Douro Castelo Signature Hotel & Spa

I've posted elsewhere that we stayed at wonderful hotels in Portugal. The "stories" were about reaching them and trying to park at them. The Douro Castelo experience was our worst! We used GPS to find the hotel. Made the mistake of making the last turn! The hotel was only feet from the last intersection. [A red "carpet" reached from the door to the intersection, but we missed it.] We drove past the entrance on a gradually narrowing street. Narrowing more! Pulled in mirrors. Scraped the car on a house [with only inches of clearance on the driver's side.] Ultimately both cars returned to the lower center of Lamego and parked in lots. We transferred to the hotel by Uber. We enjoyed our stay--once we got there. But arriving was a trama--and an expensive one at that.

The hotel is only 2 years old and it’s beautiful. The staff is great and bed is very comfortable. There is an indoor pool, big plus during winter travels like ours.

Hotel located in a nice town in Douro Valley. Rooms a little worn, but not bad, beds good, shower good. On site restaurant very good, included breakfast also good, staff fantastic. Only stayed one night would recommend minimum two nights when visiting the Douro Valley awesome area.

Excellent service from the reception staff - very effectively helped us with all our needs except parking. Booked through Agoda and thought on site parking was provided. Apparently not. They only have three parking spaces. Park on the roads around the hotel was the advice - grab whatever space we saw as it was festival time so parking was a problem. Just as well we were only there for Sat and Sun nights. It’s also expensive to park in the week apparently. Thé breakfast was excellent - lots of choice - plenty of fresh fruit, seeds, bread meats cheeses and pastries, and marvellous plain creamy yoghurt. The hot element - scrambled egg and bacon was cold however. Wonderful views from the restaurant. There was bar food and a full restaurant service available but no English version of the menus and expensive (a set price of 75 euro per person). We were not tempted to try it.

Charming hotel in Portuguese wine country. The big advantage to this hotel (over the wine quintas and some other lovely looking hotels on the outskirts) is that this place is right in the middle of town - within easy walking distance of the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios and other historic sights. So, when you've finished going port wine tasting all day (very nearby, but you really need a car for the gorgeous drive along the Douro and up and down the hills to tasting sites and quintas) you have a beautiful, historic town to walk around. The stand at the Castelo Signature was amazing - can't say enough about how helpful they were. VERY affordable, even the room we got with a terrace overlooking the town and the Sanctuary. Rooms lovely, not luxurious but very nice. Bathrobes and slippers. They have an on-site little cafe/bar, with an outdoor area as well by the pool. There's a spa area that looked nice when we were shown it, but we were too busy wine-tasting to use it. The free breakfast is amazing; they made us omelets and there were great pasties, breads, meats, cheeses, fruits, etc. The BEST thing about this hotel is arguably the restaurant, which I wold not be surprised to earn a Michelin star one day. My husband had the veal kebab and rice; I had a shrimp risotto that was spectacular. Incredibly, with this gourmet meal, including dessert and a bottle of one of the nicer wins, was just 76 Euros. One last thing - Lamego is an overlooked gem in the region. People stay at quintas, which are nice but limiting, or maybe in Paso de Regua or Pinhao (absolutely nothing to do, nowhere special to eat). Or they day-trip from Porto. Lamego is worth a trip on its own, and you then can be more leisurely about your wine-tasting expeditions. I firmly believe the Douro valley will be Tuscany in a decade, and Lamego will be at the center of it.

Excelente, Sandra outstanding

Beautiful hotel close to shopping, restaurants, and historical sights. Very comfortable with friendly staff. Will stay here again.

This is such a hidden gem. It is in a great location with very well trained and friendly staff. The breakfast is one of the best I’ve had in Portugal. I would definitely come back and recommend to friends.

From the moment we arrived at the front door, we had nothing but exceptional service. Nune at the front desk noticed us on the street, helped us in, oriented us to the surroundings, provided advice and a detailed map, helped us figure out how to operate the heating/ac system, and made us feel very welcome. The hotel is nothing less than amazing. It's located within castle walls, is fully remodeled and has a fantastic mix of ancient and modern, there's a hot tub in the room made of a wine cask! The service is impeccable. Truly impeccable. The food is gourmet. After being in Portugal for a week, I was craving a big huge salad and the chef made one to order. It was filled with veggies and fruit and had a light fantastic dressing. It wasn't on the menu - they just did it to please. It was wonderful. It's front desk is a huge slab of granite, the bar is cozy and modern, and the breakfast buffet is extensive and sizable. All food fresh and tasty. The amenities were first class. The location is convenient (other than the narrow streets of the city in general :), there's parking especially for hotel guests (on the street with a designated space), and the bedding is high quality. I'm sorry I can't remember the chef's name or the bartender/servers but they were all really great. Nune seems to work there every day and he makes sure things are perfect. The owner is often on sight to be sure all is well. I really can't say enough good things about this hotel. By the way - be sure to climb the 700 step, Stairway to Heaven, for a spectacular view of Lamego!