Full transparency: Outsite was kind enough to give me a free stay to create this review. I’d never recommend a place I didn’t genuinely love — as always, the experiences and opinions here are 100% my own.
I spent nine days at the Praia do Sul Outsite location in Ericeira, Portugal. It’s a luxurious colive with insane sea views and an infinity pool! The vibes are relaxed, spacious, and upscale. Outsite has coliving spaces around the world – and if you’re looking for a gorgeously designed space for remote workers and digital nomads, their properties are generally stunning.
Each Outsite location is different, so make sure you read reviews for that specific location before booking. You can find my reviews of other Outsite locations here. In general, with Outsite, I’d say you can count on a physically beautiful space that has everything you need to be productive. I’ve never had a WiFi issue at an Outsite property, and there’s always free coffee and laundry on site. Outsite prices can be quite high, so the value can vary based on the location. Where Outsite can improve is fostering community – it can be very hit-or-miss depending on the location and community manager. Community managers are local – which is great in terms of them being able to share local events – but they don’t live on site, so there’s not always much of a community feel and some things can slip through the cracks. Many Outsite locations are also booked through sites like Booking.com and Airbnb, meaning sometimes non-nomads are coming through for a few days at a time.
This was my fourth Outsite stay – I’m a member, and I appreciate the role Outsite plays in the remote work space. It’s great to have beautiful spaces built specifically for coworking and coliving. I’ve met great people through the Outsite community!
The Outsite Praia do Sul Ericeira location is absolutely stunning – a luxurious property with everything you need to be productive. It’s in the hills above Ericeira – about a 15-minute walk to groceries and a 20-minute walk to town. If you don’t want to work on your 🍑, you can rent a car or take a 4-8 EUR Uber up the hill. I’d say it’s worth it for the stunning views of the sea and the infinity pool! Outsite also has a Centro location in the center of Ericeira. I liked the Praia do Sul location because it’s only bookable by Outsite members – and you just can’t beat the views.
I only recommend places I’ve personally vetted – you can read more about what I look for in a coliving space here & find my full list of recommendations (and discounts!) here.
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Ericeira is about a 45-minute drive from Lisbon; you can take an Uber, train, or bus to get here from Lisbon. It’s a coastal town much cooler temperature-wise than Lisbon and a big surf mecca – you’ll find plenty of açai & poke bowls to go along with the beautiful beaches and stunning cliffs. The center of town is pretty small, and has more of a quaint feeling – but with plenty of great restaurants, cafes, and a social digital nomad scene. So if you’re looking for a break from fast-paced city life in Lisbon, or if you just prefer a smaller-town feel with more nature and an active lifestyle, Ericeira is a great place.
Let’s get into it!
Price. I stayed in the cheapest room, the Queen with ensuite bathroom, which is $57.71 per night / $1791 for the month if you have a member discount. Well actually, you have to be a member to stay at this property, so you will have the member discount! If you can swing the extra $500/month for a room with a balcony + sea view, do it – these rooms are insanely gorgeous. I’d say the price is very fair for the quality of this property – it’s a luxurious stay, and you’ll feel like you’re in a fancy hotel, but with the convenience of an Airbnb.
Value. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(5/5)
Bedroom. There are four 4-bedroom Villas directly next to each other (but not connected, which is a bummer – so basically you’ll have 3 housemates instead of 15). Three of the four bedrooms are on the second floor and have balconies; two have balconies facing the sea (trust me, you want that view!). I had the only bedroom on the first floor; it had floor-to-ceiling windows facing the street, with a privacy curtain and automated black-out full shades. You don’t have to worry too much about light when you’re sleeping, but it’s not a great room if you’re a light sleeper and you don’t like to wake up early – you’ll hear folks in the kitchen in the morning, which is also on the first floor. All the rooms are luxurious. You’ll have your own private ensuite bathroom with a great rain shower, one of those fancy light-up mirrors, and heated floors (whatttt). One thing I love about Outsite is the full-size toiletries you get (soap, shampoo, and conditioner). Both the bathroom and your bedroom (and every room in the house) has super easy-to-use bluetooth speakers so you can easily play music from your phone! 🤯 The sea-view rooms also have double sinks, so they’re nice for couples. All the rooms have a TON of storage space, and you’ll also get your own laundry basket and rack for drying clothes. You’ll have a comfy bed, four pillows, a desk + ergonomic chair in your room, nightstand + light, and desk light. Literally everything you could need, and it’s very well-designed for digital nomads and remote workers. You will love the space.
Work space. I mostly worked from the beautiful coworking space on the -1 floor, which has enough desks + ergonomic chairs for everyone in the house, a ping pong table, yoga mats + kettlebells, and floor-to-ceiling sliding doors that open onto the deck. The deck is shared with Outsite Villa B right next door, with a mesh fence between them. On the deck are two sun loungers, an infinity pool + sea views, an umbrella, and a table with four chairs so you can work from the shade by the pool. There’s also a lovely kitchen table on the ground floor you can work from, plus the desk in your room. So you will be spoiled for choice in terms of work spaces.
