Convento Sao Paulo - Hotel Rural

Very special historical place. It is like staying at a museum. Restaurant is amazing. Very peaceful.

Can be complicated for old people. Not very adapted for people with disabilities. Some repairs would make it perfect. Service can be inconsistant. Employees in general are very nice and competent but occasionally some are not that great…

Very sweet hotel to just calm down and have a great time. Staff was super nice! There is great restaurants very close by with awesome food at a totally fair price.

The restaurant at the hotel does not live up to its prices. There is much better restaurants in the sorroundings.

Everything! It been several years now that I stay at this hotel and I have never been disappointed! Wonderful breakfast, very welcoming staff always helpful, attentive and friendly. Spacious room. Having a drink before diner at the cloisters was, as usual, very gratifying. Having a meal at the restaurant Ermita is a must! Great and gastronomic food in a wonderful environment. I will always be back!

Nothing to say

The hotel is housed in an extraordinary former convent in Portugal, a truly impressive heritage site steeped in history and adorned with magnificent artwork and traditional Portuguese tiles. Architecturally and culturally, it is nothing short of spectacular—like staying in a living museum.However, while the setting is exceptional, the experience as a hotel guest leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, the service and accommodations do not match the grandeur of the property.The building has a noticeable moldy smell throughout, and the level of cleanliness is below what one would expect from a hotel operating in such a prestigious location. Service is minimal to non-existent—there was no assistance with luggage, no concierge presence, and no attention to guest needs or comfort.Accessibility is a major concern. My elderly parents had booked the Presidential Suite, but due to the complete lack of access support (no elevator, ramps, or staff assistance), they were unable to reach the floor where the suite was located. The hotel refused to accommodate a room change unless we paid for a new booking, despite the issue clearly being a failure on their part to provide accessible accommodations. This was both disappointing and unacceptable.Common areas, including the terrace, lacked comfort. The furniture was uninviting and impractical for relaxation. There was little to no staff presence throughout the property, and a general lack of attention to detail prevailed.This property has immense potential. With the right management—particularly a team experienced in high-end hospitality—this could easily be transformed into a world-class hotel. For now, it remains a breathtaking historical site in need of modern hotel standards and guest care.

The hotel is housed in an extraordinary former convent in Portugal, a truly impressive heritage site steeped in history and adorned with magnificent artwork and traditional Portuguese tiles. Architecturally and culturally, it is nothing short of spectacular—like staying in a living museum.However, while the setting is exceptional, the experience as a hotel guest leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, the service and accommodations do not match the grandeur of the property.The building has a noticeable moldy smell throughout, and the level of cleanliness is below what one would expect from a hotel operating in such a prestigious location. Service is minimal to non-existent—there was no assistance with luggage, no concierge presence, and no attention to guest needs or comfort.Accessibility is a major concern. My elderly parents had booked the Presidential Suite, but due to the complete lack of access support (no elevator, ramps, or staff assistance), they were unable to reach the floor where the suite was located. The hotel refused to accommodate a room change unless we paid for a new booking, despite the issue clearly being a failure on their part to provide accessible accommodations. This was both disappointing and unacceptable.Common areas, including the terrace, lacked comfort. The furniture was uninviting and impractical for relaxation. There was little to no staff presence throughout the property, and a general lack of attention to detail prevailed.This property has immense potential. With the right management—particularly a team experienced in high-end hospitality—this could easily be transformed into a world-class hotel. For now, it remains a breathtaking historical site in need of modern hotel standards and guest care.

The hotel is gorgeous! Next time, I would book in the summer (which is not in May), so the pool bar would be open. The grounds, breakfast, dinner, and all the nooks and areas to explore were amazing!

Our rooms (in the stable and in the annex) lacked mini-fridge (although the front desk will hold your food items) and no coffee pot in the room. The shower heads, in both rooms, would fly loose and spray water everywhere. We would have used an outlet by our bed in the stable room, but not a huge issue.

Rural setting Facilities

Parking can be tricky

Rural hotel , converted from a monastery. Beautiful property and surrounding area. Nice restaurant and breakfast rooms.

