Our story

We are Herman and Angela — a Dutch-Brazilian couple who fell head over heels for the Algarve and never quite recovered. Honestly, we never wanted to.

From our very first visit, this region got under our skin in the best possible way. The food, the wine, the light, the landscape, the people — there is a soul to the Algarve that is unlike anywhere else, and we knew we wanted to be part of it. Not just as visitors, but as custodians.

That word matters to us: custodians.

When we decided to create something here, we weren’t interested in building from scratch or chasing a return on investment. We wanted to preserve. To rescue. To take something the years had worn down and quietly forgotten, and give it back its dignity. Casa da Lila, in the historic town of Silves, was a ruin when we found her — full of character, full of stories, and in need of someone willing to listen. Restoring her was a labour of love, plain and simple.

She also gave us the confidence to dream bigger. That same spirit of preservation led us to Quinta da Lila, our second project in the mountains of Monchique (quintadalila.com) — another abandoned estate, another four decades of silence broken, another piece of the Algarve given a future. We’ve even planted a new vineyard there, bringing wine back to hillsides that haven’t seen vines since the 19th century. Because for us, preservation has never just been about buildings — it’s about restoring a place to everything it was always meant to be.

Two projects, one philosophy, and an enduring love for this extraordinary corner of Portugal.

We hope you feel all of that when you stay with us — the care, the history, and the warmth we’ve tried to pour into every detail.

Welcome! From our family to yours.

Herman & Angela