Pousada in Palmela
Pousada in Palmela – Hotel Castelo de Palmela
Pousada de Palmela – Castelo de Palmela, was inaugurated in 1979 after the adaptation works to the Convent, within the walls of the castle. With all its austerity, it is possible to enjoy its interior in a comfortable way that preserves a lot of the 17th century.
This historic luxury hotel is located on top of an imposing hill, and it is one of the best architectural fortresses in Portugal, specially known for its location and the magnificent views that it has to offer.
Palmela boasts excellent wines and superb cuisine, and it is also the perfect starting place to discover the Costa Azul and the magnificent Arrabida Natural Park.
Our experience was flawless – the public rooms and the bedrooms were impressive, the views incredible, and the sense of history ever present. The price for all this, and it being July, was pretty reasonable. I had stayed at this pousada once several years ago and this time had an American visitor with an early morning flight from Lisbon, so the location was ideal to get to the airport easily. Moreover, after the villa-laden Algarve, I wanted to show off an impressive part of Portuguese history. The evening meal in the restaurant was pricey, but I had one of the most memorable steaks I’ve ever had. Previously, we have had deplorable and inedible but nevertheless expensive meals in a couple of other pousadas in the north of Portugal, so both times Palmela’s offerings were most welcomed – part of the reason I chose Palmela on this occasion was the idea the food would be of high standard. One small niggle – we were three people given a choice in a nearly empty restaurant of only two tables right by the door (and I had made a restaurant reservation in advance). At first I thought the other tables would fill up, so fair enough. But when they remained empty, I thought the staff could have been a bit more generous in their seating to make diners feel more special when clearly the space allows. Still, a small matter in an otherwise lovely stay. We thought breakfast had more than sufficient choice and the patio setting was lovely. The staff were always helpful and polite, although we did not challenge them with any special requests. I agree with one commentator that there could be more information provided in each room about the history of the place and the two churches there. Comments have been made about the bathroms and they are in decoration a bit yesterday, but that too has charm and they were clean and functional. Overall full marks and I would have absolutely no hesitation in returning summer or winter!
We stayed for 6 nights and we thought it was the best Pousada we had stayed in , evening meal for us was much better than the breakfast, that was the only thing that let it down, we had to keep asking for food to be replenished and there was only ever one waiter who always seemed to disappear, which meant we often didn’t get a good variety of food. The location are superb, very good base to travel and see around Lisbon and the coast.We found the staff very helpful and friendly only one young girl didn’t speak english but she got someone for us to help on one occasion. The room was lovely but the bathroom was needing a bit of refurbishing. Overall I would recommend this pousada for anyone wanting to discover Lisbon and the surounding areas, not too far from the motorway with good access to north and south.
We arrived late at the Pousada in Palmela and we could not have received a better welcome.
Even at 10pm we were given a wonderful meal and in all the categories in which you are making your enquiries (bedroom, view from room, the public rooms, restaurant, location of the hotel, proximity to a town)we could not have received better service.
This is the second time we have stayed at Palmela and this time it was
even better than on our p…
Our reception upon arrival was cold. The young girl on duty spoke little English, and was not very helpful. I asked what her name was, and she told us something totally different than what her nametag read.??
Went downstairs later to inquire about daytrip for the next day, and was handed maps in Portuguese and told “good luck”.
The staff seemed busier and more interested in helping couples with their wedding plans then helping us as guests.
No introduction to the place, historical write-up was poor and made to seem insignificant. Views spectacular, but that was about the best of it. Food was not so great and extremely expensive for what it was. Overrated! We wandered around the castle with no real bearing on what we were seeing. Staff was not friendly or receptive, mostly snobby.
When we experienced trouble with the toilet, calling down to get help was ridiculous. The girl on the phone with reception didn’t understand English, so we eventually went downstairs, only to have to wait for an English speaking receptionist who made us wait as she made dinner reservations for another Portuguese couple. We couldn’t even leave a note. She made us wait for her to finish. “Toilet…room ### not working…” how hard is that to jot down???
For the money we spent for this experience, i expected a little more hospitality. Totally not worth the expense.
We wandered around and eventually landed at the municipal beach in Setubal. There happened to be a wine and food festival going on that we had seen signs for, but couldn’t find where it was located. Do you think the pousada staff might have been able to let us know about this?????
My first pousada stay was a disappointment. Not sure I’d do it again. I agree with Roslyn above, who wrote her comments over a year ago…” the views are fabulous, but they do not compensate for the pooor service….”
The 3rd of 4 Pousadas stayed at on this holiday. What a stunning location and Pousada. Clearly the biggest we stayed at and after Obidos in particular the size of corridors, public rooms and bedrooms was awesome. Beautifully furnished and looked after. Food again excellent and the staff very good. Only bar to have what appeared to be full time barman and he was a lovely character. We had Room 111, the only criticism being the noisy pigeons nesting outside in the old castle wall! Fabulous views. We would seriously consider staying here if visiting Lisbon again for any length of time. The DK book on Portugal mentions a swimming pool here. Apparently it has not existed for several years.
No negatives here, we really enjoyed it.
Thank You, I had a lovely time, arriving after 7 weeks in Africa – I
felt pampered. Views were great, as were meals, service, room etc. I
felt isolated without a car. Wifi wasn’t working which was a problem.
Quiet, clean, luxurious.
We recently spent our third visit at the Palmela Pousada and found everything excellent as usual.
Looking forward to our next visit in April.
We stayed for one night only in September 2009 and it was probably one of best 2 hotels on our trip through Portugal. Splendid accomodations with a spectacular view. The hotel personnel could not have been more pleasant and accomodating. A wonderful breakfast as well. The entire stay could not have been more charming, and we will certainly return here. The Portuguese are extremely friendly and welcoming, as this wonderful pousada shows.
We stayed in a corner suite of the Hotel Palmela recently, we stayed over a four day period. The suite was very spacious with loveley views in two directions. We found the hotel gave an air of space everywhere, the clousters were lovely. The food in the restaurant was excellent and the service first class but very quiet. One night we appeared to be the only diners. The only slight disappointment of our stay was at breakfast one morning when we were not allowed to sit on the sunny side because they were laying up for lunch, I would have thought this could have waited till after breakfast, but a small gripe in an otherwise lovely place to stay. Recommended.
This was our second visit to Palmela and we were given the same suite we had previously.
We cannot praise the staff at Reception and in the Bar highly enough.
We do not eat in the restaurant as we like to explore restaurants in the countryside. We always request our breakfast be served in our suite and this is always a smorgersbord of delights.
It is certainly one of the Pousadas we shall be returning to again and again.
The only negative comment is that we feel the bathroom needs some attention to it as it is very ‘tired’ and needs a makeover.
Having stayed at several Pousadas we were very disapponted with Palmela. The staff was disinterested and the service sloppy. The Pousada was nearly empty as it was mid week but they still put us in a room right beside the elevator, overlooking the parking lot and we awoke to find renovations going on directly outside of our room so there was constant banging. So it did not make for a quiet night. With some planning on part of the reservations we could have easily been put into a room away from the workmen. This is one Pousada that we will not return to for another visit. The views are fabulous but they do not compensate for the poor service.