Pousada Castelo de Obidos – Historic Hotel

Small and dark room. Bathroom and shower not particularly clean. Great location with easy access to the wall. Outsider cannot drive up to the hotel. Need to park outside the village and drag the luggage’s uphill. Breakfast was good with great view. A bit disappointed with the room itself.

I don't want to leave this place at all! Nostalgic, elegant, food is great and staff are nice. It's a lifetime experience for me to live in castle. Room comfy, amenities sufficient, tranquil and not crowded.

We had booked the castle “suite” for 2 nights. Two weeks prior to arrival my husband pulled a leg muscle. Thankfully the gracious staff accommodated a room change from the castle tower to the cottage next door. Boy, were we grateful! Had we no room change we would have abandoned our trip. There are A LOT of uneven stairs just to get to main castle. At night they are dimly lit with no handrails. Very risky for anyone with unsure footing. We did make it to the restaurant one night for dinner (slowly up stairs with breaks). Interior of castle is dreary, musty and tired looking. Having stayed in plenty of other ancient castles this broke my heart to see. The parent company needs to send some executives here for a retreat! The restaurant was, in my opinion, very worn also. Silver chargers were all scratched up, china faded and chipped and food substandard. There were only 3 groups of us in restaurant on a Saturday night…all American. That sums it up there folks! The room in cottage was spacious and bed was fairly comfortable. However, internet never worked and we ended up using a lot of data, bathroom had NO outlets, no robes/slippers, minimal toiletries, no USB ports, and you could hear neighbors through walls. They did bring us breakfast daily as my husband would have difficulty making it up stairs. That was appreciated. I think the staff is trying hard but with SO MUCH needing attention from the parent company it is probably hard to keep smiling and taking complaints. I feel for them.

We splurged on a tower room in the castle for one night on our honeymoon and adored our stay here. It was so unique and unlike anywhere else I've ever stayed, including other castle hotels in Europe. If you're a history nerd like my husband and I are, you should absolutely splash out for one of the castle rooms, especially if you can snag a tower suite. Our room was in its own tower and included a small modern bathroom downstairs and a stunning four-poster bed upstairs. The lodgings were smaller than Americans might expect, but reasonable for a European hotel, especially one IN A CASTLE that dates to the 8th century. The bed was comfortable, and despite it being fairly cold the night we stayed here, the room was warm and cozy (we loved being able to draw the curtains around our bed like we were royalty!). We appreciated the personalized note about the history of the person our suite was named after and the local ginja (sour cherry liqueur) and chocolate cups left out for us. We had dinner (not included) and breakfast (included) at the castle hotel restaurant and loved both meals. Dinner was reasonably priced for a hotel restaurant (entrees were between 20-30 euros) and offered some truly delicious options featuring ingredients like local apples and cheeses. Our dessert was a poached pear based on a 14th-century Óbidos recipe, which was not only delicious but special and unique. Service was friendly and knowledgeable. A nearby couple seemed a little upset about the speed, but Portuguese restaurants expect that you will linger over your meals, so we knew to expect slower service than Americans might find common in the States. We had zero issues with the staff and found everyone very courteous and helpful. We loved exploring the castle grounds and walking the walls in the morning, enjoying the stunning views of the surrounding countryside and the little village within the castle walls. We were there on Dia de Reis (Kings' Day), the last day of Advent, and got to see a small parade through the village. We also found several wonderful local shops with hand-crafted art and goods. Avoid the souvenir shops all selling the same tchotchkes and go to shops like Loja do Lagar, where we met owner Maria selling beautiful handmade pottery, bags, and jewelry handmade by herself, her son, and her son's girlfriend. About an hour later, Maria surprised us by leaning out of a second-floor window to say hello -- she had popped back to her house for lunch and had recognized us in the street. We loved getting to meet some local people and enjoyed rambling through the picturesque streets. A few things to note: Óbidos is NOT a very accessible area. There are cobbled streets, narrow passages, and tons of stairs, including many without safety railings. But...you're staying in a castle with 1200+ years of history. You're not going to find a lot of the amenities you would in modern luxury hotels. The stairs in our tower room were narrow and difficult for us (in our lat

We recently had a two-night stay in the Pousada Castelo Obidos, in Obidos, about an hour north of Lisbon. First the good news -- the restaurant in the Castelo is first rate, staff was great, and highly recommended (although pricey). While the property itself was very attractive (it is a true castle with a hotel constructed inside), we had problems. First, they don't tell you until you get there that the castelo is on the top of a big hill without vehicle access; they emailed us the day before that you need to lug your stuff up the hill although seems you can get them to drive it up -- so if you do stay contact them about that option if you have a lot of luggage. We weren't told that and just followed the email instructions about it being part of the "adventure." The rooms are quite dark; to remedy that we asked them to bring an extra desk light which they promised to do and then didn't. Worst of all was the shower; no consistent hot water (and not the issue of others using the water with it going in and out -- seems to just be a poorly performing shower over all). So, while we were really looking forward to staying there, it was a pretty disappointing experience.

We reserved a cottage room with a balcony. Instead of either, we ended up with a dungeon-like ground floor room with a patio facing a white cinderblock wall. When I asked at the front desk about this, I was told this was their cottage with a balcony--one of two superior rooms they offered.

This was my absolute favorite part of our recent visit to Portugal. We only had time to stay in Óbidos for one night, but we made the most of it, and the hotel staff was super helpful, too. We arrived in Óbidos around noon and drove around a bit until we found (free) parking just outside the walled city. We slowly made our way to the castle, stopping along the way to get an ice cream, some chocolates, and so on -- the town is so charming, and the people are lovely! Eventually we arrived at the castle and were shown to our room, named for an important queen in Portugal's history. The room was surprisingly modern (and great water pressure in the shower!) including fantastic mattresses -- we slept like royalty! But the best part of the hotel had to be the incredible restaurant and its spectacular views. The food was matched in quality only by the diligence and attentiveness of the wait staff. The next day, we walked along the castle walls -- not for the faint of heart! -- and enjoyed another day in the walled city as we reluctantly made our way back to the car. Make sure to pick up some ginja before you leave!