The room was not clean, the floors were dirty. The walls of the room suffers from damp and the paint peeling off. The restaurant was beautiful. Food was not consistently good. Service was terribly slow, my partner didn't get his dessert. Staff was preoccupied with laying the table for next day, rather than serving the diners.

The old monastery is big, hence a lot to discover within the old walls.The restaurant has outstanding service and menu. We had dinner twice. Great experience.There are two hiking trails on the property. The 6 km was just fantastic!

It was all good!

It is a beautiful convention and loads to see. With a fantastic view the resturant is spectacular and the food to die for!

The whole place needs needs maintenance repair and painting!Fantastic experience that needs a little tlc.

This is a beautiful, historic, well-preserved convent. The breakfast was very good and the setting is amazing.

The rooms are small and the restaurant is very expensive with limited choice.

Ever since seeing pictures I've wanted to stay at this convent hotel and it was even better than I expected. If you stay you can explore the property freely, and there is so much to see. Annex room was decent enough but I'd stay in the convent itself next time. Enjoyed the adults-only pool and were able to order G&Ts delivered. Breakfast was also very nice. Walked one of the trails (6km) around the property. The on-site restaurant is very pretty and the food is quite good, though the restaurants in the nearest village are better.

Our annex room was at the end and seemed to have a bit of a damp issue on one wall - I'm usually sensitive to that sort of thing but I didn't notice. The pillows were not my favourite, but staff gave us extras when we asked

The staff was excellent and ready to address problems quickly and efficiently

We experienced problems in our room as we arrived: Wi-Fi did not work, and the internal telephone was out of order . The second day we were told that the water pipes were out of order in our building and that we had to move to the main building. Of course, we had to pack very quickly but we were helped by the staff on duty as we relocated to the main building. That required walking with our luggage (which was heavy) over cobblestones, go up multiple steep stairs as well taking an elevator.However, we were upgraded to a suite (instead of a single room) and given a free night. Again the staff was very apologetic and helpful.

Beautiful location, historic place, friendly staff, beautiful property walks.

Dinner and breakfast service wasn’t amazing, nobody was around. The hotel is beautiful but could benefit from some upgrades.

The location. The convent was fascinating and the countryside beautiful. We loved the walks!

Nothing. Everything was great.

The convent compound is extraordinarily well located, lodged on a hillside among trees. The labyrintic interior with rooms and terraces on different levels is amazing and fun. The hotel made sure that the wood-burning fireplaces at strategic places are kept burning! The old nucleus with its hallways covered with painted tiles is stunning. The monks' cells were successfully transformed into comfortable guest rooms.

The quality of the food could be better, for both main meals and breakfast. My dish of meat was salty that I had to send it back! The fruit smelled of onion!

Staff was wonderful. The property was historically amazing and met our expectation. The restaurant was very good and staff wonderful. Orange trees all around and lovely view. Very relaxing and comforting.

The WIFI in our room was not so great. Closer to the main building the wifi was perfectly fine. They may need another extender or something to reach the lower room better.

The beds are confortable ! The room/ bathroom clean ~ but out dated , spes the bathroom !

Have been to Sao Paulo a few times ~~ the breakfast on this trip was « medium! Low season ?

Museum like surroundings in a lush rural setting with a top notch restaurant.

Some noisy maintenance work during the day, perfectly understandable.

It was an adventure to stay here.. The convent is spectacular and the you can easily spend some time wandering around and looking at all the tiles, chapels, fountains, hallways etc. They have a piano, a biljart, a lounge area so no need to stick to your room. The personnel at reception and breakfast was very helpful. The breakfast was complete and could be used in de courtyard, as well as dinner which made it extra special. They where very welcoming to young children.

There was hardly any light in the bathroom and the shower was not comfortable. The beds where okay. The historic building also means that the rooms and hallways are quite noisy due to echo, but fortunately most guests where not that loud walking trough the hallways in the evening. The restaurant was fine, but the waiter could use some training. Mixed up quite a lot and eventually we waited an hour on our food.

Beautiful property, with a lot of history.It’s located in the middle of serra d’Ossa, so you need a car. It is worth the stay though.Staff is great, food is delicious.

The bathroom in our room could use a little updating. I find narrow tubs a liability.