Admittedly the spell had been cast an hour or so earlier, on the drive along the Unesco-protected coast road and up through the Serra de Sintra where, rising out of the mist, fairytale castles and gothic-style villas compete for attention with Moorish and Indian-style palaces.

Much loved by kings, poets and artists, it's easy to see why Sintra remains a very popular tourist attraction.

The same goes for the pretty fishing village of Caiscais, the stylish beach resort of Estoril with Europe's largest casino, and the Moorish walled city of Obidos, to mention just a few of the many tourist attractions apart from the fabulous beaches, golf courses and world heritage sites that dot the countryside within a short drive of CampoReal, a new luxury residential resort in Portugal.

Once the hunting ground of royalty and now an awardwinning development, Campo Real is situated on 197 acres of rural land just 30 minutes north of Lisbon and 15 minutes from the coast.

When completed in early 2008, the development will consist of 168 apartments, 116 townhouses and 88 villas.

More importantly for overseas investors, CampoReal will also be home to Portugal's first Westin Hotel and Spa, an 18-hole golf course (taking up over half of the resort), swimming pools, tennis courts, a conference centre and an equestrian centre.

Amenities at the 150-room Westin Hotel and Spa include hydrotherapy pool, beauty and health treatments as well as indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, restaurants, bars and children's facilities. The townhouses and apartments will, in effect, have room service at the hotel and can have their breakfast, lunch or dinner served to them, availing of the hotel's facilities as normal guests.

The golf course and equestrian centre are already up and running and proving major new attractions for the area, as is the club house.

Designed by Donald Steel, the CampoReal golf course has been built with the natural surroundings in mind and includes excellent training and learning facilities, with several professionals onsite.

With prices rising in the Algarve, investors and tourists alike have begun to look around for better value for money in Portugal and a number of areas around the attractive capital, Lisbon, are starting to become the new property hotspots.

With a short flight time of just two hours and with the number of direct daily flights to Lisbon from Dublin about to increase from three to five a week, the region will be even more accessible for Irish investors and tourists.

Portuguese property developer Turcifez is marketing these properties as "the real Portugal" at affordable prices. For those who are familiar with the Pine Cliffs development in the Algarve, CampoReal will operate on a similar basis and to a similar standard but with a much lower entry level.

"A luxury two-bed apartment with five-star fitout sells for about 330,000, one-beds start from 240,000 including fitout and three bed townhouses start at 445,000 including fitout. These prices make them about 50% cheaper than similar homes in the south, " explains David McCarthy of McCarthy and Associates.

Although more affordable, CampoReal is very definitely an upmarket, exclusive development. The units are attractively laid out in several blocks around the golf course.

The interiors are modern and stylish with traditional Portuguese terracotta roof and external finishes and a choice of wooden floors and marble surfaces for the interior.

The final phase of Select units has 16 three-bed townhouses with pool and 15 apartments (12 two-beds and three one-beds). All the units are very spacious . . . three bed townhouses span 160 square metres, two-bed apartments are 110 square metres and one-bed are 80 square metres. The final buy-to-let apartment block is located close to the hotel complex.

The townhouses also have good-sized swimming pool, garden and private terraces.

All the units are welldesigned with open-plan living dining areas, separate kitchen, en suite bathrooms with shower and bath and fitted wardrobes.

According to McCarthy, owners have the added assurance that their investment will reap the benefit of the experience, professionalism and "marketing clout" Westin can bring to promoting their properties as holiday rental homes.

As well as being part of a Westin resort with the marketing and brand loyalty of the Starwood Preferred Guests programme, investors are being offered 6% net guaranteed rental for two years for the townhouses and 5% net guaranteed rental income for three years for the apartments. After this time, Westin projects that investors will continue to achieve the same rental income, although it could go slightly higher.

Costs associated with buying in Portugal are low because it's within the eurozone, and mortgages of 70% are obtainable through Barclays in Portugal. McCarthy and Associates can arrange inspection trips and provide a list of reputable legal representatives. There is a double taxation agreement with Portugal and buyers should always seek the advice of their own accountant and solicitor.

Investors will mainly be interested in the buy to let or select units. Since the launch in 2004, Irish investors have bought 90 units at the development and the final phase of 31 units are expected to be highly soughtafter, according to Irish selling agent McCarthy.

"Irish interest in the last phase of 16 townhouses was exceptional; we sold all the units within six months.

Because it is so much more accessible, yet more peaceful than the Algarve, both international and local demand for property at CampoReal is already high.

"A big plus for investors is guaranteed rental income.

The addition of six weeks per annum own-usage and the fact that you can opt out of the rental pool after five years, increasing the resell possibilities, are also attractive bonuses."