We had our lodging booked at Vila Marques and they emailed stating they are out of business?! Does anyone have a suggestion for lodging in a good central location? Thank you for your help!

Nokomis:

Consider the vey central (across from the National Palace) Hotel Tivoli. We were most pleasantly surprised ...at a rate of €90 we had a large air conditioned room with a fantastic view balcony (you could se the Atlantic in the distance, and the Morro castle walls hillside). Be sure to ask for a back room with balcony. There are elevators, a large and comfortable lounge and an excellent restaurant for both breakfast and dinner...an easy access free parking garage underneath the hotel, and a very friendly and informative staff....we had booked through Venere and were more than satisfied for a wonderful three days stay, including a picturesque day trip down the coast via Cabo da Roca to Cascais and Estoril. We would happily recommend the Tivoli and stay there again should we return to Portugal.(The convenient frequent bus to Morro Castle and Pena Palace is just around the corner so we didn't have to drive it). we drove to the airport in about a half hour via the motorway.

Stu T.

I appreciate this information! I looked at the Hotel Tivoli and it looks great.

I was checking on room choices, is the back room with balcony a valley view or village view?

Nokomis:
A valley view ..be sure to ask for a view thst includes the ruins and walls of the Morro castle up on the hill...they'll know by that. Alternatively, ask them to look up M/M Stuart Tower, Los Angeles, California, who stayed there on May 14, 15 and 16, 2008. Our room was perfect., with incredible striking views.

Stu Tower

Nokomis:

I separated pix from my Portugal album...just Tivoli, Sintra and Pena Palace...here they areIf you want to see all Portugal pix, let me know)

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...ntraTivoliPix#

Stu Tower

Nokomis:
Best to click on "full screen" for slide show...set for 5-second intervals.
stu

We loved Quinta de Capela for the charm although not particularly enamored of the manager or owner (somewhat snooty, but not too bad.) Lovely accomodations -- we were in a garden suite. It is a bit out of Sintra town, but within a 10 minute drive:

http://www.quintadacapela.com/Publico.htm

I do believe that the Sintra area is the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen in my life! Enjoy!

Thank you so much for your help, the pictures were fantastic! We are booked at Hotel Tivoli and look forward to our visit.

Stu T:
great pictures and perfect timing -- we just started talking about a possible trip to Portugal in the spring. If you wouldn't mind sharing your other Portugal photos, I'd love to see them. Do you have a trip report I could check out?
What time of year did you go?
Suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
gail

Gail:

No, I rarely do trip reports...the photos tell the story..I don't think you want to know in detail what I had for lunch. The pix pretty much tell the story. Portugal was my last remaining country on continental Europe I had yet to visit...and we loved it...a perfect gem of a place.

Just follow the pix: went in May '08, started in Lisbon, rented car, stopped at a pousada in Arraiolos(h), visited nearby Evora, drove a sizeable chunk of the Alentejo region, enjoyed dramatic Marvao, went on a mission to Belmonte in the Sierras, west to Obidos (Oobee-doosh), Nazare', the coast, ended in the Sintra region, stayed in Sintra, drove down the coast to Cabo da Roca, Cascais and Estoril. Drove to airport direct from Sintra. (Any more detail, the rest would probably be self-aggrandizing boring babble).

Any questions I can help with, please ask. Have a great
trip to beautiful Portugal

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Portugal2008#
(best viewed as "slide show"...if it hangs up, just go to individual pix)

Stu Tower [email protected]

okay, Stu. I've been to Spain half a dozen times but S.O. wants to go somewhere new and had several people tell him recently the same thing as you've said about Portugal. I'll probably start doing some research in the next month or so and may be back in touch if I have something in particular to ask.
gracias,
gail