Hotel Casa Palmela - Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Hotel & Villas Reviews

The hotel is located at a beautiful location and, in itself, is beautiful. However, it is far from the refined experience we were looking for. I am still at the property and, at 10.11 am, I cannot use the pool anymore, as all sunbeds seem reserved, but no-one is using them. We advised the staff, that did nothing. The other pool seems to be out of service, but no-one bothered to inform us at check-in. We are the only Portuguese couple and staff seems to forget about us. We waited more than half an hour for our breakfast order in a very noisy room. No-one bothered to advise us of activities taking place at property, such as yoga classes. We are leaving right now, as we do not feel welcome at all.

I can say it is a 10/10. Everything is perfect. The Hotel, staff, location, place is just amazing. Perfect to have some days off and rest, everything is so calm. One of the best parts is that from 15km you can find some of the best beaches in Portugal (Praia Ribeira dos Cavalos, Praia dos Coelhos, Galapinhos). I really recommend. Special grade for all the staff that were amazing. And yes, the food is excellent!

An old attractive country hotel in a picturesque location. Our room, though small, was comfortable and had an ample balcony where we spent much time. Breakfast and dinner were good. Service was friendly and helpful. We highly recommend this place that's near a spectacular mountain/shore road and a three-hour drive to Lisbon.

Of course the setting is lovely. Although a full 45 minute drive from the Lisbon airport. The rooms are quaint. Simple. HOWEVER WE HAD AN INFESTATION OF ANTS IN OUR ROOM. Immediately informed the management. But still had the ants for the entire 3 days of our stay. Informed the front desk every day. But the problem never went away. I was told that there were no other available rooms. So we were stuck for our 3 day stay with ants. Couldn’t unpack since w we were concerned that the ants would get into our clothes. Locked up our suitcases all the time. The hotel did nothing. And as “adjustment of our rate that we pre-paid” NO ADJUSTMENT. They did offer a day in the future. But that is a pointless offer since we live in NYC. AND WOULD NEVER GO BACK. MY ADVICE - Stay away. Go someplace else that cares about customer service and satisfaction.

We had eaten here before, but this time it was very disappointing. The Bread was fine also the soup. But de salmonella and the robalo were very very salt, not to eat. And I had an kind of spinach that you couln’t chew through. This was the first time, this was so bad. A waste of 30€, because it is all quite expensive and it was certainly not worth it. Is there another cook?

I received the warmest of hospitable Portuguese welcomes from Joao and his team. Joao has a lot of experience of working with people from all backgrounds and nationalities and he was able to relate to me in so many ways. I was greeted with a tasty glass of Portuguese red wine and then at dinner I was given great recommendations in their excellent restaurant Zimbral. Ines my waitress recommended a great meal and is clearly very passionate about taking care of the tastebuds of the travellers who visit Portugal and Setubal in particular. Thanks Joao, Ines and the chef for a wonderful stay and a spectacular meal.

Visited recently for a friend’s wedding and had such a wonderful time, the property is beautiful and staff were lovely and friendly. We stayed in a junior suite and could not fault the room, it was decorated elegantly and had lovely amenities. We had lunch and dinner both a la Carte during our stay and really enjoyed the food, breakfast was also tasty and there was plenty to choose from. We also did the horse riding which was the perfect way to end our weekend riding through the vineyards. The horses were gentle (we are complete beginners) and our guide was knowledgable and great to chat to. If I had to think of a downside the only thing would be that the bar is not manned all the times that it says it is open, however, staff were more than happy to grab a drink for us if we wanted one. Thanks for a wonderful stay, we’re excited to come back!

Location is wonderful, and so is the whole building and surroundings. But comparing price/quality there is really something missing. We spent 3 nights in weekend High season, but there was no management at all.We had to wait more than 3 hours before we could have our room, although we send a mail to ask for an earlier check in than 16.00. Not possible, we have to waited till 16.15 . We have been in many 5 stars places all over the world, but never had this situation. Thanks to Mr Joao de Sousa we we're calm down. He treated and helped us later with everything, and that made our stay good. Our superior terras room was located perfect, clean and cool, but the decoration is for that price some dated. The bathroom very small and not really comfortable. In the adults pool only three umbrellas, to protect all the guests from the sun. sunbeds we're not very clean, and the pool towels, is really not done, in a 5 star Hotel member of the Leading hotels of the world. The quality of the breakfast was 3 stars, only 2 sorts of unripe fruit, and no fresh bread at all. We have had diner several times, at the fantastic Terras outside, but please put mores covering to protect people for the extreme sunburning. quality of the food was good, specially my fish was perfect prepared, and again I say, the very kind service of Mr Joao, David, and several other members of the restaurant was really touching. They did their job more than fantastic. So overall, the place has so many strong assets, location, building, history, surroundings, but some for us important details we're missing, and the feeling that there was no management to talk with, but the location is Portugal on it's best! Igo van Hoof

Casa Palmela is a magical place. The grounds, vinyards are stunning. The Staff could not have been more helpful. The hotel itself is beautiful, peaceful, relaxing. Our room was spacious bed was super comfortable and the bathroom was huge. We only stayed one night. I wish we stayed more time.

