Stay at the Winemaker

Quiet location with spectacular panoramic views and Martin's walm, friendly welcome.

Nothing

Very special hospitality at a unique location, overlooking the magnificent mountains and the Duoro river. All rooms have glass wall to the view. The hospitality by Maarten feels like visiting a good friend at his villa.

The location is up the mountain in a rural area so the first time you drive there feels far and remote from the valley (where Pinao village is located). For the first time, recommend to arrive before darkness and look for the name LUYT written at the entrance.

Maarten is a truly amazing host. He is kind, attentive, and very knowledgable about wine and the Douro region. The stay was absolutely lovely, including the group breakfast and optional bbq. The drive up to the property became one of our favourite parts as well. The first time it is slightly scary, but after that, you see that Maarten has some of the best views in the valley. Dank u wel Maarten!

The accommodation is somewhat secluded on a vineyard and offers a truly sensational view of the Douro Valley. It is simply furnished and clean, nothing distracts from the fantastic view through the panoramic window. The garden in front of the house also invites you to linger. Regardless of the apartment, we would only recommend a stay in the beautiful Douro Valley for a maximum of 2 nights, as we really struggled to discover anything new from the 3rd day onwards.

For us as a family with 2 small children (2 and 6 years old), the apartment declared as a "family room“ had 2 serious disadvantages: 1. despite curtains, it was not possible to darken the room sufficiently, which meant we were woken up by the light of the early rising sun at 6am at the latest 2. the apartment was so noisy that even the neighbors' normal conversations were completely audible Unfortunately, these two disadvantages spoiled our entire stay as a family, right from the start! After a 4-hour journey in sweltering heat, our children were so agitated that they could hardly be kept quiet. And when they woke up much too early in the first morning due to the sunlight, at least the younger of the two daughters cried and screamed a lot, which didn't bother our very nice room neighbors so much, but led our landlord to make an emotionally completely exaggerated announcement. His statement „The children's screaming is not acceptable, he doesn't want this and it has to stop!!!" confused us a lot, he could have formulated it in a friendlier and certainly more appropriate way. We then advised him not to declare this apartment as a family room, or at least to indicate that small children are not really in good hands there.