Hotel Rural da Barrosinha

Second stay and again very pleased. Praise goes to the friendly staff, in particular Beatriz and Ercília, both extremely helpful. The buffet breakfast is now served in a bigger, nicer room near the pool and has improved with a wider selection on offer. This time the room featured a small terrace with table/chairs facing the lovely rolling hills and olive trees of the property. Well equipped, with high standard bedding and a courtesy bottle of mineral water. However, as a 4* establishment, coffee/tea facilities are expected, as well as tissues in the bathroom. And there was only one hanger, so I had to ask for more. Still, it was a lovely stay and I will return. Last but not least, parking is free on site and there’s plenty of it!

Doesn’t look quite as splendid as in the website pictures. We were not told there was construction around the pool and other areas when we made the reservation by telephone. The Taberna reservation was never acknowledged and we found out that it’s only open for lunch despite what the website suggests. The electric bikes on the website are also nowhere to be seen, and are supposedly broken. But disappointing when you brought your child’s bike and helmet all the way in the back of the car.

I recently stayed at this hotel with my family for two nights, and unfortunately, our experience was far from what we expected from a 4-star establishment. We were really looking forward to our stay, but it ended up being a series of disappointments. We stayed in one of the houses on the property, which initially felt welcoming due to the cool temperature, a nice relief from the hot summer weather. However, this quickly turned sour as we noticed a strong moldy smell throughout the house. Upon closer inspection, we found the air conditioning filters clogged with dust, and the general cleanliness of the room left much to be desired. It’s clear that the housekeeping standards are not up to par for a hotel of this supposed caliber. The staff did try to be helpful, but it was evident that there were significant organizational issues. For example, the breakfast offered was the simplest I’ve ever seen in a 4-star hotel, with very few choices available. It was far from what we expected and left us feeling disappointed every morning. The pool was one of the few highlights, and our kids enjoyed it, but the experience was marred by the pool bar. While it looked beautiful, it was practically non-functional. We waited ages for our requests to be fulfilled, and to our surprise, there was no food available because the kitchen was closed—in the middle of August, no less, which is peak tourist season in Portugal. The hotel's main restaurant, Taberna, was another letdown. The menu was very basic, and the staff seemed confused most of the time, often taking too long to fulfill even simple requests. Given the hotel's location within a large "herdade alentejana," it had all the potential to offer a unique and enjoyable experience, but it fell significantly short. In conclusion, our stay here felt more like a 2-star experience rather than the 4-star standard the hotel claims to uphold. I’m left baffled by all the glowing 5-star reviews, as they certainly didn’t align with our experience. We may have been extremely unlucky, but I can’t help but feel misled by the positive reviews. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this hotel based on our stay.