The house
rules.

The valley carries sound. From 22:00 to 08:00, we ask that voices stay low, music stays indoors, and the garden is left to the crickets and the owls. The neighbours have been kind to us for many years; we like to keep it that way.

This applies equally to the terraces, the pool deck, and the lawn — sound travels remarkably well across the valley after dark.

Braga Essence Villa is oriented toward families, multigenerational stays, small reunions, and quiet getaways. It is not a venue.

The following are not permitted without prior written arrangement:

• Parties, raves, or any gathering with amplified music outdoors
• Stag and hen weekends, bachelor and bachelorette parties
• Commercial photography, filming, or content shoots
• Brand activations, pop-ups, or any commercial event
• Weddings or ceremonies beyond the ten in residence

Long-table dinners, birthday lunches, anniversary weekends — exactly what the house was made for. If you are unsure whether your gathering fits the spirit of the house, please write to us; we are happy to help find the answer.

With regret. The house is finished in pale pine, wool rugs and linen, and we keep it allergy-safe for every guest who arrives after you. This includes well-behaved dogs, emotional-support animals, and service animals beyond those mandated by Portuguese law.

If you would like a recommendation for boarding in or around Braga, the concierge will arrange it before your arrival.

No smoking, vaping, cigars, or pipes inside the house, on the covered terraces, or by the pool. Cannabis is not permitted on the property at all, in line with Portuguese law.

A quiet corner of the garden — by the lower wall, with an ashtray and a bench — is set aside for those who must. Please dispose of cigarette ends thoughtfully; the garden is dry in summer.

The house sleeps ten guests. That is also the maximum number of guests we permit overnight, including children over the age of two. Infants in a travel cot are not counted.

Daytime visitors — family meeting you for lunch, friends from Porto for an afternoon — are warmly welcome. We ask only that you let the housekeeper know a day ahead, so she can lay an extra place and the kitchen is provisioned accordingly. Daytime visitors are asked to leave by 22:00.

This is a house built around a long kitchen and a long lawn — children are part of how it is meant to be used. A travel cot and car seats for babies and toddlers live in the garage and the bedroom cupboard — please help yourselves, no need to ask:

The indoor pool is the only meaningful hazard in the house. We ask that a responsible adult is at the poolside whenever a child under twelve is in or near the water. Please keep the pool door closed when it is not in use. There are flotation aids in the cupboard by the steam room.

A short list of small things that keep the house at its best:

• Shoes off in the living rooms and bedrooms. Slippers in every wardrobe; we like the local felt ones.
• Wet feet dried in the pool wing before the wool rugs in the living room.
• Wine and dark juices kept away from the pale linen sofas and the dining-room runner.
• The wood-burning stove is for the housekeeper to light; please ask. The flue is temperamental on south winds.
• Candles are stocked in the kitchen drawer — please use the ceramic holders provided, never directly on wood.
• Windows and doors closed if the air-conditioning is running, please.
• Bicycles, paddleboards, and the kayak — by all means, with a word to Inês first.
• Furniture — please do not move the heavier pieces; the floor is solid pine and marks easily.

The living rooms are for settling into — reading, a film, a slow conversation. The sofas, rugs and pieces in them are delicate and costly to put right, so we ask that food and drink stay out of the living rooms.

When it's time to eat, the long dining table seats the whole party and the kitchen counter is ideal for a quick breakfast or a child's lunch — both are yours to use freely.

Three rooms are kept locked, and we ask that you don't try to open them:

• The electrical room, which holds the breakers and the other systems.
• The heating & cooling machine room, where the radiant-floor equipment lives — sensitive, and easily upset.
• The upstairs office, which is private and out of bounds.

Please also leave the wall-mounted control screens that run these systems untouched. They are delicate; a stray change can break something, or swing the house from warm to cold and spoil the comfort of your stay. The rooms are locked for exactly this reason — please don't try to force your way in.

Check-in from 16:00 on the day of arrival. Check-out by 11:00 on the day of departure. The housekeeping team uses the hours between to turn the house around for the next guests.

Earlier arrival or later departure is often possible, with notice — please ask at least 48 hours in advance and we will see what the calendar allows. The chef, the driver and the housekeeper arrange themselves around your hours.

On departure, we ask only that you leave the kitchen as you would in a friend's home — dishwashers running, perishables in the bin, used linen on the bed. The rest is ours.

A refundable damage deposit of €2,000 is held against the card on file at booking and released within seven days of departure, against a final inspection by the housekeeper.

Ordinary wear is expected and never charged — the small scuff on a skirting board, a wine ring on a coaster, a misplaced glass. We deduct only against material loss: a broken piece of art, persistent smoke odour, a stain that cannot be lifted, missing inventory.

For anything significant, we contact you directly, in writing, with photographs and an invoice from the relevant trade, before the deposit is touched.

Braga Essence Villa is operated under a Portuguese Alojamento Local licence. By staying, you and every guest in your party agree to the conventions on this page, to the terms of the booking, and to Portuguese law.

The lead guest on the booking is responsible for the conduct of every guest and visitor at the property. Repeated or material breach of any of the above — most often, an unauthorised party — entitles us, with regret, to ask the party to leave without refund.

None of which we expect ever to need. We mention it for completeness.