Casa Modesta hotel - Algarve, Portugal

Set in the lush, wild environs of the Algarve’s Ria Formosa National Park, Casa Modesta is a rural hotel with a distinct contemporary Portuguese edge. Owner Carlos Fernandes named the property after his mother, Modesta Maria, who grew up in the original 1940s house built by his grandfather, a local fisherman. Transformed by Fernandes’ sister, Vânia - of local architecture firm Par – the humble home now features nine suites, each with private bathrooms and patios. Inside, Albio Nascimento and Kathi Stertzig of The Home Project Design Studio have echoed the exterior’s clean cubic aesthetic, by creating an unfussy interior that sees vaulted brick ceilings and traditional terracotta floor tiles complimented by Canadian cedar furnishings and bespoke cork and brass lamps. Surrounded by acres of almond and olive orchards, the hotel’s garden-cum-greenhouse provides fresh organic vegetables for the kitchen, while a range of spa treatments are also available, using the natural properties of the local olives, almonds and algae.