Grande Hotel de Luso

The hotel is old but well maintained, with a good room and a pretty basic but okay breakfast. It's well located for cycling and getting around the region. We mainly picked it for the 50-meter outdoor pool, but it was under maintenance. There was no notice on the hotel website or booking site. When I raised it with staff, I got what felt like nonsense excuses about it being too early in the year and not swim season, and they didn't try to find a solution.

The staff were very helpful, but the rooms are old style and the beds and pillows weren't necessarily comfortable. The breakfast was the same boring thing every day, suicidal 😃. Apart from the Olympic pool, there's nothing about this hotel that feels 4-star.

The soaking tub was perfect, the rooms were great, and it's a gorgeous hotel in adorable Luso. I highly recommend it. I was walking the Portuguese Camino on my own when fires and smoke complicated things. The company organizing my trek said it was too dangerous to walk from the hotel to Agueda the next day and told me to take a cab or train. Lusitana at reception was deeply concerned that the route was too near the fires. Before arranging a cab, she insisted on calling the hotel in Agueda to check whether it was safe for me. As a local, she explained how serious the situation was. She speaks perfect English, and was funny and kind the whole time. Being alone in a foreign country with this happening felt unsettling, but Lusitana put me at ease and made me laugh. Her colleague Teresa was also super sweet. I took up a lot of their time, and they never made me feel like a bother.

The indoor pool was crowded when we went, with local seniors apparently using it for some kind of classes. There was a lot of noise, so it wasn't very enjoyable. I also found it odd that towels were listed at €1 each, although they didn't charge us. The hotel isn't new, but it's well cared for, and the staff are friendly and accessible. The rooms and bathrooms aren't very modern, but they're comfortable and cozy. Breakfast was good, with a nice selection of fresh products. On cooler days there's plenty to do inside, including pool, ping pong, chess, kids' games, a spa and indoor pool. A good experience, and I hope to return, especially in winter.