Quinta de Santo António - Country House & Villas

Absolutely lovely setting- the photos don’t do it justice. Staff were all friendly and helpful. Easy on site parking. Nice breakfast. Lovely pool and hot tub. Some decent restaurants within walking distance.

The hotel itself was very nice, the staff was always friendly and helpful, and the surrounding landscape was beautiful. However, the massages that we scheduled had to be cancelled because the room where they were to take place was not fit for this purpose - it was normally just the jacuzzi room, so had a very strong chlorine smell (hardly relaxing) and there were no curtains to close when changing/disrobing before getting on the table or during the massage. This meant that all of the tradesmen who were directly in front of the room working on the pool could watch through the big glass doors/windows. It's not the end of the world, but it was still a bit of a disappointment since an on-site masseuse was one of the reasons we picked this hotel.

The staff are very nice, the location is lovely (however note that while the hotel is in the Douro this is not the true Douro wine region which is an hour and half drive away). The pool over looking the river is beautiful. The breakfast was very good. The lobby was charming. The grounds are beautiful. Here’s the down side: do not stay here on weekends, there is a busy restaurant in the ground floor and the staff did not seek to care that restaurant guests where partying loudly until 1:30am, shouting, screaming, singing at the top of the their lungs. I had to send the front desk three messages before they put a stop to it. Pool bathroom broken, light don’t turn on and a mess. Hot tub not functioning. The room is nice but not at all practical - only 2 hangers, no hooks, and not enough place for two people to unpack comfortably and put anything anywhere the toilettes in our room is enclosed a glass cube behind a swinging door - if you like to go in the middle of the room with your partner right beside you then this is the place for you. Terribly designed. This was in the big room without balcony. I’m. It sure what the other rooms are like.

Excellent facilities and very good service from the staff.

This Quinta exceeded our expectations. It is situated in a rural and beautiful area. There are a couple of restaurants within walking distance. There’s also a much larger town not too far from the Quinta, called Penafiel. The villa where we stayed had a breathtaking view of both the vineyard and river. Loved the glass floor to ceiling windows and doors and enjoyed sitting on out on the balcony and taking in the views. The staff were excellent, very accommodating. The breakfast was just okay, as I wasn’t crazy about the eggs and bacon and the yogurt was vanilla flavored, instead of the plain we were used to. I was able to request fried eggs and crispier bacon, which made a much better breakfast( like I said they are accommodating). We did have to request extra towels and non decaf coffee, as they only had one regular pod and one decaf, which was weird as only one person in the room could have caffeinated coffee, but again a simple ask and we received- hence the 5 stars. The hotel bar was also a delight, which is situated on the river bank. Dining in the restaurant for dinner was surprisingly excellent, we loved everything and returned the next night for dinner as well. Altogether, this is a very special place and a memorable experience.