Best Luxury Hotels in Schist Villages

"This is a large and luxurious hotel that's a great base for exploring the area. The rooms are comfortable and huge, the staff helpful and competent, the facilities (pool, pool table, etc.) really nice (the indoor pool is quite something, though we didn't need it in the summer). Breakfast delicious in the Portuguese manner---we never tried the restaurant for dinner but it looked fine. The Templar castle/monastery is well worth a visit in itself, and Tomar has some nice restaurants. And Coimbra, Nazare, and the monasteries at Batalha and Alcobaca are all within about an hour's drive."

"Quinta das Lágrimas has such an important and interesting place in Portuguese history, which we enjoyed learning about during our stay. The old house and surrounding gardens are beautiful and romantic, even in the winter. Our room was in the spa wing, and it was large and comfortable, but the “Queen” bed was actually two twins pushed together (which is common in Europe), the shower flooded easily, and the bathroom door was extremely difficult to lock and unlock. As Canadians, we were also surprised to learn that we were not allowed to use the indoor pool without a swimming cap."