Casa da Ermida de Santa Catarina — Hotel in Elvas

Set in a remote position on a promentary on a huge lake, Casa da Ermida consists of a huge, architecturally interesting communal space with a kitchen and single story bedrooms attached. There is a penthouse suite above the communal space. It is indeed quite a drive along the unmade road to reach it, but the turning is well sign-posted and easy to find.||Not staying in the suite, our room was quite small and basic but comfortable enough. Although there was no air conditioning, the ceiling fan kept our room, which was on the shady side of the building, very cool. ||Joao and Isabel were extremely welcoming. Although they spoke little English, they did speak Spanish and French. Breakfast was good with lovely freshly squeezed orange juice and lots of choice, although we disappointed Isabel greatly by our inability to do it justice. We drove out to a restaurant our first evening and stayed at home the second, opting for the 'picnic' which was served outside on the veranda overlooking the lake. It was good and filling, but possibly over-priced for what we ate (some salad or tomatoes would have been nice to accompany the chicken pies, hard boiled eggs, cheese and bread).||The countryside, in September, was quite bare and the lake a glittering jewel. With the temperature hitting 38 degrees whilst we were there, we enjoyed swimming in the cool lake. At this time of the year, the lakeside was very steep and stony, so possibly not suitable for young children. Unfortunately it was too hot to do much walking but we strolled along to the old chapel nearby, and also enjoyed sitting on the veranda watching herons, chiffchaffs and other birds. It was a bit hot for kayaking. Overall, a very...

I am a home design blogger and I'm used to see and publish beautiful houses.||Me and my boyfriend have a beautiful house ourselves, by a river, and enjoy every day spent there (unfortunately not as many as we would like...).||So, it is very hard to find a place we feel it's worth the trip. It takes hours of research and comments reading. It has to fill a long list of requirements! To be inspiring is one of them.||Casa da Ermida was worth it. One of the most beautiful houses in the world. There are many houses by lakes, but very few are so well connected to the environment in such a simple and balanced way.||Alentejo is my favorite spot in the country. Now, there is one place more to stay any time I feel I have to go there.||Just one more thing: I love animals, so I appreciated the cats company, and the sheeps, and the chickens and ducks... It makes the place even more special.||Nice bedroom. Very good breakfast. Love the kaiak and the hanging beds, by the water. Joao e Isabel were there, without being there, making us feel we owned the place. ||Have diner 20km away (Taberna do Adro) and...

This was my second visit to Casa da Ermida de Santa Catarina, the first time we went for the standard room, but we had the luck to view the suite, it was love at first sight. This time we went for the suite and it was all we hoped for, is well worth the extra cost, really a special place!||||Casa da Ermida e Santa Catarina is a place where you can really relax, have a peaceful time and enjoy nature at it`s best. The view is simply amazing, specially when you get a beautiful sunset, you can have have a swim, go for kayaking or go for a hike, so you have plenty of options, you can also rest in the marvellous "beds" near the water.||||A special word for the service, Mr. João and Ms. Isabel are just amazing, always helpful and friendly, they make your stay worthwhile.||||One of my favourite places...