VILA DO BISPO, Portugal — Follow the scent of woodsmoke along the Costa Vicentina and you may stumble upon Aldeia da Pedralva, a hamlet that not long ago sat silent and shuttered. It is one of several rural settlements across Portugal—Vila do Bispo included—where visionary hoteliers are patching roofs, reglazing windows and, most important, bringing people back. For travelers, these “village hotels” deliver the rare chance to wake up amid cobblestone lanes unchanged for centuries yet equipped with the modern comforts of a boutique stay.