As soon as we entered the house and greeted the hostess, she took us out on the terrace and showed us the wonderful view from there. One could see all the castles from the property. After that we sat down in the living room where she gave us information about the different castles and gardens in Sintra. We did not have to go to the tourist office because the house served as that as well as a guest house. The hostess was warm and easy to approach as we asked her for recommendations on restaurants and beaches.
The house is very charming. I assumed we booked the last two-person room since we could not choose a room with one double bed, but it was not a big problem for us. The room we got was old fashioned but charming. The only downside was the shower which is placed on an inconvenient position so that the shower hose was dangling a bit on the middle of the tub when the shower head is hung on the wall. Once again, that was not a big problem for us.
Breakfast at Santa Maria Casa Nostra was one of the best I have had in Portugal. Breakfast was served out on the terrace, with the garden view and the different castles in the background. Breakfast consists of a lot of delicious home made food and some fruits from their own garden. We got freshly plucked figs and strawberries! I felt as if I was being served in the house of a rich aunt; it is far away, yet a bit personal.
We probably bugged our hostess with questions about recommendations and information, but she was always approachable and nice. On our second day, when we got back in our room from sightseeing almost the whole day, we found a plate of grapes on our bedside table. The grapes were very good. We assumed (and was right about it) that it came from the vineyard in the neighborhood. The next day, we found out that the vineyard is also owned by the hostess. Repeating what I wrote earlier, the whole experience was like visiting a rich aunt in the countryside. :)
They have a good space for parking, but the entrance to the property is a bit narrow so be careful. There is an outside pool by the garden, but we did not have time to test it. The owner has a big dog, a golden retriever called "Bennie" (I am not sure about the spelling). He is such an adorable dog, so there is nothing to be scared of. He mostly goes around the property or sleeps on the ground (lucky dog). One might find him by the entrance door, sleeping heavily.:)
Although we had a short stay we had a very good experience at Santa Maria Casa Nostra. I recommend to stay at the house while in Sintra. I will surely stay here again if I come back to Sintra.

The hostess was very helpful with tourist information and suggestions for dinner. Breakfast was served on a delightful terrace with a view of the monuments. However the apartment was lacking in basic items. For example, it had wine glasses but no bottle opener. There was no where to place bags in the bedroom