After 5 nights in Lisbon, planning on two nights each in Evora and Sintra. (First time visitor to both locations.)
In Evora, deciding between Convento de Evora and Convento de Espinheiro. Thoughts on either/both?
In Sintra, considering adding two-night stay at the very end of the trip. I'm looking at Lawrence's Hotel, but read some mixed reviews and seeking additional recommendations.
We stayed in the Pousada de Convento in Evora and wished we could have stayed there longer.
Sintra was a day trip from Lisbon and that worked well for us.
Our tour stayed at the lovely M’ar de Ar Aqueduto in Evora. We had an amazing view of the Aqueduct. The rooms were well appointed and they had a pool. We had dinner at a restaurant that was in walking distance. https://mardearhotels.com/en-mar-de-ar-aqueduto
We did a day tour from Lisbon to Sintra prior to our Portugal Tour. We hired Lisbon Riders. It was a wonderful introduction to Portugal. Highly recommend this company! Our guide, Manuel was knowledgeable and personable.
Enjoy Portugal!
Edited to add: https://lisbonriders.com/
Thanks for the recommendations.
To Gail's question, we will have a car in Evora (picking up a car after our time in Lisbon), so we could stay at a hotel out of Evora town center. We actually may prefer being in a more rural/garden setting after nearly a week in downtown Lisbon (Chiado district.)
We are going back and forth on the idea of doing Sintra as a daytrip from Lisbon or committing to a two-night stay there before renting a car and travelling to Evora and points north. Just not sure I want to commit to one of our Lisbon days being a trip to Sintra (although hiring a guide for the day would be one way to do it...) Thanks for the suggestion, Janis.
I just got back from Portugal a few weeks ago and spent one of my nights at the Casa Do Valle hotel in Sintra. I would highly recommend it. The staff were so nice and helpful and the rooms were great. The lounge/pool area had beautiful views of the Moorish Castle and it was only a short (albeit uphill) walk to the town center.
I very much enjoyed Chalet Saudade in Sintra. Nice facility, very friendly and helpful staff, good and quiet location, and includes a voucher for a full breakfast at their very nice nearby restaurant, Cafe Saudade.
Convento de Espinheiro is a glorious 5 star historic convent slash resort. It is spectacular and by far the best accomadations I’ve had not just in Portugal but Europe. It’s privately owned and has been restored to exacting standards in a beautiful setting a few miles from Evora surrounded by their own vineyards and olive trees that you will taste in the exquisite restaurant. Even if you don’t stay there, do stop by for their free 5pm hotel tour to explore its history. This convent is extremely historic and was a pilgrimage sight, visited by Portuguese royalty for many, many years. Go to their website and read some of the history. It’s amazing. The rooms are luxurious with balconies you can watch the bunnies and birds scamper in the gardens from. The pools and spa areas are top notch. My experience with state run pousadas, which I believe Evora is, tend to be charming and delightful but the rooms are small, the furnishings a bit worn and the plumbing and beds to be a bit “historic” themselves.
My two cents on Sintra are, spend the night. It’s a completely different experience than a day trip. My first trip to Portugal, I did Sintra as a day trip. Although I was traveling off season and I arrived early, I still felt like one of the day tripper throng. I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I did returning the next year and spending the night. Completely different experience. Totally agree with Chalet Saudade too!
Thanks for the great recommendations. We are looking forward to a couple nights in Evora — and are planning to spend the night in Sintra rather than day-trip. Unfortunately, Chalet Saudade is unavailable on our dates. Thanks again!
