Solar Dos Canavarros Douro

The rooms had no internet. You could only get online near reception, and even there it took ages to connect and was painfully slow. The TV picked up only two channels, and its buttons had been ripped off. The shared areas were filthy. Behind the sofas there were spiders as big as cats! One of our rooms had been broken into, and its TV didn’t work either, so they had to move us to another room. It’s somewhere you can sleep, but I wouldn’t recommend it for much more than that.

We were given FUGA A DOIS for one night, enjoyed it so much that we stayed for a second, and only left because family were waiting nearby in São João da Pesqueira. We’d return without a moment’s doubt. Everything made for a wonderful rest: the setting, the facilities, the friendly staff, and a magnificent pool. I can’t help wondering why it has only three stars. Is it because it isn’t in the Algarve? Congratulations to Hotel Solar dos Canavarros, and a big thank you!

If you’re visiting this part of Portugal, I’d suggest going to the birthplace of the famous Portuguese navigator Magellan. The hotel sits among the extensive, well-known vineyards in the Douro River valley.

I haven’t been there for many years, but it was my first experience of that kind, so I loved it. It’s a shame it’s no longer open to the public.