Companhia das Culturas
ALGARVE / HOTEL / WATCHLIST
Towards the Algarvian Spanish border, just outside of the ancient town of Castro Marim, the farm of Companhia das Culturas sits having been re-furbished by architect Pedro Ressano Garcia, converted into a small hotel with nine rooms. Together with farm’s owners, anthropologist Eglantina Monteiro & writer Francisco Palma-Dias, the collective have created a concept that encourages guests to feel engaged in their mission to embrace a relationship between architecture & the surrounding ecosystem.
A stay on the forty-hectare property, which is surrounded by carob & pine trees, cork oaks, apricot, fig & olive trees is brought even further back to nature by a biodynamic vegetable garden, used to fill plates for breakfast, snacks & supper. Bathroom amenities have been created by Eglantina through her local natural cosmetics brand 8950, made up of organic, foraged ingredients from the farm itself ready for guests to use in their bathrooms & in the hotels’ hammam.
Room Service
Location: Castro Marim, Algarve.
Price: Suites start at 120€ per night.
Highlights: This is the only hotel in Portugal with a Hammam that offers scrubs, massages & therapies run by a Chinese Medicine specialist who uses exclusively organic essential oils from the farm. There’s also an ancient threshing room completely lined with cork for yoga & Pilates.
Services: Daily turndown alongside an organic breakfast. A common room with a library & honesty bar is where an old olive oil mill lives from the times when the olives from the farm were once processed.
Designed by Pedro Ressano Garcia, Eglantina Monteiro & Francisco Palma-Dias.
Photography by Companhia das Culturas.
The Neighbourhood: Castro Marim is nearby, surrounded by salt pans, as are the beaches of the East Algarve when you’re not cooling off in the equally salty saltwater pool.
Things to know: Depending on the season, guests can participate in the harvest of local fruits, nature walks, watching migratory birds, the ancient processes of collecting salt & bear witness to all the historical & cultural splendour of the area.
The Map
Companhia das Culturas is located close to the town of Castro Marim, around a fifty minute drive from Faro. Fly to Faro & rent a little car to take a road trip while finding some freedom while you’re there.
Download the Design Escapes Directory for local recommendations & to ensure you don’t miss out on any spots on your journey.