Alcamim Guesthouse

It’s an old town house, so soundproofing is a problem and the stairs are steep. For the location, it’s excellent value. Very clean, with good showers. There’s no breakfast, but hot drinks are available from a self-service dispenser.

The staff were amazing. I left a T-shirt behind and they mailed it to my address in Portugal free of charge. It’s a nice place for a very good price, and I’d definitely stay again if I go back to Elvas. I might, since it’s a great city with amazing food and wine.

A nice old building, comfortable and right in the historic centre.

It was incredibly claustrophobic for our family of three. The ceilings were low and fake-looking, the walls grey, and there was no window, so no natural light unless we left the toilet door open. Outside it was 45 degrees celsius, and there was nowhere for my toddler to rest or play while I had to set up my exhibition. I felt guilty about that. We hadn’t chosen this place. The museum in town had generously booked us in. After one awful night on an old mattress with a metal grid, I spotted several empty rooms in the building that looked friendlier and asked the owner if we could switch because we weren’t feeling well in the room she’d assigned. She introduced herself proudly as the Patroa. She snapped that if we didn’t like it, we could leave right away, so she could tell the cleaning lady to prepare it for new guests. I’ve honestly never been treated that way in front of my child, and I struggled to explain the situation. The one star is for the friendly cleaning lady. I’m sure life with this Patroa isn’t easy for her.