happy to hear you out.
