Hotel São João de Deus

We arrived at night and the receptionist gave us a warm welcome, explained what was available, and even wrote me a list of places to visit 😊. Everyone on staff was lovely. The hotel had a nice medieval atmosphere and was very clean, both our room and the rest of the building. Breakfast was lovely, with different options and a good coffee machine.

The hotel is conveniently close to a trash pile, where it belongs. They changed the date on my reservation without telling me, then refused a refund and said "Booking wouldn't allow them," as if Booking.com had the final say. They may claim Booking.com changed the date without notice, but the hotel chose to use it as an intermediary and should take responsibility for the parties involved in its reservation process. Staff showed no flexibility or interest in helping when an ordinary problem like a website glitch came up, even though a little empathy could have resolved it. Check other reviews too, which describe many other issues, including bed bugs and refusing a refund to someone who missed arrival because a family member was urgently hospitalized. Apparently a homeless bedbug gets more compassion here than a person.

I've never had a better hotel stay. The woman at the front desk on December 29th was so kind to us, and she deserves a raise.

We were a family of three and stayed for a weekend, two nights. The hotel is a converted 17th century convent and military hospital, and we had a fantastic stay. There was lots of room to relax in the very calm pool area, and the staff were really friendly. Breakfast can get busy with a queue, but the experience was great overall.