Marchanta Riverside Hotel

A lovely place for pilgrims and horse lovers alike. Pilgrims in particular can enjoy a nice meal served with a smile. The rooms are beautiful and full of character.

The rooms are lovely, and there’s a pool and some beautiful grounds. It’s a stables, guest house, and restaurant all in one, and they also run horse riding holidays. If you’re into horses, you’ll love it.

Marchanta sits on the Camino route, making it a useful stop for walkers splitting up the long trek into Santarem. We stayed in a large apartment in a converted barn. It was clean and tidy, with a slightly quirky feel, a well-equipped kitchen, dining and seating areas, and a pellet-fuelled log burner. The bedroom and bathroom were on a mezzanine. There were nice gardens and an outdoor pool, though the pool wasn’t open when we visited in March 2025. The receptionist and manager was helpful. She explained that the bar and restaurant were closed and offered a pilgrim’s menu for 12 euros, including a drink. We expected to get both the soup and duck rice, which seemed like good value, but it was one or the other. The portions were small, so we went to bed hungry. Breakfast came in a box for 25 euros for the two of us, which we thought was too expensive and skipped. Food choices in Porto De Muge are very limited, so Marchanta has a captive audience. There was no hot water for our showers the next morning, just before our long walk to Santarem. The receptionist wasn’t available until later, so we had cold showers. We contacted her afterward to flag the problem, and she offered compensation if we visited again. It’s a nice place, but as things stand, we don’t think it’s good value.

There’s good fishing close by, and the local wine is nice. The fish dishes were tasty, too. A very comfortable place to stay.