Selection of reviews from HomeAway / VRBO / TripAdvisor
★★★★★ Descanso e tranquilidade
A propriedade é ainda melhor do que as fotos ou a descrição fazem antever. A casa tem tudo o que precisamos, espaçosa, limpa, bom serviço de wi-fi, sistema multimedia de entretenimento, ar condicionado. O espaço exterior bem cuidado, nada a não ser verde à nossa volta, zona da piscina impecável. Guarda sóis, camas, brinquedos para as crianças. Quanto aos proprietários, embora não estivessem presentes, foram sempre comunicando durante a semana, tendo deixado com as chaves, um guia da casa e dos pontos de interesse e actividades que se podem fazer na zona. Tudo muito, muito bom. Um local a regressar!
(Fernando G.Trofa, Portugal)
Stayed July 2020
★★★★★ Sem duvida as melhores ferias que passamos em familia
Ja estamos na nossa casa, infelizmente as ferias acabam... Sem duvida as melhores ferias que passamos em familia...desde o vosso acolhimento, á casa, ao espaço envolvente com a piscina, tudo foi perfeito. Os vasos e as flores foram regados todos os dias conforme pediu. Deixamos toda a loiça limpa, bem como a casa o mais limpa possivel e o lixo arrumado. Deixamos no barbecue 2 grelhas para o peixe para vocês. Obrigado por tudo! Vamos voltar certamente!
(Sergio & family, Portugal)
Stayed June 2020
★★★★★ As férias perfeitas
A casa é espetacular, espaçosa e tem tudo para se passarem uns dias simpáticos. A localização é ótima, num sítio muito calmo. A piscina é muito boa e com excelente exposição solar, a piscina dos bebés é muito agradável.. Um jardim muito catita para as crianças explorarem.
Adoramos a estadia
(Celina F & family, Portugal)
Stayed June 2020
★★★★★ Casa Bedrock, a peaceful getaway
Exceptional, beautiful holiday home, the villa had it all, every creature comfort.. The gardens were just fantastic, filled with ancient Olive trees.. You would find yourself lost in its tranquility.. So much space and so well utilized.. The pool was absolutely fantastic, so clean and was a pleasure to sit and listen to the squeals of pure happiness from the children.. Dave and Corinne obviously have a great passion for their villa and it shows in the guidebook that we received a week before our arrival.. The communication between Dave was outstanding and it felt as if he was just as excited about our holiday as we were.. A hidden gem is what I would describe 'Casa Bedrock' I feel totally relaxed after our week at the villa.. The true heart of Portugal and I enjoyed every minute, Thank You again Dave and Corinne for one exceptional stay.
(Sinead B & family, Ireland)
Stayed June 2019
★★★★★ Beautiful, spacious, exceptionally well equipped
We found it to be everything that the property description promised. Beautiful, spacious, exceptionally well equipped and supremely comfortable.
We were delighted to receive Dave and Corinne’s excellent guidebook in the week before we arrived. They are extremely passionate about Casa Bedrock and the general area and it shows in spades when you flick through the guidebook. More than any other holiday villa owners we have encountered over the years, they are dedicated to ensuring that guests have the best holiday possible. From the time of booking (pre-Christmas 2017 ), we received many communications from Dave and got the sense that he was as excited about our planned holiday as we were! (Monahan Family, Ireland)
Stayed July 2018
★★★★★ Lovely villa in a fantastic location
We visited Casa Bedrock in October 2018 for the second year running and it certainly didn't disappoint! We love the tranquil, rural environment in a village setting nestled on the hillside. In the large garden area, there are so many lovely spaces to relax, either in sun or shade (provided by lovely old olive trees). There's a fabulous pool to be enjoyed too. Although the villa's in a rural setting there's plenty in the area to keep you occupied with information on walks, places to visit, restaurants and much more in the fantastically detailed guidebook complied by the owner. The well equipped villa is spotlessly clean; the owners, David and Corinne really do go out of their way to ensure a great holiday for all of their guests - young and old alike. Give it a try - you won't be disappointed! Geoff & Sue, Yorkshire, UK
Stayed September 2017 & October 2018
★★★★★ Beautiful holiday home
We had a fantastic holiday. The villa has everything you need. I love cooking and the kitchen was very well equipped. The villa was spotless & very cool after a day in the beautiful sunshine. Plenty of outside space & different areas to sit. The pool was absolutely fabulous, a lot of thought has gone into making this a perfect holiday. David's guide book is second to none..... we always get lost finding our way to previous villas but this time we found it straight away! Plenty of places to visit & things to do a very comprehensive read. We loved the peace & tranquillity that surrounds the villa, we are looking forward to a trip back next year. Thank you so much David & Corinne... couldn't have been any more wonderful for us. (Lucy & Joe, England)
Stayed June 2017
★★★★★ A hidden Paradise
Fantastic location if you want to see the real Portugal lots to see and a very informative guide book written by the owner full of useful information of places to go and places to eat. The villa is very spacious well equipped and lovely garden and pool to relax. Everything was first class and the owners are very helpful and nothing was too much trouble.
