Casa Das Muralhas

This place has been rebuilt from a ruin to a delicate guesthouse/hotel. It’s supermodern, but the massive stone walls, photos and artefacts gives you the impression of an old mansion. The quality is high all over the house, including the restaurant Bistro Bar where also the super breakfast is served. We also had a very good dinner there, including fireworks and candle to celebrate my wife’s birthday. This place is situated in the old town which is very nice for walking - not so much for driving. No reception, but everyone you meet is very helpful and serviceminded. The contact via WhatsApp also works smoothly. They even stayed awake till after midnight to receive our lost luggage!

We were a party of three, staying in a triple room (2 twin beds + sofa/bed). The hotel is located at one of the highest points of the city. The rooms are modern and well decorated/designed. It is recommended upon booking the room, to reserve a table in the super popular and very successful restaurant of the hotel.

We were told that parking here wouldn't be a problem, in fact one website (not the official one) lists it as having free parking. However this isn't true. The hotel is in a very narrow cobbled street. Opposite there is a dodgy looking derelict building and at the end of the street is a building site (April 2022). When we arrived, there were no parking spots anywhere in the street and there was total chaos outside with large trucks trying to squeeze past the parked cars. Whilst I watched, one car had its side mirror clipped. I called the hotel and explained that we'd arrived, but couldn't find anywhere to park, the lady on the phone (Catarina) told me that the hotel didn't advertise any parking facilities and that there were no other options than the street outside. She said that it should get quieter later and we should be able to get a spot if we returned later. We waited in the street for an hour, during which time we had to keep moving to allow other vehicles past. Seeing no prospect of getting parked anywhere and having seen one car clipped by a truck, we decided that even if we could eventually get parked, the risk of damage to our cars was just too high and we drove out of town to find somewhere to stay. When I told the hotel, despite originally saying that there were no other parking options, they then said that there was secure parking under the town hall we could have used as and therefore would we be charged in full for the rooms. I suggested that under the circumstances and the fact that we had arrived that the hotel wanting to stay but couldn't, we should at least get a partial refund, but they were very uncooperative and said we'd lose the full amount. They did offer a voucher for use in the future, but that was of no use to us as we won't be returning to the area anytime soon. If you have any intentions of arriving at this hotel by car, I’d strongly recommend that you DON’T stay here. You are unlikely to be able to get parked and they owners will be unsympathetic and charge you in full anyway. Now I’m left with the only option of raising a dispute with my credit card company.