Casa de Vilarinho de São Romão

Our arrival at the front door coincided with the manager walking out to switch on the central heating. No introductions were offered or made which left us feeling rather underwhelmed. Our room was exceptionally clean although a little tired and in need of some maintenance. The other house guests had booked through companies that specialise in walking tours and were provided with lunch packs each day. As we booked directly with the property, we were not aware of this service and it was not offered to us at all during our three day stay. There were no facilities in the guest rooms for making tea or coffee - we had to ask each time we wanted some boiling water. Why not have a jug in the dining or the guest rooms for guests to help themselves? The Wi-Fi reception was very poor and not in tune with today’s standards as it only worked at one location in the house. Each time we returned home, we had to ring to get someone to open the large gate because the automatic opener was out of service. We were recommended staying at the house by some very good friends who stayed there about 14 years ago and raved glowingly about their experience. However, the overall impression one gains from the property now is that the owner has lost interest which is a great shame.

This is a very special place to stay if you are walking/touring the hinterland of the Duoro Valley. The building is very romantic, our room had a lovely view over the vineyards,a delicious home cooked dinner is served at 7.30 pm with wine which you eat with the other guests- who were all a joy to get to know! Constanza was a friend of the owner who was away, and she couldn't have done a better job looking after us all- so kind, friendly and thoughtful- thank you very much! Just a quick note to anyone thinking of walking in this stunning area- the other guests were on self guided walking holidays with walking notes and apps which informed you if you were on the wrong track. There are few signposts, infact for most of the time we didn't see any. We had just Google Maps/Wikiloc Maps and a handheld GPS which didn't seem to show all the tracks. We managed it,but did get lost a bit, so if you don't have the self guiding apps, do a reasonable amount of preparation!