Quinta Vale da Roca

Loved this place. The view is incredible, and the area and pool are nice. There's a good spa and a very good breakfast, with wine tastings available too. Good restaurants are in the next village, just a few minutes' drive away, and there are nice areas nearby for hiking.

We had a reservation for three nights, but the place was completely locked down when we arrived. Not a soul anywhere. There was a locked security gate on the road into the grounds, so I had to climb over it to get in. I walked around the buildings twice, knocked on several doors, and even checked the wine-making shed in case someone was working there. No luck. There was a blue Volkswagen golf and a white cargo van by the wine shed, but nobody around. Honestly, this seemed like a side gig, not a real hotel. A very unprofessional operation. It's also very remote and not close to anything. If you want seclusion and to watch two donkeys roaming around the neighborhood, maybe it's for you. Otherwise, I HIGHLY recommend giving it a pass.

The room was so comfortable, the view was incredible, and the service was great. Plenty of good restaurants and things to do nearby. By far the best place we stayed in Portugal.

The location gives you a fantastic view, but it's quite remote. Without a car, the nearest restaurants are a 15-minute walk along unlit tracks. The rooms are spacious and quiet, and clearly had a lot of money spent on them 10 years ago. They haven't been cared for since: peeling paint, dirty carpets, a stained sofa and flooring, ragged towels and pillowcases, and a noisy old fridge. One night there was also an overpowering sewage smell from the sink. Such a shame, because the place has so much potential. There was no customer care at all. An employee met us with a small child in tow who was acting up. She spoke no English, so we used Google Translate. Nobody seemed to be in charge, and there was no information about where to eat. We left a map at reception when we checked in, then spent ages looking for it, even going back to our earlier stop, but nobody brought it to our room. The Wi-Fi code was out of date; we only found that out by messaging, presumably, the host. Breakfast was good and freshly prepared, including hot food. We had asked in advance for a picnic on both days, but none was available, so we just had a roll from breakfast. Poor. On the day we left, we didn't see anyone; the place was deserted.