Hotel berhampiran Miradouro dos Socalcos de Padrão, Arcos de Valdevez

Ótima localização, serviço, atendimento e atenção tanto na recepção como no restaurante. Boa organização para não haver incómodos de falta de mesas no pequeno almoço. Pequeno almoço excelente. Experiência sem dúvida a repetir e a aconselhar.

We were in awe of this home. So much to explore and so much history! Loved the thick granite walls and original wooden doors/shutters with hardware, antiques and displays everywhere, beautiful view, and even a pool. It is situated in a quaint little area by a church and you can easily walk down to the river. The area around Ponte da Barca is absolutely beautiful and fun to explore. The hosts are very friendly and offered a lovely breakfast.

We picked this location as we were going to a music festival nearby and taking odd days to explore the area…in between we were hoping to chill by the pool. How disappointed were. The plastic tree that greets you in the reception, is a pretty good representation of what you are going to get…Fake, this place is soulless and fake, but what makes it worse, it’s “tired fake”. From the dirty grubby carpets and chairs, black scuff marks on the once clean white walls and the cheap Italian style melamine furniture now chipped exposing its self for what it really is .. cheap coated chipboard. The first night we booked a table for dinner, on our way out we thought we’d have a drink in the bar first. The bar was empty of customers and bar staff so we made our way to the restaurant. The food was so bad it was comical. The tenderloin I ordered was so tough it should have been served with a chainsaw on the side. Breakfast the next morning was the same odd, awkward experience. But one thing we did realise they were actually other people staying at the hotel, not couples as you’d expect in a spa hotel but large families with lots of kids. We made our way out for the day. On our return we thought we we have a few hours buy the pool, .not possible, the pool was full of screaming children. So next option, sit on the balcony with a drink.. the balcony walls had black mold on them and the wooden deck was almost rotten and didn’t feel safe. Anyway below you had more screaming kids playing ball games. The 2nd morning we woke up and noticed that the 2 coffee pods that we had on the first morning hadn’t been replaced, I asked at reception on the way out and was told I need to pay an extra 1€ per pod after the first night.? Also the shower gel and shampoo were not replenished after the 3rd day I had to go to reception again and ask for them. I could go on… basically this place made us miserable, so miserable we changed our flight home at extra cost and checked out 2 days earlier than we were booked in for, losing the money for those last 2 nights. I would not recommend staying here.

We stayed one night after a day of exploring beautiful Peneda-Geres. Coming from the Lindoso area, our GPS took us to two different dirt roads as routes to Rio Caldo; one more rugged than the other. Thankfully we had a “real” map and figured out the best way on paved roads. This is one thing to look at before your visit. There were no dining options within walking distance of the hotel at the hour we arrived. The hotel restaurant was open, but a bit too formal for our tastes. A casual lighter meal would have been a nice option in the lounge area. We ordered the ‘Fish meal for Two’ which could feed a family of five. It would have been courteous to mention the size of the meal after we had ordered two salads and a bread basket. The meal was very good, but half was probably thrown away. Hotel is very unique and the surroundings are beautiful. We had a huge room with balcony and separate sitting area. This would be perfect for a family or extended stay. Everything was clean and comfortable. Breakfast was dreadfully basic in a stark cafeteria setting, nothing noteworthy. Parking right outside the hotel is convenient as well as location to cathedral and outdoor activities. This hotel is a good value, has lots of rural charm, but the dining experiences take away some points.