Pousada in Obidos
Pousada in Obidos - Hotel do Castelo
The Pousada de Obidos, Castelo de Obidos, has been chosen as one of the 7 Wonders of Portugal.
This luxury hotel within the centuries-old beautiful castle walls that encircle the village of Obidos, was the first Pousada to be adapted and restored from a historical monument.
The original Manueline palace in the castle’s northern wing was built by Joao de Noronha, count of Dijon and alcaide of the town of Obidos, at beginning of the 16th century.
Obidos is a first rate tourist attraction, known for its typical white houses with blue trim, flowered windows, narrow streets and steps paved with beautiful stone.
A Pousada de Óbidos é maravilhosa! Quando se chega na cidade, já é encantador, com as muralhas ao redor… Os funcionários educadíssimos, as camas confortáveis, o restaurante com uma comida incrível!!! Um dos lugares mais interessantes de Portugal!
We enjoyed our Pousada stays at Obidos and Ourem. The rooms are nothing special and the price for accommodation and food our high but service was good and somehow they were unique places to stay. Ourem was less expensive but Obidos is a really cool town.
We took a cab from the train station in Santarem so we had no issues re: directions or parking. Not to be sarcastic, but if you read a guidebook it mentions that Obidos doesn’t allow cars - so try to avoid driving into such towns. (The only place you can drive to is the Pousada parking lot- still, why bother).
We booked the stand alone tower suite, and yes it is expensive- but you are paying for the experience and uniqueness. I would not recommend this room to anyone over 40 and am surprised they don’t have some warnings about the room’s stairs etc- they are incredibly steep, dangerously so. The room is also very small (the walls are about 10′ thick) but you get a huge terrace right in front of your room with stunning 360 degree views. since they are only 8 or 9 rooms in the hotel, it is essentially a private terrace.
Service is very good and attentive.
Breakfast was very good.
Diner sort of summed up the hotel; tried hard, nice service, shot for the luxury (silver domed plate covers, fancy wines, nouvelle preps), fancy wine list, beautiful room, etc. Basically the things that can be typically lacking in Portugal. But they still have a ways to go.
I would certainly recommend staying here. It is a once in a lifetime experience and you are paying more for the location, you are staying in the castle over looking the most beautiful town in Portugal! And only guests of the hotel can get to the top of the highest tower- no public allowed. The pictures I took at dawn are epic.
But like most things memorable, it ain’t cheap and it ain’t perfect.
We were very impressed by the Pousada, steeped in history and very comfortable although the following could be noted:
1. It was very awkward getting up to the Pousada and the parking was very tricky. I first had to walk it to get directions on how to actually get there by car!!!
2. Bedroom was lovely and spacious although we thought the stainless steel four poster bed was a bit out of character with the historical setting. The linen was awesome and room very comfortable.
3. Dinner was very enjoyable but also thought that it was slightly overpriced as was the cost of the accommodation.
All in all we enjoyed our stay and would recommend it to others.
The location was splendid, the building impressive and the staff friendly and courteous, but our room was disappointing. I cannot recall anywhere on earth where we have paid so much for such a tiny bathroom.
The castle is lovely but the rooms are of average value. There are no views from our room, just a tiny ray of light from the window grills. The service was excellent but they should improve on the parking arrangements as it was impossible to park anywhere for guests.
The directions given to Óbidos were not correct and on our arrival at Reception I informed the staff of such and was told they were aware the directions were misleading.
On arrival our suite was not ready and we were told to return at 2pm. We returned at 2.50pm and the suite was still not ready.
We were exceptionally disappointed with the suite. Having just spent several days in the Castelo de Palmela we felt as if we were in a one-up one-down cupboard. To add insult to injury, we were not given the same discount so we paid considerable more for this ‘cupboard’ than we did for our suite of rooms at Palmela.
To say we were highly disappointed is an understatement and we will neither return to this venue nor recommend it.
We found the restaurant higly overrated, it did not give correct value for money.
But the hotel itself was very nice. And so was the service.
Thanks for introducing Dr Madeira to the Presidential Suite.. Queen for a Day was a big hit.
E L Bruce II DDS
Dulce Madeira MD, PhD