We will definitely be back. A hidden paradise in Portugal. (Stewart and Edith Brown, Scotland)
Stayed June 2017
★★★★★ Wonderfull house in a small authentic Portuguese village
Property was very clean, beautiful garden and so quiet. It was just heaven. (Jesse Siordia, California)
Stayed April 2017
★★★★★ Beautifully kept villa, great location & gardens
Casa Bedrock is a wonderful villa in a stunning location. We had two weeks of great weather enjoying some of the recommended walks and places by Dave and Corrine. This is our third visit to the Silver Coast and hopefully not our last, the people are very friendly and helpful even though we cannot speak Portuguese .
The villa has everything you will need for your holiday, the information book supplied by Dave and Corrine is an excellent idea that we have never come across in all the years we have been renting. It is a very comfortable villa, clean and well equipped.
I would have no hesitation in booking again. (Greig Anderson, Scotland)
Stayed September 2016
★★★★★
Fantastic Villa in the Portuguese countryside
Casa Bedrock is a beautiful villa located in a quiet village near Pombal. The owners, David and Corinne, really have thought of everything to ensure that guests have a fantastic holiday experience.
Firstly, David has compiled an extremely detailed guidebook of the area with several itineraries for days out, restaurant suggestions and walks of varying lengths and provides this to guests free of charge prior to their arrival at Casa Bedrock. We relied on this guide (which in my opinion is as good as commercially available guidebooks) throughout the holiday to plan our activities which had the added benefit of allowing us to relax on an evening rather than scour the internet for things to do the next day. The villa itself is extremely well equipped. Books, DVDs and boardgames are provided, as are binoculars for stargazing. The sky is so clear due to low levels of light pollution, it's hard to describe how many stars are visible. If you like listening to music, an extremely good quality hi-fi system is also provided so take along some CDs for those relaxing evenings. Pool inflatables, beach umbrellas and bucket and spades etc, along with cool boxes are also provided - everything you might need for a day out.
The grounds of the villa are fantastic with room for the kids to play in the lower garden and an absolutely amazing pool area. Our kids (aged 2 and 6) loved the pool which was a lovely 26 degrees during our stay. (Simon Garner, England)
Stayed August 2016.
★★★★★ A wonderful family holiday!
Dave and Corrine (the owner's of the property), were a delight to book with. Information was clear and helpful. The complimentary guidebook was incredibly useful - even to us, having visited central Portugal for the past 7 years. The property itself was very comfortable and clean and contained everything we required for a young family of four. Our boys loved the outdoor space, especially the swimming pool which got a lot of use! We thought the location was very good in a lovely little village with lots of attractions close by to keep the children entertained. The house comes highly recommended by us and we hope to visit again soon! (Kim Birmingham, London)
Stayed August 2016
★★★★★ Fantastic villa great pool
This was our first visit to Portugal and staying at the Casa Bedrock just made our visit extra special. The owners, David and Corinne are so lovely and kept us updated about our planned visit and provided us with a very detailed guidebook of the area which David had written himself. We have stayed in a few villas over the years and no owner has gone to such detail ensuring our visit was extra special.
The kids loved the pool area and we spent the first three days at the house and enjoying everything it had to offer. When the kids had had too much sun they played the board games provided and watched the entire Harry Potter series of DVDs also provided with many other films!
Without the guidebook we wouldn't have discovered the river beaches or the amazing San Sao Simao swimming 'pools' a mountainous relaxing river beach with fresh water swimming pools. We met some lovely people here but more than anything as a family we loved being at the villa.
We will definitely be returning again but if you're reading this review wondering if this Villa is worth a booking... Book it ! You won't be disappointed in either the villa or its owners! (Nick,Emma, Jessica and Xander, England)
Stayed July 2016
★★★★★ Off the beaten track!
We had a wonderful time at Casa Bedrock. The house has a light and airy feel, and everything in it tells you this is a house that is loved by its owners. Dinner in the rockery garden on balmy evenings, the gorgeous pool that our 8 ½ year old was barely out of, loads to do in the local area - as owner Dave's marvellous guide book describes... We went to several of the local river beaches (our favourite being the one below the beautiful restored schist village of San Sao Simao), to the towns of Pombal and Tomar (the Convent there, the seat of the knights templar is like something out of Tolkein!), on several local walks... the house was great and it was a great area to be situated in, far from the madding crowds. (Jon Stoker, England)
Stayed Aug 2015
(Special thanks to this reviewer for giving us the idea of our website catch phrase 'Far From The Madding Crowds' (A novel by Thomas Hardy)
★★★★★ Outstanding!
