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There is such to commend this hotel: the setting in the old part of Lousã, the building which was a former palace, the gardens and pools, the views overlooking the forested hills, the breakfast and the period rooms. But what makes this place more than excellent is the quality of the people who work there, we never encountered anyone front office or back office who wasn't welcoming, pleasant and helpful. There are some things to be aware of: the hotel is a former palace which makes the public spaces more than you might expect but some of the rooms, though well equipped can be small. But I would definitely return. TJ

I visited Portugal on a group tour that included stays at three pousadas. A big takeaway from my experience is that pousadas are remarkably variable. Pousada Mosteiro de Guimaraes was fantastic, and Pousada Castelo Palmela was okay but with some flaws. However, this one, Conimbriga Hotel Do Paço, was abysmal. I recommend you choose your pousada carefully; some are great, but some, such as this one, are bad beyond belief. The hotel itself is nothing special, and a massive disappointment after the delight of the first pousada I visited, Pousada Mosteiro de Guimaraes. This pousada claims to be originally a ‘manor house’, but it just looks like a tatty old house that’s had tacky modern hotel features crudely appended. Tattiness and dirtiness were everywhere. My room was the type that motivates me to avoid touching anything I don’t need to; surfaces were not clean. However, the bed linen was okay, as was the bed. Lots of insects were attracted by the needlessly bright modern garden lights, and doors and windows were left open so they could get inside. Even my hotel key was disgusting: the tag attached to it had an old sticky label which was partly worn away, and its glue residue was holding the accumulated dirt and pocket fluff of innumerable previous guests. Presumably, no one at the hotel could be bothered to clean it. It rather sums up the hotel. Dinner was awful. The dining room’s maître d' was badly dressed in a shabby polo shirt and casual trousers; he looked like it was his job to clean toilets, not greet diners. I was brought soup, and had to request a spoon with which to eat it. Service for me was slow, but I got luckier than my fellow diners – some were waiting two hours for food. I was fortunate enough to have other dining arrangements for my second night in this hotel; some of my fellow diners who did not returned to the hotel with food from grocery stores rather than endure the same dining experience for a second time. Breakfast was also awful. The floor of the breakfast room was wet and slippery, I had to request that it be dried. I also had to request that lights were turned on in the breakfast room, which was dark. Scrambled eggs were strangely lumpy. The toaster was of an impenetrable design. Coffee dispensers ran out of coffee half an hour after breakfast started.

Silvia was our receptionist and go-to person. She was truly AMAZING! She is a delightful young lady who was our contact person, greeted us, carried our luggage ( the stairs were a bit difficult for me), called taxis for us, brought extra blankets, prepared breakfast, recommended restaurants and sites in Ciombra…there was nothing she wasn’t available to do. She was always smiling and friendly. While the property is on a large piece of land and is farm like it is NOT in the countryside. It is in a suburban area 10-15 minutes from Coimbra. We were specifically attracted to being in the countryside so this was a disappointment. Even with Apple CarPlay, our gps system, we missed the street several times. The name of the street is not well marked. The property is behind a lovely gate and parking is readily available. This was a plus. Our room was very large ( bedroom, separate living room, bathroom, entry space)and had lovely views overlooking the grounds, the pool and distant mountains. We booked on *********** “ Family Room with Balcony” 441 sq/ft. and stayed Sept 29-Oct.1. The room was stylish and very clean with big windows overlooking the grounds. However there were many flaws. There were no glasses for water in the room, no water provided, no conditioner in the shower, no robes or slippers, only 2 very flat pillows, one set of towels. We were offered use of the communal kitchen but this was not inviting. We were shown the refrigerator and told there was a different shelf designated for each room. Too much like a college dorm or work fridge. We could use the kitchen as we wished but did not avail ourselves. Silvia did immediately bring us an extra duvet when we found the room too cold. She did offer to turn the radiators on but we were afraid we would find it too hot.There was no thermostat for us to control. There were enough outlets for adapters and charging cables. We did not expect USB ports as is common in Portugal.wi-fi was good. The worst was the shower. It’s a beautiful walk in with a rain shower but on the first morning my husband had cold water. I had scalding hot then tepid then cold. And yes…we do know how to turn on and adjust the water. On the second morning we both had COLD showers. The hair dryer was terrible…barely dried my short hair. The room was not serviced. We came back after a long day exploring Coimbra to find an unmade bed and wet towels. So we made the bed and used wet towels… The breakfast, again Silvia was the star, was in a small dark room with a buffet selection on a narrow sideboard. There were decent choices…cheeses, bread and good coffee and scrambled eggs. One table was so close to the sideboard we couldn’t access those foods without being rude. We did take taxis into Coimbra . We thankfully had a hotel address card to show drivers for our return trip. Even with that, both drivers had a difficult time finding the property. People have their own travel styles. This property has prove