Let's Spoil Ourselves a Bit! and other Monsanto, Portugal Hotel/Accommodation Reviews

About a month before we left for Lisbon, I had tried to book a Residencial in Castelo Branco by phone, but was told that they were already full. After that, I decided to play it safe and simply booked a room at the Best Western, figuring that we may need to pamper ourselves a bit by then. Castelo Branco is a mid-sized city, and we did have some trouble locating the hotel when we finally reached the city after a long day of driving and sightseeing, starting in Evora. However, everything went very smoothly once we had checked in!

Unique Qualities: It was great to have free underground parking because the street in front of the hotel was fairly busy. Also, this was the only accommodation on our trip where we had a mini-bar in the room - I simply had to have a cold SuperBock beer after the long drive north! It was very reasonably priced at E1.30 compared to some of the mini-bars that I have seen in North America!

In the hallway beside the elevators, we found a shoe-shine device that would apply polish and then give it a good brushing to bring the shine out - my shoes really needed it!

We also enjoyed our 4th floor balcony overlooking the street. In the evening, it was very pleasant to sit outside and recount our days activities as we sipped on our wine!

Only a block or two away from the hotel was a supermarket, making it very handy to pick up supplies in the morning for our drive further north toward Monsanto. I was also quite impressed by the orange trees, bearing fruit, that Castelo Branco used for sidewalk greenery! I had never seen that before and now wish that I had stopped to take a photo! Imagine walking along and plucking an orange off!

As far as their meal service is concerned, see my Restaurant tip!

Our room rate was not unreasonable at E74.50 taxes included (US$95).

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: 272-348-800
Address: 15 Rua de Santiago, Castelo Branco
Directions: In the heart of the city.
Website: www.maisturismo.pt/hdamemelia.html
Other Contact: hrdamelia@mail.telepac.pt

Although there is a 10-room Pousada in Monsanto, we were only in the village for a few hours to have a look around. Our tourist guide book on Monsanto actually featured this view of this particular house, sandwiched between two giant granite boulders, so we had to try our own luck with a photo! However, I very much doubt that the occupants were up to taking in a couple of wandering tourists for the night.


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Theme: Other

Address: Monsanto