We enjoyed a truly fabulous RELAXING week here - mum, dad & 2 kids (12 & 14). I cannot recommend enough what a lovely villa this is & that it is located in a stunning part of Portugal. Don't be put off by the distance from the sea - its a straight run to the coast if you do want to go but you do have your own pool at the villa (lovely size for swimming - couldn't keep my 12 year old out!) AND there are also magnificent river beaches scattered throughout the region if you need to cool off while out & about. There are loads of interesting places to visit, castles galore, stunning scenery & all interspersed with lots of lovely little towns. It's really easy to get around as the volume of traffic is a fraction of that in the UK (very refreshing).
As for the villa - it's brilliant. The owners have given lots of thought to what you need once there & their attention to detail was in evidence. It's all aimed toward you enjoying your hard earned holiday to the max - not least thanks to David's amazing local guide book. The villa is very modern & on the edge of a tiny village. The views from the lounge/balcony are fabulous. However, you're only a short drive from a bigger town with restaurants & supermarket.
We loved it & had the week we wanted been available next year would have rebooked immediately.
Thankyou to the owners for an excellent holiday villa. (Helen L & Family, England)
Stayed: Apr 2015
★★★★★ Peace and Tranquility
Having chosen to take a holiday early in the season, there was some apprehension about what the weather would be like but we needn't have worried because apart from the first day when it was cloudy, we had wall to wall sunshine. We were joined for the first week by our son, daughter-in-law and 2 year old grandson and found plenty of activities for them in the area, particularly the wonderful new park, play area and exercise circuit in nearby Ansiao which we visited on trips to the excellent Intermarche supermarket. We enjoyed day trips out twice to the seaside and although the beaches were very quiet we found sufficient shelter from the wind and the sand was perfect for building sandcastles. We visited the river beaches as described in the book. We especially liked the one in Mosteiro which was the more child-friendly.
It would be hard to find any fault with the villa as it has all the amenities which one could wish for, plenty of space and very comfortable. Although we did not use the swimming pool, as it was too early in the season, we could imagine how lovely it would be to take a dip in the glorious surroundings. The views from the villa are stunning and it is very private and tranquil, yet encompasses the atmosphere of the village. In the cool evenings it was nice to light the wood burning stove. We would recommend the local take-away which is mentioned in the book and followed the advice to ring our order through in advance. We ate out at the local Caracol restaurant a number of times which was good quality and fantastic value for money.
We did lots of walks from the book and found the route descriptions very easy to follow (they must have taken much effort by the owners to put together).
We would recommend this holiday for couples or families who like to get off the beaten track and enjoy peace and quiet and relaxation in the "real Portugal". We hope to re-visit in the future to visit some more of the sites and do some more of the beautiful walks. Thank you David and Corinne for a most enjoyable holiday. (Louise, Ralph & Family, England)
Stayed: Feb 2015
★★★★★ Peace
Casa Bedrock is a lovely home, because that is what Dave and Corinne have made it. Located in a quiet village with beautiful views, life couldn't get any better when staying here. If you can drag yourself away from chilling and playing in the pool, then the delights of Portugal await you. The guidebook that Dave has done will help you to decide where to go and also there is a folder that clients have added brochures of places they have visited too.
Due to the location it is easy to get to lots of different destinations. From shopping at Leiria or the Forum at Coimbra to The Roman ruins at Conimbriga or Rabacal. Take your pick there is so much to see. The coast is only about forty minutes away and not overcrowded.
The people are lovely, nothing seems to be to much trouble and the language barrier does not exist. We have fingers to point and they correct our pronunciations and smile and mostly answer back in English anyway.
With a vegetarian in our family eating out can be difficult, but we have had special meals cooked especially for him.
Rural Portugal cannot be beaten, this is the true Portugal, if you wish to be a 'Tourist' then go to the Algarve.
This was our third stay at Bedrock and we have already booked for next year. I cannot say better than that! Apart from Thank You Dave and Corinne for letting us share your Sanctuary. (Davina & David Kerry, England)
Review placed 2014. Stayed: 2014 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19
★★★★★ Beautiful home in a wonderful setting
Casa Bedrock is a lovely place to stay to just chill out. We had spent 5 busy days in Lisbon and Casa Bedrock was the ideal place to come and relax.
The lounge is a wonderful space, big and airy with a full wall of glass on one side - the house's hifi sounded great and because of the great house design, it seems that at the height of summer the sun never comes directly through and the place is far cooler than you would expect and the kids could easily chill out at midday using their tablets on the sofa. The balcony also gives some shade throughout the whole summer day. While we were there, there was a lovely cool breeze blowing too, so we never got too hot.