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Common areas. Outsite Praia do Sul Ericeira is just gorgeous, and there are lots of great common areas in the house. The ground floor has a big kitchen, living room with a comfy couch, and dining room table with comfy chairs. The -1 floor has the beautiful coworking space, another indoor lounging area, ping pong table, yoga mats + kettlebells, and the outdoor deck with the infinity pool, sun loungers, umbrella, and outdoor table. It’s a lot of space for a house with only 4 bedrooms. You’ll never feel claustrophobic, and every day you’ll wake up to incredible views. What’s a bummer is there are 4 villas with 4 bedrooms each, and no shared space between them – so you have 3 housemates instead of 15. Villas A&B and C&D both share a deck – but a mesh fence separates the two. So unless you actually have met/know people in the other villas, you likely won’t hang out with them.
Kitchen/ coffee. One thing I appreciate about Outsite is you always get free coffee included – and it’s always good. This location has a machine to grind your own beans, a coffee maker, and a French press. The kitchen is big and nice, with everything you need, including an induction stove, oven, microwave, toaster, plenty of fridge and pantry space, and a dishwasher. They also provide dish soap and sponges. There is a decent selection of spices, too. It’s quite a new location, so the only area the kitchen is lacking is in terms of some dishware (big glasses) and cooking supplies, like measuring cups. If you love to cook and plan to cook a lot, you might buy something depending on what you like to make. But all the basics are there!
Amenities. Honestly, so many! This is a luxury property based on the infinity pool and views alone – and there’s so much more. Free coffee. Washer + dryer (and clothes racks and laundry bins). Free soap, shampoo, and conditioner. Ping pong table. Yoga mats + kettlebells. Cornhole! Chess. There’s even a printer. Outsite also has a partnership with a local surf school to get a discount on surf lessons. The community manager, Verónica, is really helpful in WhatsApp and shares events around town. Heated bathroom floors?! And each room has built-in bluetooth speakers that easily connect to your phone so you can play music. Bananas.
Location. Ericeira is on the Atlantic coast, about a 45-minute drive from Lisbon. You can rent a car, take an Uber/Bolt, or take the bus or the train from Lisbon. The old center of town is very small, and has lovely small-town quaint vibes. There’s a lot of new development now built up around the town, but it’s still very peaceful. For a small town, there are lots of great restaurants, cafes, and things to do. It’s definitely a surf town – so make sure to take a surf lesson while you’re here! I did a lesson with Outsite’s partner, Surf 365. We had a much smaller group than other surf schools and decent instruction, but our instructor wasn’t very friendly. It’s a very active community, and there are a lot of yoga classes, a skate park, beaches, and trails. If you like small-town vibes with infrastructure and convenience, nature, and being active, you’ll like Ericeira. If you get tired of walking up the hill, you can take an Uber or Bolt, and you can also order food delivery.
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Cleanliness & room cleaning. The common areas are cleaned twice a week, and room cleaning is included once for every 14 days you stay. I definitely would have preferred a room cleaning once a week.
Community management. Verónica is the community manager. She’s very helpful in the WhatsApp group and will share local events. I didn’t meet her during my stay; she usually organized one event per week. While Outsite does physical space very well, they don’t do nearly as good a job of cultivating community. My housemates were lovely fellow nomads, but folks were more doing their own thing and we didn’t hang out together much. There are four separate Villas here, directly next to each other, with four bedrooms each. It feels like a missed opportunity that they’re physically separated – even though each pair of villas share a back deck, they’re separated by a mesh fence. So I only got to say hi to the folks in the other villa when we all happened to be outside at the same time. You’re essentially only hanging out with the 3 other people in your villa.
Members. It was nice that this was a members-only location; everyone was a nomad. Everyone I met at Praia do Sul was really nice, considerate, and fellow digital nomads. There were some shorter stays, and a lot of folks with friends in the area and who were Portugal/Ericeira regulars, which contributed to folks doing their own thing.
Community. ⭐️⭐️⭐️(3/5)
Overall feel. Luxe, spacious, relaxed, chill, sun + surf
This is an absolutely gorgeous property. It’s a great place to come and relax, chill, focus, and be active and productive. I appreciated that this was an Outsite-members-only space, though Outsite doesn’t do much to cultivate/facilitate community, and I didn’t feel a strong sense of community here.
For the quality of the property alone, I think it’s good value for a stay, and I do recommend becoming an Outsite member. I was grandfathered in to lifetime membership (I joined in 2019). Now it’s $150 per year or $399 for a lifetime membership; I’d probably go ahead and get a lifetime membership if you think you’ll stay at a few Outsites over 2+ years. Now that Selina is dissolved, Outsite occupies a unique niche in the nomad community – a global brand with physical colives around the world. I always love supporting boutique colivings run by locals, but Outsite is a great option to have in your repertoire.
Have you stayed at an Outsite? What was your experience like? Let me know if you make it to Ericeira and what you think of the Praia do Sul location! Tell me your thoughts on Instagram @t.prad.
Disclaimer: You’ll find some affiliate links throughout the site – along with real talk about what I do/don’t like about the product/service. I don’t recommend things I don’t like. If you decided to act on my (free!) advice (you’re welcome 💁🏽♀️), this means I’ll get back some coffee money on my efforts – so it’s a great way to show your support for this multicultural creator 🙂
