Cocoon Residences

“A residence that became a home for each of us. We built a real family there and will always be grateful to have met them. Thank you for everything. Léa.”

“I was rushing a bit when I booked this place upon my arrival in Portugal and, to be honest, was a bit lazy to check out other places, too. However, looking back to my past two semesters here, I must say that I couldn’t have made a better choice. I had such a great time here!!!
I loved the small town vibe of Parede and being so close to the sea and to Sintra – I think I really made the most out of this awesome location.
Thank you for everything 🙂 All my best.”

“Dear Rita & Paul,
Thank you for the help with my settling into Parede & your Cocoon. The pool was lovely & refreshing, the washing machines are quite awesome and the bed was very comfortable. All the best for the rest of 2023.”

“Dear Rita and Paul! Thank you so much for letting me stay at your house this semester. My time here has really been amazing. I have met great people and had so much fun living here. It has felt like having a little family here and for that I am super grateful. Hug from Jorid”

“Dear Rita and Paul!
I wanted to say a big thank you for introducing me into the Portuguese world. The world I will be missing so much. But it means that I had so many amazing memories here. I will recommend Portugal and Cocoon to every single person I know. My favorite words in Portuguese are:
- bom dia
- frango
- super bock
- obrigado for everything Rita and Paul!!! I wish you all the best.”

“I’m leaving today after staying in this house for 4 months.
People never believed me when I told them that we would have a house with pool for ourselves. But as NOVA people would say – we were the pioneers of this residence.
When I arrived in Portugal, I had a bad experience with another apartment. Rita and Paul were very nice and were trying to help me even though i hadnt even rented a room in this house yet. After seeing this house of course i decided to move in. Everything in here is renovated, painted and decorated with love. Rita goes above and beyond to make people living here feel at home - for example buildung a new grill shortly before my goodbye barbeque. As new Nova students will recognise very soon, studying at Nova means a huge workload. This house provides so many nice areas to study - the terrace, the table next to the pool. the reading room... it mmakes nova life a little easier.
It is not easy getting people in Lisbon to vist Parede but when they see the house they know its a place to have a good time, from german dinners to GOT nights and a bbq, movies and pool I made a lot of memories here. i also loved my room and I am sad to say goodbye but I am sure everyone who comes after will enjoy their stay as much as I have loved it!!
Muito obrigada and all the best to you Rita and Paul!”

“A very pleasant experience and also the first time living alone. Slow pace is a good reason for ‘lazy’ occasionally.
(This girl has fed me so much food. Forever grateful. ♥ Smriti)”

“Dear Rita & Paul,
Thank you very much for the great time in the Cocoon-House. I was pretty excited when I first arrived and worried that I wouldn’t be able to connect. But in the end I got on really well with a lot of my roommates and I was able to make great friends. I will miss my time here very much and will definitely come back again. It’s a great place to meet new people and culture from different countries. Thanks!!!”

“These past 5 months have been very memorable for me and I am so glad to have found a home very far away from home (Singapore). Thank you Rita & Paul, I will miss staying at Cocoon ♥”

“Hi Rita & Paul, Thanks for providing me with an amazing accommodation in the beautiful Lisbon! Loved my time in here & discovering Parade. Thanks again for the help & support.”

“I’m super happy I decided to stay in Cocoon for 4 months!
People I’ve met here were amazing and enriched my Erasmus experience tremendously. I hope I will come to Portugal again and will definitely stop by.
Although we did not have a pool (due to maintenance for a period), the house itself is very cozy.
You can spend your time in common areas, the terrace (it was so lovely to have breakfast outside every morning) or just in the kitchen where everyone gathers just to have fun and catch up about the day. I will miss this a lot!
Thank you for everything!”

