PORTUGAL
YES CHEF: FROM FOODIES TO LOVERS
PORTUGAL LOTTERY CLOSED!
Thank you to all those who took the time to apply! Acceptance emails are being emailed starting Friday March 6th. Everyone will be notified via email when the guest list is finalized. We appreciate your patience!
Thursday Sept 3 - Thursday Sept 10
Lisbon, Portugal + Alenquer Wine Region
What’s Included?
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7-night stay: 3 nights at a boutique hotel in Lisbon and 4 nights at our private countryside villa in Alenquer (wine country just outside the city). Pricing varies based on room and bed configuration.
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Roundtrip private bus transportation from Lisbon to Alenquer, plus roundtrip transport for our half-day excursion to Óbidos.
Guests will need to arrange their own transportation to/from Lisbon.
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Daily breakfast, four dinners, and three lunches included. Snacks and non-alcoholic beverages provided during our villa stay. We’ll coordinate all dietary restrictions and preferences in advance. Please Note: Gluten-free and vegan diets are more difficult (but not impossible) to accommodate in Portugal.
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Our retreat book pick, Yes Chef by Grace Reilly, will be mailed to you about six weeks before our departure, along with a welcome box of goodies themed around our book retreat!
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Pre-planned excursions, games and group activities (see more details below) to connect with attendees. But don’t worry - there will be plenty of reading time!
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Access to a WhatsApp group and a pre-retreat Zoom call so everyone can connect before departure.
Not included: Flights to/from Lisbon and airport transfers.
Two Destinations, One Unforgettable Journey
PART 1
Lisbon
SEPTEMBER 3-6, 2026
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Check-in
Welcome meeting
(Optional add on: sunset cruise) -
Breakfast at hotel
Free morning: Explore the local shops, read at a local cafe, or visit one of Lisbon’s many beautiful museums.
Lisbon Food Tour (group activity)
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Breakfast at hotel
Guided Bookstore Walk
Pastel de Nata Baking Class -
Breakfast at hotel
Check-out & depart for the villa!
Private chef dinner at villa
Your journey begins with three nights in one of Europe’s most charming literary and foodie cities. This part of the trip is all about wandering colorful cobblestone streets, browsing historic bookshops, savoring unforgettable meals, and soaking up the magic of Lisbon before we retreat to wine country for a slower, more intimate chapter of the week.
Hotel Details
Our Lisbon stay will be at the Lisboa Prata Boutique Hotel, a beautifully renovated 18th-century building that preserves its original charm. Located in the heart of Baixa Pombalina, the hotel is within walking distance of Lisbon’s most iconic sights, historic bookshops, and incredible dining. With stunning tile panels and thoughtfully preserved architecture, it’s the perfect blend of character and modern comfort in the middle of the city.
Retreat pricing includes one twin bed in a shared hotel room with one other retreat guest. Prefer your own space? A limited number of solo rooms (with one queen bed) are available for an additional $250 at checkout.
PART 2
Alenquer
SEPTEMBER 6-10, 2026
After Lisbon, we’ll travel together to a private countryside villa outside the city for four nights of relaxation, connection, and cozy bookish moments.
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Check-in to the villa
Private chef dinner -
Relaxing day at the villa. Optional add-ons include spa treatments and a wine excursion.
Private chef dinner
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Breakfast
Daytrip excursion to Óbidos, a UNESCO-designated Literary Town (transportation provided)
Lunch not includedDinner at a local restaurant near the villa
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Optional morning yoga
Book Club discussion
Free day: Relax by the pool, craft & bedazzle to your hearts content, explore a local winery
Private chef dinner
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Breakfast
Check-out and head back to Lisbon!
Villa Details
Nestled in the wine country of Alenquer, this luxury modern villa has been thoughtfully designed to be your perfect home away from home and an idyllic setting for our reading retreat abroad. With elegant furnishings that blend contemporary style and classic comfort, each space invites you to curl up with a book and savor the quiet.
Surrounded by nature and tranquil landscapes, the villa offers several cozy lounge and bar areas, a fire pit perfect for evening stories, two dining spaces for relaxed conversation, plus a beautiful swimming pool and garden with plenty of room to stretch out with your favorite reads all day.
Retreat Book Pick
Yes, Chef by Grace Reilly
If you can’t take the heat…get out of the kitchen. Jack, a down-on-his-luck chef and Poppy, a determined social media maven, strike a reluctant deal to bring a beloved restaurant back to life. As sparks fly both in and out of the kitchen and tensions reach a boiling point, Poppy and Jack are left wondering--could they be a perfect pairing? Or is this whole experiment a recipe for disaster?
We will send all guests a copy of Yes, Chef prior to the retreat. Retreat will feature a guided book club discussion for Yes, Chef, as well as an intimate author chat with Grace Reilly!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Each lottery will be open for 72 hours. Fill out the form with your basic info, room preferences, and if you’re booking with someone. If selected, you’ll get a personal email from us within 48 hours of the lottery closing with a private booking link.
You will have 3 days to book, after which we will move on to the next name on the list.
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The retreat page has multiple direct link buttons to the lottery application form, which you need to fill out in full.
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In our efforts to balance returning guest interest while allowing new guests opportunities to come, we have two separate lottery drawings.
50% of spots go to new guests and 50% of spots go to returning guests
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When filling out the form, there is a question that asks if you are signing up with anybody else. Make sure to fill it out with the person’s details you'd like to register with. If either of you are selected, both of you will be invited to attend!
We recommend all people in your party fill out an application to increase your odds.
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At this time, we don’t directly offer a payment plan for our retreats. However, Klarna is one of our payment options when you go to select your payment type at checkout
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Flights are not included to/from Lisbon. You are responsible for booking your own flights from your home city to Lisbon.
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No, guests are responsible to get themselves from the Lisbon airport to the hotel. Ubers and taxis are inexpensive in Portugal and what we recommend.
We will have a group chat where guests will be able to coordinate arrival times and rideshares if wanted! -
The meals that aren’t included are dinner on the first night and lunches on exploration days where guests will have the option to explore on their own and choose how they’d like to spend that portion of the day.
We leave these times open-ended so guests can explore at their leisure. However, we will provide recommendations and curated local suggestions for these meals!
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We are requiring all guests to purchase travel insurance for this trip. This will ensure you are protected in case of illness, natural disasters, family emergencies, flight delays, or government-related crises.
Our recommendations are World Nomads or Seven Corners Travel Insurance.
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Both Boutique Book Retreats co-founders Lauren and Tiina will be guiding the trip, along with an assistant. We have personally traveled to Portugal numerous times and have stayed in both Lisbon and Alenquer. You are in great hands!
Have More Questions?
Fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you shortly!