Vale Palheiro Earth Resort, a countryside retreat in Portugal that promises total relaxation

In the raw beauty of Portugal’s Costa Vicentina natural park, the ochre buildings that make up Vale Palheiro Earth Resort don’t just complement the surroundings – they were literally built from the earth beneath it. To erect the dozen structures perched on the verdant hillside, the hotel’s founders, Madalena and Pedro Rutkowski, turned to rammed-earth construction, a sustainable but labour-intensive method once popular in Portugal but long in disuse. “Very few people know how to build like this today so we needed specialised hands who started working on this project 12 years ago,” Madalena tells Monocle. Combined with dry-stone walls of local schist, and brick roofs and floors from the region’s still thriving pottery industry, this rural retreat feels as though it has always been there.

The attention to provenance carries through to the interiors, which have been designed by Lisbon’s Arkstudio. “The goal was to create comfort with these organic materials,” says Arkstudio principal Margarida Matias, who went through an exercise of her own to uncover regional materials and crafts suited to the terrain. Natural cotton fibres woven on traditional looms upholster generous wooden benches, with clay amphorae decorating tables and outside spaces. Thick, textured tapestries by artist Rita Sevilha adorn walls, where unpainted patches show the layers of the earth within. Meanwhile, windows open onto views of the surrounding valley, with whitewashed houses of nearby beach town Aljezur climbing the hill at a distance. “It was very important that everything felt integrated into the landscape,” says Matias. The result is decor with a rustic charm but an open, uncluttered feel.

Spread across 60 hectares, the accommodation is split between selfsufficient villas with kitchen and dining areas, and smaller but equally comfortable suites with high-domed ceilings. Vale Palheiro also has a pool, a wellness centre and a farm-to-table restaurant that draws on the estate’s hives, orchards and chicken coop, as well as seasonal ingredients from the surrounding region. Shaded porches invite slow afternoons with a book; games rooms come with fireplaces for cooler nights; and the rooftop terrace, equipped with firepits, is designed for stargazing. “We wanted to create plenty of space for contemplation,” says Matias. “Somewhere to read, draw and dream.”