First off let me say the setting of this hotel is tranquil and picturesque. However, I had many issues during my stay here. When my family and I arrived at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon we were barely greeted with a hello. We checked in and they told us our luggage would be taken to our villa. After about 30 minutes or more we carried our luggage ourselves through the courtyard to our villa. When my husband told the front desk person that we carried it ourselves, he said he was the only one working at the time. Our villa only had a working air conditioner in one bedroom. They kept telling us they fixed it but they did not. The weekend we were there the high temperatures was close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There also was a sewage smell in our villa as well. We were never given a tour of the property. We weren't shown where the pools were and the spa as well. We had a drink in the living room of the main hotel but service was very slow. No one ever came over to us during breakfast to tell us that they could make cappuccinos, etc. The bread and some baked goods were stale. Bees were in the dining room landing on the meats and cheeses that they put out every morning. We asked the front desk person to call us a cab one evening because we had a dinner reservation. When we arrived for the cab, he told us he forgot. This place has the potential to be a great place to stay but it needs much improvement and a staff who actually cares about what they are doing. Also, if they are understaffed (I'm referring to the day we checked in) then that is a management problem. I will not return. I advise others to think before they book this property.

Casa Palmela is a charming and cozy place. The setting is exceptional, in the morning you take your breakfast with the vineyard view, amazing really. It's good to go to Casa Palmela for a relaxing time, ryding horse, yoga classes under the tree or just cycling in the property and vicinities, with the amazing Serra da Árrabida landscape. The restaurant food is refined and up to the best michelin restaurants with a small menu but dishes confectioned with local ingredients from the property. But the best of Hotel Casa Palmela is João Sousa, a staff member who takes care of every customer as his own family. From the first day he can call you by your name and makes sure al you need and beyond is carefully attended. João Sousa is a globetrotter, having served in the cruise industry, he knows how to make you feel just conformable and satisfied. An exceptional man that knows his profession.

The hotel is nice; however, their third party experience person (Katika) is unpleasant and rushed us into booking an overpriced vehicle that didn’t have enough space for our group to take us to vineyards. The lovely driver told us he only made 350$ euros for the day and Katika charged us 710$. Rip off!

Casa Palmela is honestly the best value for money hotel in Portugal. You wont find this calmness, luxury and splendid views elsewhere, withou paying 5 times the Price of Casa Palmela. We loved it so much that we decided to stay for even longer! Ask for Salvador Holstein, the manager, he can tell you everything you want to know about the place and region! See the pictures. What a place!

I want to send a short review and warn anyone who is headed to Casa Palmela to think twice if they booked one of the three villas on the property. Let me begin by saying that the overall property is very charming and in a great setting. The hotel restaurant serves good food but the service is incredibly slow especially in the evenings. My one huge complaint is with the villas. Specifically they are located in a separate building and it is prone to sewer gas buildup (the housekeeping staff told me this happens all of the time). From the obvious point that no one wants to smell excrement during their stay, sewer gases have very serious health side effects. We immediately brought this to the attention of mgmt and they responded by "cleaning" the room again. This obviously did nothing to alleviate the problem. They are well aware of this issue because there were no fewer than 8 air fresheners in the room but refuse to fix it properly or take these villas out of the reservations system because they are chasing every last dollar of revenue. The front desk staff didn't care to make amends and the hotel general manager failed to call me to discuss the situation which is an incredibly poor reflection on his character. I write this review as an experienced world traveler (I am a Hyatt Globalist and Marriott Ambassador level so I spend quite a few nights in hotels on an annual basis) and rarely if ever review one of my stays because on the whole things usually meet my expectations. This was not the case at Casa Palmela and I would personally never stay here again and have told all of my friends never to stay here as well as filed a complaint directly with Hyatt who has this hotel in the "Small Luxury Hotel" collection. Please learn from our experience and avoid this property. There are so many wonderful hotels in this part of Portugal no reason to take your chances at this place.