Casita Cantinho do Paraiso

Casita Cantinho do Paraiso is a hill-top cottage on the rural south coast of Santa Maria.

This one-bedroom cottage is popular for it’s outstanding sea views, but it’s also an excellent choice if you favour more time-honoured, quintessentially-Azorean architecture. Santa Maria’s quant cottages are renowned across the islands for their distinctive colour schemes and their pleasantly oversized wedge-shaped chimneys – lovingly preserved here by owners Susana and Nestor.

Their careful renovations continue inside, where the traditional-feel has been well-matched with the comforts and mod-cons of 21^st century living. The well-equipped kitchen/diner has a kettle, toaster, juicer, blender, oven, fridge and microwave, with an elegant teak dining table and a cosy sofa. The rounded wood-fired oven, another distinctive feature of Santa Maria’s rural architecture, has been repurposed with the addition of a circular bathtub; perfect for restoring tired legs after walking Santa Maria’s famous coastal trails. The double bedroom also has a separate bathroom with a large shower.

Outside, there’s a south-facing garden and gazebo, where you can enjoy the brilliant sunsets over a glass of local Vinho de Cheiro. Casita Paraiso also shares it’s grounds with a second, two-bedroom property called Villa Cantinho do Paraiso. It’s a new-build with a more modern-style inside and out, and if you’re travelling with friends or family it’s easy to combine Casita and the Villa.

Due to it’s quiet, rural location, we usually recommend including a hire car to allow you to explore the whole island. And if you’re walking the island’s Grande Trilho, we can arrange return taxis for each leg of this famous coastal walking challenge.