The hotel is in a modern building in the outskirts of Manteigas. The hosts are the most delightful people you can ever hope for, and despite the language barriers, we had no problem communicating and they made us feel so welcome. The lounge area with the most humongous TV I've ever seen and a super cosy fireplace were the cherry on top. Other people may have mentioned the coffee at breakfast. And they're right. It's atrocious. But the jams, the bread, the cheese, everything else is ace. The room was lovely. The shower was a bit awkward as it's under the sloped eaves. But otherwise, it was all rather cute. And the price is unbeatable!
Descanso Serrano is a lovely, family-run hotel in Manteigas, Portgual, in the Serra da Estrela. We had a wonderful 2 days staying in this hotel, and hiking around Manteigas. The hotel room was small, but very comfortable. We had a balcony that faced the front parking lot, so you may want to request a room with a mountain view, although we were happy to have a balcony. We were also happy to have parking, as that is not at all a certainty in Portuguese hotels. The breakfast was European style with meat & cheese, wonderful bread & rolls, and was plentiful. The only negative for us was that the bathroom light came on automatically, so we had to keep the bathroom door closed. The owners did not speak much English, but they bent over backwards to be welcoming, giving us restaurant recommendations, and they did everything in their power to make sure we were comfortable. This hotel is a good value, and we would definitely recommend it!…
This small hotel is run by a couple, and it excels into being a very welcoming budget hotel (and is very good at it). The place is well maintained, very clean, and the owner, Mr. José takes pride into taking the role of an host, "tourist operator", and friend simultaneously. It also got a keen attention to the detail. The rooms are not big, however they are very cosy, and cleaned every day. Ours got a double bed, air con, heater, a small TV, WC, a shower, and a small desk, big enough to use a computer. The breakfast is nothing special, however you cannot honestly ask more for the price. You have a buffet of instant coffee/chicory, milk, powered orange drink, water, good quality bread, pumpkin jam, home made marmalade, (cheap) butter, a couple of (cheap) cheeses, ham, and yogurts. More than enough for starting the day with an earthy breakfast. In our last day there was home made chocolate cake too. I would just improve a little the butter quality, the other items are ok. The wifi service is good but could see some improvements; at night time it can get slow for video chat with all the hosts online. The TV also has plenty of interesting channels. The shower also had a strong flow and very hot water. We also used the heater during the cold nights we stayed, and we slept very well. You also got plenty of parking place, as you are a good 10-15 walking distance from the center. It is also easy to arrive by car, however the GPS does not have the location, and you have to use as coordinates 40.40405º N, 7.53142º W. Our main gripes were not being happy with the quality of the local restaurants in Manteigas (we eat way much, much, much better in nearby Covilhã), and the stores in the city not selling cheese, honey and ham with the rustic quality we were expecting. They are overpriced, and we can buy similar products much more cheaply in any big supermarket chain - e.g. the small city is devolving into a little tourist trap - for instance, avoid the store "Produtos regionais" near the gas station. But none of this is the fault of Descanso Serrano. This is a very good base, or shall I say the best place for having a base to explore Serra da Estrela for quite a few days with a nice, quiet, small city nearby for restaurants, coffee shops, and shopping. We manage to see most of the more important attractions in a single day being so near. However, you would better put around 3 days to explore everything properly. As a side note, the trip from Manteigas to the tower is the more beautiful stretch of the road you can see in Serra de Estrela. There is also in the basement an huge hall with a big long table, and a huge hot fireplace, with a couple of games, where José takes pride into entertaining and talking with the guests (in Portuguese) at night until relatively late. He also never got tired of giving invaluable tips of places to explore to all guests alike. Unfortunately, we were not able to take my daughter, however Mr. José seemed very friendly to kids. We will return with her. The place also is very silent, and good for sleeping. All in all, we felt quite welcomed by Mr José and Ms. Fernanda, shall we say very at home, and we plan to come back when we can. Be sure to book ahead, as this place seems to be consistently fully booked.…
The place is really clean and the owner for the high quality furniture, well over the expectation. He may not speak English but got the Google translate thing running right away so no communication breakdown. And the place is really quite. Strangely, wifi didn't work and even more strangely, breakfast had only powder coffee and minor items for food. But still good.
Nice stay, warm room, refurbished. The room is simple and nice, small TV and clean bathroom. The location is good with a free parking lot in front of the place and in the heart of Serra da Estrela. Breakfast is simple but delicious. Would stay here again!
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