São Lourenço do Barrocal

Everything. The lovely host and owner, the careful attention of professional and exemplary staff, the setting and facilities, the bushwalks, the details incl hand-picked artisanal products from local makers, the wine, the cottages, comfortable beds, quality linen.

Leaving

Everything was incredible particularly the staff - General Manager best in the business

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The drive up to the estate is long and along a cobbled path, and you know straight away you're arriving somewhere special. The grounds are vast, rustic and genuinely stunning. We were in Room 17, just off the main area — a large room with a table outside, simple and lovely. The welcome was incredibly warm, and we were straight into a wine blending experience that ran about 2.5 hours. As an ex-chemist myself, I loved it — mixing different wines to build different flavour profiles is genuinely fascinating, and by the end we were both a little merry and had two custom-blended bottles to take home and age, ready to open in a few years. A brilliant, memorable touch. The food here is fantastic — Hortelão and the estate's own BBQ were both incredible, with standout steak, BBQ'd veal and lamb chops, all paired with excellent wine from the estate. Two members of staff made the whole trip: Tatiana, who served us a few times and was without question the best server of the entire trip — professional, relaxed, funny and great company — and Duarte, who looked after us at breakfast and was thoroughly charming. Nothing fell short here at all — the whole vibe is relaxed and unhurried. It's an expensive stay, but it's genuinely good value for what you get. Compared with Spatia Comporta (where we stayed earlier in the trip), this felt more rustic, more remote, more authentic, with even more space and even more stunning scenery. We also took a short 10-minute drive to Monsaraz, which is well worth the trip. A truly special place — rustic luxury with real soul.

Everything! It was exceptional and wish we were staying longer. The staff are wonderful from Miguel, Karolina, Maria, Manuel, Daniel to name a few. Every attention to detail in the rooms and public area. Loved it from start to finish.

Nothing