A new off-grid rural tourism lodge in Portugal has opened in Odemira, combining sustainability with luxurious living.
Owners and developers Alastair Leithead and Ana Leithead Spross use the term “eco-luxe” to describe Vale das Estrelas, or Valley of the Stars.
The couple – a former BBC foreign correspondent and a Swedish diplomat who is half Portuguese – moved to Alentejo and started planning their project during COVID, and have now opened for guests.
Their property wasn’t connected to the municipal grid whenthey bought it, and so expanding it into a tourist lodge for up to 20 people meant installing dozens of solar panels, Portuguese-made lithium batteries and a high-tech water purification and treatment system.
The project was supported by Turismo de Portugal and the lodge is now entirely powered by the sun and relies on rain capture and mineral boreholes for drinking water.
“The biggest challenge was definitely the off-grid infrastructure,” said Ana Leithead Spross.
More than 8.5km of pipes and hundreds of metres of electricity cables connect the buildings.
“Eco-luxe combines sustainability and luxury, providing an off-grid experience without compromising comfort, and our modern Alentejo style might trick guests into thinking we have endless supplies of power and water,” she said.
But both are limited, and guests can use their stay to learn more about sustainable living.
Power use is gamified and five minute egg timers in every bathroom suggest to visitors just how long the perfect hot water saving shower should be.
All the waste water from the four apartments and three en suite rooms is treated and recycled for irrigation for 250 olive trees and the small vineyard which is being planted as part of their efforts to put wine and storytelling at the heart of the business.
The project began four years ago with the cutting down a eucalyptus forest at the head of a valley the couple named after the dark skies and views of the Milky Way which gave them great views by night and by day.
Vale das Estrelas is close to the beaches of Zambujeira-do-Mar and the town of São Teotónio, but the countryside view as far as Fóia mountain in the Algarve makes it appear more remote than it is.
“It was the view we fell in love with,” said Alastair Leithead, who also works as a freelance journalist and produces a podcast with his wife call Ana & Al’s Big Portuguese Wine Adventure.
“There are so many amazing stories to tell about Portugal – and it’s nice to tell them through wine, rather than war as I did during my 25 years at the BBC.”
Valley of the Stars is also using a new long distance WiFi technology called Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) to monitor and control the water systems.
“We hadn’t done anything like this before and besides the construction, the project management and the bureaucracy, we needed to bring all the various experts together ourselves to develop the most reliable system,” said Ana.
Water, electrical, solar and heat pump specialists and engineers all contributed to the project, but the only people with the total off-grid picture were the owners.
“We’ve learned so much about sustainability and keeping the systems operational and love to share our knowledge with our guests,” Alastair added.
Alastair Leithead writes a regular blog about their adventures called Off-Grid and Ignorant in Portugal. Vale das Estrelas is 1.5hrs from Faro and 2.5hrs from Lisbon
Photos taken by:
@ciajensen
