Boutique Hotel Casa do Outeiro - Arts & Crafts — Hotel in Batalha

Family of 3. We spent 3 weeks in Portugal and stayed in 5 hotels. Stayed in some great places, but this was not one of them. We arrived at every one of our hotels at approx. the same time, around 1:30-2pm. This was the only one that turned us away and required us to return after 3pm, despite there being no activity in our room (it was visible from the check-in desk). This was mid-week in October and the hotel had very little traffic. They were clearly being deliberately rigid with their policies.||On entering our room later that afternoon, we immediately noted the terrible smell and the small size. We reserved the Triple with Balcony and it felt tiny. Smallest room of our entire vacation by far. We couldn't wait to put away our things and exit the room.||Later that evening we went for a swim. The water was warm, but misty. It was our only swim, despite a prolonged stay and a fondness of swimming.||When we attempted to take a shower that evening, we realized that the shower head height adjustment was broken. ||The "double bed" consisted of two single beds pushed together with linens tucked individually, so it was really just sleeping in a single bed that was next to your spouse's single bed. We've vacationed in Europe many times and realize this can happen, but we hadn't encountered it in over a decade.||Breakfast the next morning was incredibly disappointing. It was basically a selection of dry breads and spreads, rubbery pancakes, and poorly prepared eggs. The best part were the spreads, but alas, one cannot sustain themselves on spreads alone. The butter had dark grey streaks in it. The coffee came out of a machine and tasted of hot cocoa. We tried a few times and every attempt tasted of hot cocoa with a touch of espresso. When asked, the attendant stated that it was just the way the machine worked and we could get coffee from the honor bar. We did, we paid for a poor espresso (cappuccinos aren't available from the honor bar). We only had 1 breakfast here and chose to eat elsewhere for the remainder of our stay.||Speaking of the honor bar, you had better turn in your ticket immediately when picking up your desired item(s) lest you get the stink eye. They've got their eyes on you to make sure you don't run off with that 1 euro coffee. And here's the best part..they ended up overcharging us for our honor bar items. We only noticed after we arrived home. Wasn't worth fussing over as it was just 1 euro, but it was a humorous irony.||Based on the reviews, we were expecting a stellar stay. It appears options are limited in Batalha. We loved Batalha and this region generally, but next time we go we'll likely opt for one of the...

There are many strengths of this boutique hotel. The location is excellent, 5 minutes from the restaurants in the center of town (albeit an uphill climb on the return). The hotel seems solidly built (concrete construction, two interconnected buildings) and is in a quiet neighborhood, so our room was silent. Combined with a comfortable bed, sleep quality was excellent. There is limited parking available at the hotel and additional parking nearby. Public spaces include a large “living room” with an honor bar, as well as both an indoor and outdoor pool.||However, the vibe of this property is B&B rather than hotel. Consistent with that, breakfast was basically continental but for availability of (somewhat dry) scrambled eggs and pancakes, the only two hot items offered. On one morning, the tea options were limited to herbal and decaffeinated black teas, so tea drinkers in search of caffeine were out of luck. The decor is “cute” with lots of knickknacks and to my eye was distinctly feminine rather than gender-neutral. The bathroom offers limited shelf space. I assumed that the dispenser in the shower contained a genetic soap (the label listed ingredients but not purpose) rather than shampoo which was apparently not provided. Electric outlets for charging devices were limited and inconvenient. There is no in-room safe and oddly, no tissues either. While everything seemed new and in excellent repair, I struggle to consider the ambiance and features to represent a four-star property. Worst of all: the WiFi in our room was essentially non-functional despite the promise of WiFi in all rooms and public spaces.||Nevertheless, the location, price and service would warrant solid consideration of this property were I to return to Batalha. However, I’d value the property as a very nice 3-star B&B rather than a...

The hotel is quite well organised, nicely decorated and child friendly. The room is also good l, although there are small details that could be improved for the comfort of the guest, such as a table for support, more space to leave belongings in the bathroom, etc. A big differential is that the room there blinds and not only curtains, which makes a lot of difference to keep the darkness and quality of sleep. They only have 3 parking lots in front of the hotel, but it is possible to park easily around, and there's is also an electric car charger available for 15€/night - it is a charger from a regular socket and you have to use your own cable - which is worthwhile when the chargers on the street are busy, but you have to bear in mind that is a quite slow charge. The staff are usually friendly and able to communicate in different languages, which is not a problem for foreigners. However, it can change a lot from one person to another, and there is no general pattern among them. We had contact with very friendly people and also with people who were very rude or unwilling to help. The hotel is very centrally located, within walking distance from main sites and restaurants that stay open late, also with easy access to supermarkets and the road that connects to other tourist attractions...