“Hello Rita and Paul!
Thank you so much for this incredible experience. I met my lovely roommates here and thanks to you, our friendship will last forever. You are the best landlords in the city. I will miss you and this place.
With love from Italy,
- Cocoon Rebelva -”

“Hello Rita and Paul! Thank you so much for letting me stay at your residence! I have had a great time here and wouldn’t want to stay anywhere else during my time here. I really appreciate the hospitality from Rita, especially the dinner you cooked for us at the start of our stay. I will never forget! Sorry for all the parties and inconveniences with the police! Although it is very hard to resist to have parties at such an amazing house. Hopefully our roads will cross again, because you are amazing people. Love and kind regards.”

“Dear cocooners, Dear Rita, Dear Paul, I was pleased to spend two semesters in this house with amazing facilities. Really enjoyed playing pool and darts in the playing room. Waking up every morning seeing the swimming pool and the sun helped to cope with the high workload of a master in finance at Nova!
Thanks to Paul & Rita for being welcoming with me and quick to answer to any request.
Glad I met great friends here too!
I would definitely recommend it to anyone willing to come and study at Nova (if you have a car or a motorbike especially)!”

“I am unbelievably grateful that I was able to live in Cocoon and meet some of my favorite people. I will never forget my time living here.”

“It was a pleasure being your guest for these 4 months, Thank you for everything you’ve done. It was very important to have someone caring in a foreign country. Best wishes to you and I hope you will successfully develop Cocoon further in the future. All my love.”

“Dear Rita and Paul, I want to thank you for letting me stay in this beautiful house. It has been a wonderful experience abroad as I got to enjoy Portugal with friends made here. All the best for you!”

“A great house that became a home for the Cocoon family. Thanks for everything. Will never forget all the memories I made here. Love, Elisa.”

“Very thankful for the people I met during my time @cocoon. I will happily look back on the memories I’ve made with them. Thank you so much for making this place feel like a home ♥”

“Apparently Felix asked me 5 times….. Hereby once again many thanks for the stay again (for the 3rd time!!) Best Regards and comprimentos a todos!”

“I’ve really appreciated & loved my time (~2 years!!!) at the Cocoon – It allowed and helped me to evolve & hatch into a new stage of my life.
Thank you Rita & Paul for everything! You are both amazing.
Best wishes to you.”

“I am definitely going to miss the lazy days by the pool. I have had a great time in the house. Thank you for this pleasant experience!”

“Thank you for everything! My time in Lisbon was lovely and I wished it was longer! And Cocoon certainly played a part in that so again thank you very much!”

“Hi Rita and Paul, Thank you so much for being so welcoming and making sure we all had a great experience abroad! I really enjoyed my time here and had so much fun meeting everyone. I loved my time in Portugal and I can't wait to come back! Thank you again for all of your help and support.”

“What a country!
What a beach!
What a university!
What a House!
What a SEMESTER!!!
Thank you for this nice experience here in Portugal that you were a part of it! Cocoon became a home for me with all these interesting and nice roommates. I will keep that semester in my heart forever.
Kind regards.”

“This was my first experience in Europe and it could not have been better. I loved living at Cocoon. Met some amazing people here. I am an introvert & love to stay indoors & yet I fell in love with this city. It has a charm that pulls you out (mostly good weather xD).
Thank you for being so nice, Rita. Always there to help 🙂
I will be back to Lisbon soon. See you then!
As Alejandro always says, it's a vibe.
P.S. The TV in the living room was used the most by me as a record.”

“Such a good experience at Cocoon Residence! It was great. The house is beautiful as well as the facilities. Thank you so much.”

“Thank you Rita & Paul! The last 6 months has been amazing. Cocoon residence has been a warm and comfortable home away from home with many new friends made. Will definitely be missing this amazing experience ♥”

“The last few months at Cocoon have been truly amazing. Thanks for everything Rita & Paul. You have been great, all the best to you and your family.”

“Going to miss all those amazing days and nights! From going out to lazy days at the pool and endless movie nights. A house but as well a second home with the most amazing Cocoon family in the world.”

