Convento Do Espinheiro, Heritage Hotel & Spa

Hotel description

Ninety miles inland from Lisbon, halfway to the border with Spain, is the city of Evora, a charming university town and UNESCO world heritage site — the latter of which is just a handy way of saying, with the authority of the UN behind you, that it’s culturally significant and terribly picturesque. And a mile outside of Evora is the Convento do Espinheiro, a member of the Starwood Luxury Collection — an equally handy way of saying that within its 19th-century walls lies a well-oiled high-end hospitality machine.

Rooms are split between the new-build spa wing and the heritage rooms, which are the old monks’ cells — the latter, oddly, are the larger, which combined with their added personality makes them the better bet. All rooms, though, are comparable in terms of equipment, with marble baths, hardwood floors, DVD players and stereo systems.

As you’d expect, there’s a full-service spa, a fitness center and an outdoor pool; extras include a second indoor pool, a tennis court, and a helipad, for when the drive from Lisbon’s airport feels like too much of a chore. The restaurant serves a fairly traditional Portuguese cuisine, alongside more familiar Mediterranean dishes, in a stunning vaulted space in the old monastery, and the old chapel, meticulously preserved, is a sight that may be worth the trip in itself.