Hotel Carvalho Araújo - Gerês — Hotel in Terras de Bouro

So, we had a car hired in Porto and three days to explore..The weather was looking good so we decided to head for the hills. We went online and booked this hotel for a really good price and in a couple of hours were there. ||Because of Geres's one way system it was not the easiest place to find, and then once you find it you have to turn round to get to the garage to park...but that is a minor thing. ||October in Geres, even with the sun shining, is not the busiest place in the world. But don't let that put you off. The hotel was quiet, the landlady, dressed all in black and in her slippers, shuffled around the hotel like a spirit. Always smiling and gesturing, she spoke no English and didn't seem to understand Spanish, but she made sure we had everything we needed, including turning the heating up so we didn't freeze...no, we baked!||Our room had it's own balcony overlooking the town and with views across to the wooded hillside and mountains beyond. It was just right for sitting on at the end of the day with some snacks and a bottle of dirt cheap Vino Verde from the local supermarket. The room was clean and there was no problem with wifi. We did notice that when the room next door had somebody in it the soundproofing was not what it might have been...||Breakfast was buffet style, in a room that was a little dated, but then I would rather have that than a modern featureless sterile dining room that seem to be everywhere else now. Good selection of meats, cheese, fruit, breads and home made jams.||Not sure if they do hot food, or even evening meals when they are busier but it was no problem wandering down into the village at night to eat.||We had planned to stay two nights, but ended up staying an extra night, partly because the area is stunning and well worth a trip, especially if you...

I would stay again at this hotel||||it is literally a 2-minute walk from the main street, where most of the restaurants and shops are located||||the hotel has its own parking garage, spacious and secure, which is a great thing because parking spaces in the village have meters, and are almost always all taken anyway||||the staff couldn't have been more helpful, be it by providing me with information and advice on local sightseeing and shopping, or just by making sure everything was to my satisfaction (e.g. they've helped me schedule and book guided mountain walk tours for the whole week of my stay)||||naturally, I understand there are limitation to what one can get for such affordable room rates, but they did ask for my suggestions for improvement, so here they are:||1) consider serving scrambled eggs for breakfast, which I'm sure your foreign guests will appreciate; and||2) consider serving "5 o'clock tea" in the breakfast hall (e.g. from 4 to 5 pm, just plain tea/coffee, with a smaller selection of the same items served at breakfast, e.g. croissants) -- even a not-too-elaborate afternoon tea would put the hotel service a step ahead of the same rates range competition, and could perhaps be marketed as a sort of reward for guests staying 2+ nights||||in a nutshell, I thank them for having taken good care of me during my stay, and intend to return...

Our plan was stay 3 nights in Geres so we could explore the Peneda-Geres National Park. Please know this is a 2 star lodging where the rooms are not AC, the beds are extremely hard and breakfast nice but simple. We were fortunate to meet the owner a few mornings she was very kind and informative. The rest of the staff seemed very busy and focused on their tasks and no so much about helping us figure out best places to visit. The local tourist office have many recommendations and maps journey. This is a huge National Park different from the USA it does require you have a car to explore which we had. We found out on our last day about the local pools and spas even if you don't stay you can pay a daily fee. Aguas do Geres - Hotel, Termas & Spa. This is a very quaint village and we probably should have only stayed two nights and explored more of the Park to the north. No regrets at all. If you go to this area be sure to go to the Casa Capel for a wonderful meal. We also spent our time at the pub below the Baltazar Hotel we really enjoyed the Portugal beer Super Bock and this location offered us a great beer at the...