Riverside Estate on the Arade River, Silves, with AL License, 8 Suites and Heated Pool

Palm trees over a heated pool, the Arade River flowing somewhere below the orange grove and eight en-suite bedrooms around all of this. This licensed riverside estate, between Silves and the Arade Dam, is being sold as an operating business, fully equipped, with capacity for sixteen guests and confirmed bookings for 2027 already in the pipeline. It's almost seven in the morning and the mist still hangs over the water. You descend through the orange trees to the yoga deck, close enough to the river to hear the current, and for twenty minutes nothing else exists in the Algarve. Guests almost all say the same thing on arrival: it looks like Bali. Green, wood, water everywhere, and a silence the coast doesn't have. By eleven o'clock there will be sixteen people around the pool and the house will have a different sound. By late afternoon there's space to gather fifty people in the same place, with the outdoor bar open and the barbecue lit, on a night that guests still remember long after they return home. The property occupies one of the rarest plots ever licensed right next to the Arade River, between the historic city of Silves and the Arade Dam. The waterway runs through the property itself, and that's what gives it privacy: valley on all sides, no through traffic, no neighbours within earshot. Built in 2007 and completely renovated, with work completed in 2024, it currently operates as a licensed Local Accommodation, rented in its entirety to groups of up to sixteen people. Interior Eight double bedrooms, all en-suite, with air conditioning and heating, most with private balconies. A ninth bedroom adds a treatment room, an office or staff accommodation, depending on how you want to manage the house. Nine bathrooms in total, in 450 m² of built area, with finishes designed to receive guests week after week. Behind the guest area is what most retreat houses lack: a professional kitchen prepared to serve a full house and an independent laundry dimensioned for rotation. Whoever takes over this estate can receive without improvising. The common room is the meeting point at the end of the day and accommodates sixteen people comfortably. Exterior This is where the Bali comparison comes from. The land is organized as a collection of distinct spaces rather than a single garden, in wood, vegetation and water instead of grass and pavement. Heated pool with surrounding deck. Outdoor sauna and jacuzzi for the wellness component. Outdoor kitchen with barbecue for long evenings. Decks distributed by zone, so a yoga session, a family lunch and someone reading alone can happen at the same time. And the yoga deck, right above the river, which is the most photographed element by guests. The orange grove descends to the water. The urban plot has 700 m², plus 4,470 m² of rustic land with citrus grove, arable farming and the riverbed, totalling 5,170 m². Live and operate at the same time One of the floors can be reserved as the owner's private residence, keeping the rest of the house in operation. It appeals to those who want the income without handing over the entire property to guests, or to those who want to be present and host personal retreats personally rather than hiring someone to do so. Location Silves and its castle are about ten minutes away, close enough for an evening in the historic centre and far enough to hear nothing. The Arade Dam, with river beach and canoeing, is just a few minutes up the valley. The coast is the part that surprises: Ferragudo, Carvoeiro and the beaches of the centre and windward side are less than half an hour away. Faro Airport is about fifty minutes away. Wine estates, the Monchique mountains and four golf courses are within easy reach and already form part of the house's offer. Features 8 double bedrooms, all en-suite, with air conditioning and heating, most with private balconies, plus a ninth multipurpose bedroom 9 bathrooms, 450 m² of built area (395 m² private, 55 m² dependent) Urban plot of 700 m² and rustic plot of 4,470 m², 5,170 m² in total Riverine frontage on the Arade River, with the waterway crossing the land Yoga deck over the river, heated pool, outdoor sauna, jacuzzi, wooden decks Professional kitchen and independent laundry, sized for a full house Outdoor kitchen with barbecue, decks distributed by zones Common room, citrus grove, open valley views Construction from 2007, complete renovation completed in 2024 Licensed Local Accommodation, operating as private group rental and retreat space, capacity for 16 people Possibility to privatize one floor as owner's residence while maintaining operation Energy Certificate C Sale as an operating unit, fully equipped, with 2027 bookings in portfolio Note on the business This is an operating unit, in its second year of operation, not an empty house with an attached license. Occupancy rates, operating history and future booking data available to qualified buyers, subject to NDA. The AL registration is held by the operating company, and the structure of the operation, asset or quota sale, remains open for analysis with respective advisors. Riverine land on the Arade doesn't appear on the market. A licensed, renovated and operating version appears even less. Schedule a visit.