Review of Farol Design Hotel, by Sue Carpenter

It's a daring concept at the Farol Design Hotel in Cascais, Portgual: take a whitewashed 19th-century estalagem (a hostel or inn) on a crag of coast and build on a modern wing. Kit out the entire place in the contemporary design idiom with bold colours, cube furniture and artistic lighting to get the overall effect.

The minimalism turned out not to be scary, but breezy and funky, with the original building (tall ceilings, curvaceous doorways, wood floors) and some old furniture (a Venetian mirror, mismatched chairs upholstered in scarlet velvet or raspberry damask) balancing the modern touches. There is a wonderful flow of space and light, and your eye is automatically led through double doors and wafting curtains to the azure sea. Parchment lampshades soften the primary colours into a chic golden-rouge glow at night.

The facilities

The setting of the Farol Design Hotel is fabulous, on a rocky stretch of coast beyond the lighthouse of Cascais. Reclining on a bed by the saltwater pool or in one of the private nooks on the rocks, gazing at the sky and sea, you are soon overtaken by a sense of well-being. At sunset, we dined al fresco in their gourmet restaurant, watching Queen Mary II sail past and a biplane do a vertical climb and then plummet - before flying on to wow more tourists in Lisbon. The Med/fusion cuisine was delicious, if erring on the side of nouvelle (over-elaborate, compact portions). Our fellow guests were predominantly Spanish and British 30-something couples. There's also a sushi bar, a terrace bar, and their nightclub, Nuts, next door.

The rooms

Of the 33 rooms in the Farol Design Hotel, the individual ones (created by top fashion designers) with sea views are the best (206 is the honeymoon suite), while sea-facing rooms in the eaves also have a lot of character. The new wing contains both standard and designer rooms. These rooms are more boxy and spartan, but with a picture window onto the rocks and sea, you're drawn to the external rather than the internal vista. My bed was very comfy and a fold-up bed arrived promptly for my young daughter.

All in all, a winner.