Cascais Vacation Rental villa: Quinta da Marinha

We had a great 2 weeks in this lovely villa - although other villas are all around, it feels very peaceful & has wonderful sea views from the upstairs master bedroom & upstairs balcony.
The other 2 bedrooms are downstairs - the twin is a good size & used to be a children's room - the single room is very small but our 22 year old son was only in there to sleep so it didn't matter.
The villa has a lovely terraced garden & is surrounded by pine trees - we spent a lot of time by the pool during the day & having barbecues in the evening - villa is well equipped for such activities! A maid comes in once a week, but the villa is very easy to keep clean. There's a washing machine/tumble dryer in an outside log cabin - very useful.
We had a couple of small problems while staying, but the owner (who lives in Australia) could not have been more helpful. We communicated with her using text messages & she got everything sorted out for us - we were impressed & pleased.
We would definitely recommend hiring a car - although trains & buses could be used, they would be an awkward way to get around.
We did find some things quite expensive - especially golf. A round of golf at the nearby club for 3 including club hire was nearly £200! But the course has fantastic views & my husband & 2 sons had a great afternoon. We also recommend the restaurant at the local golf club - we had a very good meal there & everyone was very friendly.
A day in Lisbon is recommended - we went by train, which is very easy. Parked at the underground carpark by the station & trains are very frequent - 2 an hour from what I remember.
Another trip we did one day was to Freeport, which is north-east of Lisbon, across the River Tagus. When we went at the beginning of August, the sales were still on & we got some tremendous bargains. The trip across the bridge is also amazing as the bridge is very, very long.
We used Lidl (cash needed) for food & wine & also the Jumbo supermarket in Cascais. We bought some wonderful steak & large prawns from Jumbo, which were fantastic barbecued. When buying meat from Jumbo though, avert your eyes as some of what they sell meat-wise is very gruesome!
The fish restaurant on the main road near the villa was extremely good - again not cheap but worth every penny because everything was beautifully cooked & you watch the sun setting as you eat - a superb last evening.
All in all, we had a great holiday - very relaxing & we would happily go back.