Octant Vila Monte (formerly Vila Monte Farm House)

The eastern Algarve is the half that never got built on. Between Olhão and the Spanish border the coast is protected by the Ria Formosa, a lagoon system of sandbanks and barrier islands reachable only by boat, and the towns behind it stayed working towns. Moncarapacho is one of them, inland among orange groves and low hills.

Vila Monte occupies a whitewashed farm estate here, spread across several buildings in gardens of citrus, olive, carob and cypress, with bougainvillea over the walls. A major refurbishment in 2025 brought new rooms in three small buildings whose arches, vaults and roof terraces borrow directly from southern Portuguese vernacular, several of them opening onto private gardens with heated plunge pools.

The interiors are farmhouse rather than minimal: traditional tiled floors, whitewash, rush matting, natural materials, and pops of blue and green. Rooms range from doubles up to private houses sleeping six across three bedrooms, so the property works for families and groups as well as couples.

Facilities are spread through the grounds rather than concentrated in a block. There are two pools plus a new one with a pool bar, a small massage pavilion, a gym open around the clock, a tennis court by reservation, fire pits, a koi pond and an outdoor cinema. À Terra, the restaurant, works with Algarve produce: olive oil, figs, mushrooms. There are pottery classes with a local master potter, which given that this region has made pottery for centuries is more than a resort activity.

The trade is the beach. You are inland, so Fuseta, the Ria Formosa islands and the sands are a short drive rather than a walk. In exchange you get Olhão's fish market, Tavira, and an eastern Algarve that most visitors never see. Faro airport is around twenty-five minutes.