The pool is excellent, as is the barbecue and the various little areas around the garden that you can move your breakfast or dinner table to during your stay.
The internet connection was excellent (far better than we get in Huddersfield).
Definitely worth jumping out of bed for the bread lady at 8am when she toots her horn as two lovely loafs and 4 buns with chorizo in them only came to around Euro2.50.
The local restaurant Dave & Corinne suggests is fantastic. We were out every night in Lisbon , but this local restaurant knocked the socks off the urban ones for taste and value. 4 people with olives and bread and soup , eating steaks with massive amounts of veg and rice, with ice cream dessert while drinking quite a bit of wine and sangria - and a coffee to finish , came to around Euro 60.
So don't hesitate , book it now while you can. (Jo, Mick & Family, England)
Stayed: Aug 2014
★★★★★ Le Portugal en pleine nature
Nous avons passé de très bonnes vacances dans cette villa construite sur la pierre! Nous étions 5 ; nos enfants avaient la maison et nous la petite suite au rez-de-chaussée. Les contacts que nous avons eus régulièrement par mail avec le propriétaire nous ont fait rêver pendant un an. David était toujours disponible pour nous donner des informations, merci à lui ! Cette villa est bien située d’une part pour les visites (Coimbra, Conimbriga, Tomar), à 2 heures de Porto (nous y avons passé une nuit) et de Lisbonne (où nous sommes restés 3 nuits après notre départ de la casa Bedrock). Nous avons combiné vacances culturelles et nature (cascade, rivière, belles promenades) grâce aux conseils de David et de son livre tellement utile. La piscine venait d’être construite, elle est magnifique et spacieuse avec une pataugeoire pour enfant.
Un tout grand merci à nos hôtes! (Sandra Dejardin & Family, Netherlands)
Stayed: Jul 2014
★★★★★ Away from the tourist trail
We had an excellent time at Casa Bedrock.The house was well presented. Facilities furnishings and equipment were very good but we did miss a dishwasher (note from owner: Dishwasher now installed.)
The house was spacious light and airy.The aircon in the bedrooms was much needed and worked well. Lovely open views from the lounge and balcony. A lovely place to listen to music, the sound system was excellent and nice to watch the lights appear from the homes and hamlets in the mountains and down in the valley.
The pool and setting was simply great, so quiet tranquil and relaxing with fab views too.
David & Corinne are such lovely people they are interested in you and that you should enjoy your stay at their home in Portugal. They are kind thoughtful and there for you. That goes for the locals too. Everyone in the hamlet seems happy relaxed and friendly. You can be sure to enjoy the real Portugal away from the tourist trail. (Steve & Sian, UK)
Stayed: Jul 2014
★★★★★ Perfect
We very much enjoyed our stay at Casa Bedrock, in a lovely area where we could enjoy a relatively tourist-free 'real' Portugal. Really this was our 'chilling' holiday, but we like to walk and did a little but it was very hot during our stay so made use of the shade around the garden to do more of the chilling than the walking, and of course wine-drinking. The BBQ came into it's own each evening and we gained a very useful tip for our own BBQ and woodburner about using pine cones as firelighters. Brilliant! Oh and thank you for the air conditioning!
We didn't get to support the local restaurant as it was closed for holidays but had a great experience at the Santiago restaurant.
We don't usually like to revisit places we've been to because there's a whole world out there, but there's certainly lots of to see within reasonable distance and a second visit wouldn't be too stressful!
As many have said, the guide book is superb and the service and communication from the owners is friendly, helpful, and efficient.
It is the best part of 2 hours from Lisbon airport but the drive is very easy and virtually car-free when we travelled, and I guess that's what you have to do to get away from it all. Very happy! (The Cheshire Clan, England)
Stayed: Sep 2013
★★★★★ The real Portugal
Great holiday, perfect location and weather was warm and perfect to swim in the local rivers. Guide book presented by the owner's was 100% accurate with the local restaurants (great food at very reasonable prices) bars and shops within a 5 minute drive. Outeiro was a quiet and relaxing location overlooking the olive groves and surrounded by hills and local history. Accommodation was first class.
Would strongly recommend. (Jac & Family, England)
Stayed: Aug 2013
★★★★★ Peace & relaxation
Many thanks for a lovely stay in Casa Bedrock. The house is very comfortable and peaceful - exactly as described. It's a perfect place to relax, with great views, especially from the balcony, and a lovely garden in which to chill out. The guide book provided to all guests is fantastic - detailing many places to visit, wonderful swimming spots, restaurants & more. The owner was hugely helpful, clearly determined to ensure that all guests have a fantastic stay. He succeeded! (Lucy, England)
Stayed: Jul 2013