Guesthouse Toca dos Grilos — Hotel in Cascais

We stayed two nights in this secret little bed & breakfast inn high in the hills above Estoril, Portugal. You could drive right by without noticing it -- in fact our cab driver did, twice. But we loved everything about our stay. Our hostess, Maria, was so kind to make us sandwiches, served with melon, on our arrival. (We didn't have a car to drive to a late lunch.) The breakfasts were outright humungous, with fruits, eggs, cheese from the family gardens. We didn't have a car, and taxis were on strike, so getting around Estoril looked like it would be a problem. However, it's an easy downhill walk to Estoril's center, restaurants and the train station. We easily found taxis to take us back up the hill, despite the strike.||||Our room was nice -- Maria upgraded us to a two-bed room with great air conditioning during a Portugal heat wave. On our last night, we returned from dinner with olive oil spilled our on our shirts, so Maria took our shirts and washed them and had them ready in the morning, all at no cost.||||Maria's a lovable hostess -- can't say that very often, and this is a great guest house, especially for people with cars who want to explore the Cascais region. Estoril is a LOT quieter than Cascais, and a lot...

My wife and I stayed here for only two nights and we wish it had been more.||The Toca Dos Grilos is an exceptional find with the owner, Maria, being at the heart of all it represents.||The property is immaculate in all respects with a lovely small pool and areas to sit in the sun. Our room was very clean and well furnished in a traditional style. ||The star, however, was the breakfast. Just by way of a sample: a large bowl of fresh strawberries, a plate of quality ham, cheese and salami (not mass produced!), fresh, home made bread rolls, eggs(farm free range) on ham and toast, and, finally, home made jams. ||The house is on a fairly non descript housing area around 3km from the beach on the hillside at the northern edge of Estoril although our room overlooked the garden and the golf course. We walked down to the seafront each day (20-25 mins) but tended to take a taxi back (around €5). Thus does not detract and helped walk off the breakfast!||Nothing was too much trouble for Maria and her staff. When in Estoril /Cascais again, We will...

Put simply, this is a lovely place to stay. A few minutes away from both Estoril and Cascais centres by car, and a 15-20 minutes walk from Estoril centre/beach, it offers everything if you are looking for a quiet, enjoyable holiday. All the attractions of the Lisbon coast are a short drive away, and there is a frequent train service between Estoril /Cascais and Lisbon. We stayed for a week, from 15-22 May, apparently just before its main tourist season. So there were few other guests staying. The house is kept impeccably clean throughout. We were looked after amazingly well by Maria and her staff, who did everything they could for us, and more. Her suggestion of a restaurant in nearby Alcabideche, for example, was inspired. Our room was very comfortable and had everything we required. The breakfasts were sensational with locally sourced produce the feature. There was no problem whatsoever with the on road parking outside the house. We would love to go back to the Toca Dos Grilos....