About us
Who are we?
We are Maarten and Celina Schiphorst-Ongenae from the Netherlands who opened a Boutique Hotel in the eastern Algarve in the summer of 2025. Celina is a true Brabanter and Maarten worked for more than 40 years for the municipalities of Aalsmeer and Amstelveen. Our three sons, their girlfriends and grandchildren live in Amsterdam.
Guests bring excitement into our retired life. How nice it is to let our friends, family and guests from all over the world enjoy the Mediterranean life here in Portugal! Maarten regularly (often Indonesian) cooks for our guests.
Photo: in the background the town of Olhao with a small harbor
How did this happen?
Coincidentally, while on vacation in the east of the Algarve, our eye fell on this plot of land with an old Portuguese cottage on it near the village of Moncarapacho.
We were immediately enthusiastic about the location, the view of the Atlantic Ocean and the possibility to build there. The plan to build three rental accommodations, a pool, and a pétanque court after retirement was born!
Photo: old Portuguese cottage (Casa Pauline) before renovation
Volunteer work
Besides our hobbies such as reading, gardening, yoga, computing, cooking, Portuguese lessons and enjoying good food and drink, each of us is involved in volunteer work in our own way.
Rotary
Maarten has been involved through his membership with International Rotary in the Seahorse project and other initiatives. The seahorses live in the lagoons and were once the largest population here in the nature park of the Ria de Formosa. Unfortunately, the population has drastically decreased. It's nice to be able to contribute to this project as a volunteer. Read more in our blog seahorses.
Photo: winter carnival in Moncarapacho
Casa do Povo
Celina did volunteer work in the center of the village of Moncarapacho. And indeed at Casa do Povo or “the house of the people”. A lot of attention is given to the older people in the village who are often lonely.
During the week you can participate in a variety of activities at Casa do Povo. These range from Portuguese conversation classes, Somatics, yoga, senior gym, tap dancing to midday meals.
On Sunday afternoons, there is plenty of dancing, eating by the Portuguese but also by visitors from outside. In the summer, various festivals are also organized. And there is both a summer carnival and a winter carnival!
Open summer 2025
We started construction in March 2024 and in May 2025 the construction was finished! Would you like to experience what eastern Algarve has to offer yourself?
Then you can book a holiday accommodation with us from now on. For rates and availability you can inquire about the options via this link to check the possibilities.
Photo: May 2025 Boutique Hotel Guesthouse-Moncarapacho
Photo: August 2025 Boutique Hotel Guesthouse-Moncarapacho
Digital guide
Every future guest receives, after booking a stay with us, a link with all activities and sights. This way you can comfortably view at home where your interests lie. Let us know when you know what you want to do, and we will take care of the rest!
This is our own website with the best price. Click here for our accommodations or ask us your question.
