“Stylish hotel overlooking the Douro but very disappointed with the catering situation”
This property is very beautiful, unique, and stylish right on the banks of the Douro, very close to Covelinhas train station. The interiors are gorgeous, mid‑century, and it feels like a big self‑catering house with access to a central kitchen and honesty bar. We didn’t use the pool, but we enjoyed evenings on the balcony overlooking the river and made friends with the only other couple staying at the Quinta. We splashed out on this place after staying in several other properties in Porto and the Douro region. We took the scenic train from the station, stopped in Pinhao for a boat trip and a port tasting session—fabulous. We spent weeks before arrival arranging dinner, which must be ordered at least 48 hours in advance, specially cooked, and left in the kitchen for us. We had the menu, made our selections, and thought everything was arranged by the time we got there. We knew it would be difficult to get to a restaurant after arriving later in the afternoon, especially if we wanted a drink. We were VERY disappointed upon arrival that our dinner had been cancelled because apparently “we needed to choose the same items from the menu” and we had both chosen different things for each course. No one told us this would be the case or that we should amend our order when we emailed our choices. Instead, they just decided not to provide our dinner at all. Not only that, but there was no food available in the kitchen (the site suggests that there is always ham and cheese available to order). We found some stale bread in a cupboard (left over from breakfast) but ultimately had to make a hazardous trip back to the supermarket 30 minutes drive in the nearest town in the dark—or starve. Even worse, another couple arrived after a very stressful drive on the mountainous road after dark, and they too had no food (they didn’t order anything but as mentioned before, there was nothing else available). We ended up sharing what we had bought from the supermarket with them! We had a very entertaining time with them for a couple of days, but that’s not the point! When a hotel is in the middle of nowhere, it needs to have some form of food on site!
Julia·3 maanden geleden