Guest User
October 3, 2023
Please don’t read this review. This hotel is so wonderful that we don’t want you to go there so we can go back ourselves! There are many great hotels but this truly is one of the leading hotels of the world, even if they weren’t part of that association. The staff are wonderful and hand-picked. Most are local to the area, having joined the hotel when it opened in 2016. Some are formal hoteliers with experience in big five star hotel chains in Portugal and abroad. But all are passionate about the Sao Lourenco do Barrocal. Nearly all speak flawless English in addition to Portuguese. I imagine they speak other European languages, too. When you drive into the tree-lined estate, your stress level decreases immediately. We got out of our car to find Gil waiting to unload our belongings into a golf cart while we checked in. Lovely Carolina at reception checked us in and walked us to our room. Housekeeping comes morning and evening and leaves little treats for you. And unlike many hotels, when you open the mini bar it’s all free, included in your room rate. In advance of arrival we had booked our first night dinner. We had had a long day and it was nice to go right to dinner. The concierge is helpful before arrival and sends you a WhatsApp after checkin to offer things to do and check if you need anything. You can then use it whenever you have a question. Our room, a courtyard room with king bed, was very large with a large bathroom with double sinks, tub and separate shower. We ate dinner on two nights in the restaurant. In retrospect we should have booked a pool-side barbecue, but it wasn’t open on our third night, so we had a great dinner in the bar. The veal sandwich, with veal from the estate, was superb. There is a huge selection at breakfast, both from the buffet cooked to order. Great cappuccino, too. Stefan was an attentive server and made the cappuccino to order, easily able to accommodate a preference for almond milk. We had booked an olive oil tasting and it was far better and more interesting than we had expected. Martim, who led it for us, explained the history of the agriculture in the area since megalithic times thru the Roman era and up to the estate’s founding in 1820. We visited the olive press and then sampled three of the estate’s oils. We liked them so much that we shipped six bottles home. We didn’t do a wine tasting, but in three nights tried several wines either by the glass or one night by the bottle at dinner. All were good. They also make a good blonde ale, and the bar has a full selection of cocktails. In October many people sat outside with a drink to watch the sunset! In the morning, keep an eye out for hot air balloons above the vineyard. We saw them two of three mornings. This place was great for us in our 60s, but would be equally good for a truly romantic honeymoon, for families with small children, or early empty nesters. Guests here are from all over. There were couples from Portugal, E