“Dear Rita, It was lovely to be one of your cocooners, thank you for always making it easy for us and for caring in not so easy periods. I enjoyed a lot my experience here, beautiful country with beautiful people, sadly every good thing has an end. I will leave this home but all the good memories will stay forever in my heart, I'm leaving grateful and blessed. Thank you for everything ❤️❤️❤️!!”

“Hello Rita & Paul, Thank you so much for the experience!! Had an really nice time”

“Unforgettable experience living in Portugal for three months!
Life in there is enjoyable, quiet but you don’t need to worry about the safety.
You have enough space for yourself to get along with, to think about life, the past and the future.
Rita is an excellent landlord! Although she nearly earns no profit from us, she still does her best to provide help and service to rent the house in best condition.
Ann is a nice roommate. With her company, it is also more fun to improve our cooking skills these months.
She leads me to know more things being in Europe.
Thanks to Portugal, I become brave enough to see the outside world on my own and change to another way to take things into consideration. I hesitated to come there at first. But luckily I don’t regret the experience in Parede. My trip is coming to an end. Thanks to all the new things I met here.
I wish I would come for the next time and it will be better at that time.”

“5 months flew by like nothing. The overall experience in this house was great, especially the fact that the house is fully furnished including the kitchen. I will never forget my time here.”

“Hello Rita and Paul! We want to thank you for welcoming us to your residence, for making us feel at home, and for placing your trust in us. The truth is that house will remain in the memory of our Erasmus stay in Portugal, along with all the experience we had. Thanks for everything.”

“Hello Rita & Paul, Thank you so much for the experience!! Had an amazing time which will be remembered forever. Felt like I had a whole new family for my time here. Pura Vida.”

“A cocoon is a place where you enter a snail and leave a butterfly. Thank you Rita. Be well. I will never forget this place.”

“I had a great time at Cocoon Residences and will think back on it with a lot of pleasure. This place really felt like a home, especially because of the other Cocooners. Thanks for the time here! A lot of memories were created here that stay in my heart.”

“Hi Rita and Paul,
Thank you for providing me with an amazing place to stay these past few months, it truly helped foster a great experience living in Portugal and truly one I will never forget!”

“Dear Rita and Paul,
Even if I stayed only half a year, I really enjoyed the stay and it made a lot of fun with living with so many international flatmates. Even if sometimes there are some differences, at the end it all comes back together. Really appreciate your effort in making us feel like a "real" home.
In Germany we say: you always see twice in life!
So thank you again and wish you all the best. See you around.”

“Hello Rita and Paul,
My stay at this home was incredible and memorable. At the same time, it was a hard time for myself. It was a process of self-discovery and self-awareness. I made friends who I will take with me to the rest of my life. Friends who I can trust on hard times.
Thank you for this amazing time.”

“Dear Rita, dear Paul,
It was a pleasure staying at the Cocoon. A place to meet amazing people and spend a great time. Loved the 5 months here. I wish you all the best!”

“Dear Cocoon, Thank you for all the good memories and moments spent together, it's been a long journey 🙂 I feel much grateful for all the nice people I met here, from August to June, and I would definitely re-do all this again. Thank you to all the roommates for making my stay fun and enjoyable, special mention to Lorenzo and Sara 🙂 A presto!”

“Thanks for everything and I appreciate the stay. Good Landlords and great service. I liked the BBQ you organised and provided me with all the info needed. Thanks a lot!!! PS Great conversations we had about our future.”

“Dear Rita & Paul, It was a pleasant stay at Cocoon for the past 5 months.
I am glad to have made friends at this residence whom I will keep in touch with & build many more memories together.
The house is beautifully decorated and has a touch of home, making us feel welcome, comfortable and at home.
You have an amazing house and the highlight is the pool, of course.
Thank you for allowing me to stay at your wonderful abode.”

“I enjoyed the Cocoon residence very much! I made friends for life and memories I will never forget!
Thank you Rita for always helping us when we needed something!”

“I am grateful I coould live in this house and meet wonderful people! Thank you Rita.”