about us

from beginnings to business

CasaTrigoso is a very small mother-daughter business operation that started out rather haphazardly in Lagos over some glasses of wine. Faced with the ever-increasing urgency of renovation work on our family holiday home of over sixty years, and the frightening amount of money necessary to complete it, we decided to try our hand at renting out two holiday apartments in the house. So we enlisted the help of family and friends for some basic DIY renovation, and after multiple trips to IKEA, meetings with local contractors, hours on the internet setting up our ads, we sat back and waited for bookings.

What started off as a spontaneous experiment turned into - dare we say it? - an actual business. So far we've hosted hundreds guests and have learned much about vacation rentals as well as the kind of accommodation we're eager to provide. We like to think our apartments are cozy and homey, and want guests to feel at home as much as possible. The apartments are very dear to us and hold many memories, and we'd love for guests to care for them as much as we do, and perhaps to make some memories of their own.

The mother (Maria) is in charge of things ‘on the ground’ and lives between Lisbon and Lagos with her dog, Canita. The daughter (Rosa) is in charge of the backoffice side of things and is based in the Netherlands. We are helped locally by many people, in particular Emília who helps run the place and keep everything going smoothly.

the house and Senhor Trigoso

The house dates back from the 1930s when Senhor Zé Trigoso (father and grandfather) decided he wanted to move his family from Lisbon to Lagos which, at that time, was very far away from what Lisbonites would consider the civilised world. Not content with being far from the capital, Senhor Trigoso chose to buy a plot of land away from what was then the town of Lagos, in a largely uninhabited area by Praia da Dona Ana. Those were the days of long donkey-rides into town, fishermen coming to the house to sell their daily catch, and the quiet tranquility of being the only house on Dona Ana beach. 

Over the years, the town grew and the roads were paved, and Praia da Dona Ana became a popular spot for locals and visitors alike. Senhor Trigoso also renovated and enlarged the house to fit the ever-growing family, as well as the many friends who would come to stay. In 1965, he built what we are now renting as the two-bedroom apartment, and after he became a widower in 1969, he built a small apartment for himself which he used to call ninho d'águia, and is what we now rent out as the one-bedroom apartment. 

He loved Lagos, Praia da Dona Ana, and he loved the house. Senhor Trigoso died in 1998, and CasaTrigoso is very much our tribute to him and our way of continuing to give life to the house he so enjoyed.