Estoi Palace (Portuguese: Palácio de Estoi), also known as Casa de Estói, Quinta de Estói, and Quinta do Carvalhal, and originally as Jardim de Estoy, is a historic building located near the town of Estói, in the municipality of Faro, in the Algarve region of Portugal. Part of the Estoi Palace complex is occupied by a hotel. It is considered one of the Algarve's main monuments due to its architectural and decorative richness, combining elements of Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, and Romantic styles. It has been classified as a Property of Public Interest.
The Estoi Palace complex is large in size and consists of two main components: an old manor house and the gardens. The manor house consists of several sections, roughly forming a U-shaped structure, with the Jardim do Carrascal at the center. It is primarily in the Italian Baroque style, with various elements in other styles. This variety of styles and forms does not always result in a harmonious combination, creating inconsistencies between the elements and resulting in arrangements that could almost be considered kitsch.
Inside, there are several richly ornamented and furnished rooms, decorated in the French style of the 18th century. One of the most prominent areas of the palace is the chapel, which features a bell tower and a Louis XV-style interior, with a tiled ceiling and painted roof. The extensive gardens are organized on three levels and are partially combined with various areas for agricultural production. This area is also richly decorated with exotic trees, sculptures, and tiles, mainly in the Baroque style. Among the most outstanding elements are an 18th-century nativity scene, the sculpture of the Three Graces, made in Pisa, the Ossónoba Fountain set, and two sculptures of shepherds in Carrara marble. On the third floor, the two belvederes, decorated with paintings by Francisco Sousa Alves, are also noteworthy. The tiles in the gardens include polychrome panels on the middle level and blue and white panels by José Maria Pereira Junior on the upper level.
The palace has its origins in an 18th-century Quinta founded by Marshal Francisco de Pereira Coutinho, who was connected to the high nobility and was probably inspired by the National Palace of Queluz. The Quinta was built during a period of great economic and social change in the region, with bourgeois families gaining power in the urban centers, relegating the old noble families to their estates in the interior of the Algarve. Construction of the palace itself did not begin until the mid-19th century, by his son, Fernando de Carvalhal e Vasconcelos, who may have been influenced by the Pena Palace in Sintra. However, he died before the work was completed, and it was taken over by his brother Luís Filipe do Carvalhal, who also died before the palace was finished. The property therefore passed to his younger brother, José Maria Pereira do Carvalhal, and then to his sisters. The property remained abandoned until the 1890s when it was bought by José Francisco da Silva, who restarted the work. The palace was inaugurated in May 1909, in a grand event that lasted three days. José Francisco da Silva died in 1926, and the palace then passed through several owners, leading to its progressive degradation. Despite being classified as a Property of Public Interest in 1977, the first steps towards restoring the palace were only taken at the end of the 1980s when it was acquired by the municipality of Faro. The monument underwent extensive conservation work throughout the 1990s, and during that time, plans began to be made to convert it into a guesthouse, as a way of promoting its profitability. In 2003, work began on adapting it into a guesthouse, which was inaugurated at Easter 2009.
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