Portugal’s Newest Private Algarve Escape: Villa Lage

“It’s a place to calm down. To feel the spirit of nature, like the Japanese do,” says Sónia Lage Santiago, the owner of the new, seaside Villa Lage in Portugal’s Ria Formosa natural park, near Tavern. “It’s a place to respect the growing of trees, to honor the seasons.”

She laughs about having bought it without negotiating. “I’m not good at business,” she admits. “I’m good at other things.” She is also committed.

And so, the first thing she did after buying the house, after selling a hotel in Lisbon in 2019, was to move in. She lived in the house while she saw what needed to be repaired and how she wanted it to be.

Logically, she started with the grounds, which gave the plants time to grow and allowed her to consider how she wanted the interiors to interact with the views of the Algarvean scrubland, the gardens, the tidal lagoon with its fishermen’s boats, and the Atlantic beyond. The gardens are lovely, tidy without being fussy, and heavy on plants that do well with very little water, a nod to the climate realities of the Algarve.

Inside, she drew on her varied background in communications (she’s clearly a lover of words—books in English and Portuguese are everywhere)—fashion and products for slow living and outdoor life. Her grandmother opened restaurants in Lisbon, which clearly influenced her understanding of hospitality.

The result is simple and serene, full of space to breathe and details that inspire with their creativity. It’s slightly minimalist but still warm, and many of the items are Santiago’s own, lending the place a personal touch. Along with a handful of small hotels, and far more private, it’s an antidote to the excesses of the overdeveloped Algarve. Instead, it feels like home.

The villa, which is rented by the week in summer and comes with an excellent chef, activities manager and other staff, occupies two houses, each with three bedrooms and its own living and dining areas, private terraces, garden and heated pool. These can be rented separately or together to create an exclusive residence for 12 people. Shorter stays are permitted in the off-season. (It’s worth noting that in spite of the Algarve’s mystifying reputation as a seasonal destination, winter days can reach 20C [68F] or more, often with brilliant sunshine.)

But it’s the sort of place that isn’t easy to leave. The food, much of it from the onsite organic vegetable gardens and local purveyors, is excellent—ask the chef for some just-harvested oysters from right nearby—and Santiago’s design style invites you to stay longer.

She told the Spanish shelter magazine ¡Hola! Living that it’s because she has always lived beside the sea (in Cascais, Portugal, and Galícia, Spain), and that inspires her as a source of beauty, emotion and renewal. She made it a mission to preserve the nature that was there—to “break as little as possible” and to be flexible with some details for the sake of sustainability.

That adds up to a winning place to relax, but there’s also much to do. A path snakes down among the olive and fig trees, umbrella pines, prickly pears, lavender and rosemary to the stretch of running and cycling path that runs along the eastern Algarve. Bikes and kayaks are kept in a shed. The path also leads directly to a pier, where the villa’s private boat embarks to take guests to a long, deserted beach. Or, at low tide, you can wade across. (Just be friendly with the clam farmers.)

Santiago also has relationships with local food purveyors, yoga instructors, watercolor teachers, massage therapists and hiking guides, who will come to the house on request. There’s also golf nearby.

Santiago is proud that she didn’t follow any playbook. “I’m doing what I think is good,” she says, “And I hope people enjoy it.”