Parador Casa Da Insua

Very impressive property, huge well furnished bedrooms. Staff incredibly helpful and genuinely interested in this unique property

This is the only Spanish Parador in Portugal. Our room here was small by Parador standards, but they d have suites with Bedroom, Sitting Room and Kitchen/Diner at reasonable prices. The Parador is a converted country house with extensive grounds and ornamental gardens, complete with a lake and resident swan. They make their own wine, which is excellent, and cheese, which is outstanding. They also grow their own fruit and vegetables and even have a pottery. Many of their products can be purchased in their shop. The food, which differs from the standard Parador menu is outstanding and you can finish your meal with a glass of their own Brandy (Not to be missed!).

A hotel inside a castle, where we stayed one night in a standard double room, a very simple and old-fashioned room. We had an excellent dinner at the hotel, We ordered several dishes. In the morning we took a walk in the castle gardens - recommended and lovely.

The antiquity of the estate; the furniture, paintings, gardens and history make this a perfect place to stay. The receptionists were.very helpful and gave us a guided tour of the mansion and up graded us to a beautiful room overlooking the gardens. We spent a delightful time meandering through the estate and picnicking by the pool. We would rate the parador as OUTSTANDING except that we experienced the worst dinner of our entire trip.

Check in was easy and the staff very friendly. We enjoyed walking the grounds and visiting the on-site museums and the originally furnished rooms. Our room was very large. We couldn’t get the bathroom window to lock and safe was not bolted to anything, so somebody could just walk off with it. Outside the room, WiFi was spotty at best.

Cleanliness was excellent. Would be helpful to have English written wherever Spanish is written. Service was catered to the Spanish guests. Overall I would give this hotel an 8.

We accidentally ended up staying at this fantastic hotel after an invite to a wedding. Thank you Leslie and Antonio! The venue is laid out like a castle with lovely grounds and function spaces away from the elegantly furnished and spacious bedrooms. Located literally in the middle of no where, tranquility can easily be found, even when the wedding is on. The pool area is serene with lots of sun beds, parasols and tables, and rarely crowded. There’s a small babies pool too. Inside, there is the museum style historic rooms easily able to be explored. The restaurant, also currently being used as the bar is lavish and inviting. The food quality exceptional. Right outside the main gate is a small pub/cafe serving very cheap drinks and food with a very local atmosphere. Lots of local beers and wines on offer along with snacks and treats. Seating outside too for relaxing and admiring the hotel from the outside. The best plus on offer is the views, simply stunning and not to be missed, from pretty much each side of the grounds and hotel. Big thank you to the reception chap, who checked us in on 11/08. Very friendly, and helped us with our bags. Breakfast here is expensive but you get a pretty good choice with local cheese and meats and all the usual fare. When departing on your route out, the first Respol fuel station offers the best views a fuel station could provide, perfectly back towards this hotel, perfect views in reverse. Well worth a special stay for a night or two.

I'm speechless; how can I describe such a fantastic place? We had a medium suite in the main building and it was quite classy, extremely clean, modern and well appointed, yet historic. The Casa da Insua has that real castle/manor house feel, happily everything is first class and modern. The staff was attentive, professional and helpful. We had the half-board and I would say it represents a great value. The breakfast was fresh and huge; the evening meal was rather formal but still relaxed. The food was always 5 star and the menu extensive. The gardens and grounds are amazing! This edifice ha been here a long time and the extensive French and English gardens are perfectly manicured and mature. There are fruit orchards all around, along with grape vines and olive trees. They have sheep and make their own cheese. If you ever wanted to stay in a castle and be made to feel like royalty for a few days, then this may be your place.

1. the rooms are naked and very uncomfortable! no mirror, no coffee machine, no cups, etc. bathroom isn’t comfortable at all! 2. we paid quite high price, and didn’t get value for our money.