Pousadas in Portugal
 

We have just decided on seeing Portugal for six days in early April. The Pousadas have a deal with 5 days of hotel and car for $660. That sounds good to us. We loved the Paradores of Spain, so I'm envisioning something similar.

I think we are flying into Porto and out of Lisbon. Which Pousadas would you recommend? We have five nights.

We LOVED Sicily. We like beautiful vistas, things to see, ruins, great restaurants. We are a couple in our 40's escaping the kids for a week. We like old, cool hotels.

Thanks!

We did the same thing a few years ago and enjoyed our stays in Pousadas.

We thought the one in Evora had a great location and was lovely. We also enjoyed the one in Ourem which is situated in a medieval village.

Hope this helps!

We are booked in to the Pousada in Porto/ Looks amazing. Also the one in Evora and Guimares (not sure of spelling)are on our list for April.

We stayed at the one in Coimbra. Really old world charm. We had dinner once in the Pousada in Óbidos which was a waste of money.

We stayed in the Pousada in Porto last summer and really liked it. It's housed in a beautiful palace. It's worth it to reserve a room with a view of the river since some of the others have no view.

You may be interested in reading the following regarding the Pousadas of the Alentejo: http://tinyurl.com/zdussww

We've stayed at a number of the Pousadas the last few years and have enjoyed them all. If you can, become a Pestana Priority Guest. It's similar to the Paradors' Amigos Membership.

We are going to Portugal in May and planning to stay at the Pousada in Obiods. Where did you find the deal for 5 days and car for $660?

TravelerKaren - there is the link:

https://www.pousadasportugal.com/Specials.aspx

Our room in Evora smelled of drains, but the food in the restaurant was excellent.

jamikins: Thanks for the link to the pousadas special. We're looking forward to our first trip to Portugal.

jamikins: Thanks for the link to the pousadas deal. We're looking forward to our first trip to Portugal.

Does it mean you have to stay at one pousada for 5 days or you can stay at a different pousada for 5 days?

We stayed at a different pousada every night.

Thanks all! I'm still mapping it out. But the input is wonderful!

We stayed in several pousadas last May & found them each very different. One thing they all shared was a very formal and correct style of service. If we were to return I doubt I'd return to any of them, but it was fun for our first trip to Portugal. Best was the one in Tavira on the Algarve, worst was the one in Sagres (also in the Algarve). The one in Guimaraes is jaw- droppingly enormous & magnificent. Truly stunning( and we loved Guimaraes btw).
The one in Evora has a great location, but we stayed at the AdC hotel there which was fabulous: locally owned & charming.
I would read reviews very carefully for any pousada you're considering- TA may be helpful here. Btw, pousada breakfasts were not that great in my opinion and dinners very expensive in a country that by and large is not. We felt we could do better eating elsewhere.

We enjoyed a stay at the Hotel Rainha Santa Isabel, the Pousada in Estremoz, We stopped in Evora on the way there. It's a very dramatic hotel in a castle and we would recommend it.
http://www.pousadasofportugal.com/pousadas/estremoz/

Here's a like to my blogposts on Portugal in case any of them are helpful.
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/search/label/Portugal

The pousada in Porto is a great place to start. If you like historic sites, I'd say my next favorite is Guimaraes (the convent out of town, not the in town pousada, but that takes you north of Porto not south towards Lisbon). Five nights in a row going to five different pousadas might be kind of hectic, so I wonder if you can stay more than one night in a place or break it up with a few days in non-pousadas.

I love the pousada in Belmonte in an old convent and a very interesting part of Portugal -- near lots of old stone castle towns.

If you want to visit the Roman ruins at Conimbriga, the pousada there is new (with pieces of an old estate brought into the details, like railings, built-ins, etc) but very comfortable.

But for your last night, the Queluz pousada is very convenient to the LIsbon airport. The Queluz palace is really worth a visit, and I know people who visit Sintra in their last day in Portugal and then drive the short way to the Queluz pousada, which positions them well for the airport the next morning.

We stayed in the Pousadas in Obidos, Evora and, Guimares. We would like to stay in tne one in Viano do Castelo overlooking the Atlantic. We have stayed in many Paradores in Spain and feel the the Pousadas are higher level properties, especially the dining rooms. Enjoy lovely Portugal.

We have FINALLY finished our plan!

1. Freixo Palace Hotel in Porto

2. Guimares, Santa Marinha, the convent

3. Obidos Castle

4. Praça do Comércio in Lisbon

5. Queluz in Lisbon


We were going to go to Evora instead of Praça do Comércio, but husband wants two days in Lisbon. Are we going to regret missing Evora??

Thanks everyone!!!

Evora is a wonderful place to visit but Lisbon needs time, even two days, but more would be much better.