Casa Do Jardim

I've stayed here a few times over the past several years and still like it. The gardens are fantastic, the building is beautiful, and the location is superb. But at this price, it is beginning to feel closer to hostel than hotel quality. Guests should know that the rooms are in the basement, not the main house. It feels dated, with no air conditioning or ceiling fans, wobbly showers and blown light bulbs. Noise carries from upstairs and other rooms. There are no tea or coffee facilities in the rooms, and access for disabled guests is poor.

We arrived by car at night and spent 40 minutes going around looking for the place. The hotel isn't signposted well, and Google Maps didn't help. You need to go through the green gate beside the school and its car park, then follow the cobbled road toward 'Palace'. Once we found it, the setting was lovely: a beautiful botanical park, with the hotel using only part of a nice old building. Waking up among the quiet plants and wildlife was a real pleasure. The room was simple, and the included continental breakfast was basic but enough.

The garden is huge and beautiful, and the place is very clean. The staff are extremely friendly. Our first bedroom was almost sauna-hot, with no fan, so we asked to move. The temperature was better in the next room, but the shower pressure wasn't great. Breakfast didn't offer much choice of food or drink.

The gardens around the hotel are beautiful. The rooms are spacious and the beds comfortable, but this is a simple, no-fuss hotel. You'll have quite a walk to get out of the garden where it's set, and breakfast is very basic, so don't expect much.