Hotel in zona Galerias Nascente, Alijó

We had booked three nights at this hotel but cut the trip short and just stayed for two. Firstly the location is poor - I know I am contradicting some earlier reviews but this is as we saw it. We thought we were in the Douro Valley area, we were just on the edge. Alijo is a town that seemed to have moved on from the wine business, a lot of buildings were fairly new and not in keeping with elsewhere. The outlook from the hotel is over a school which is noisy at times and a park area. One wonders whether vineyards were taken up to build these. The hotel itself is a handsome building with a great terrace and a (not very clean) pool in its grounds. There does not appear to be any connection with Baron Forrester, strange choice of name for it. There has been some refurbishment, there was a great bar and most of the public rooms were great. Our bedroom was good with a Juliet balcony overlooking the terrace (and the school, one morning they had a VERY loud event starting at 7.30am, that was the last straw for my husband) however the bathroom was dingy, with a gruesome shower curtain and mould around the edges of the bath. In the room there was no safe, tea/coffee making facilities, no fridge let alone a minibar - just the space for it?! Old fashioned hair dryer in the bathroom. Air conditioning wouldn't be switched on 'until Monday' despite it being 30 deg. This was the fourth Pousada we had stayed in on this trip and was a big disappointment. We had driven through the Douro Alto on the Tua road to get there and had high hopes as to what it would be like. We did discover it is 'franchised' to Pestana rather than owned and run by them. We had dinner there the first time which was not good, tasteless under seasoned lump of veal for me, undercooked rabbit for my husband. Breakfast was fine and lunch on the terrace very nice. Staff generally were great though sometimes hard to find. We couldn't face dining there a second night and had scoped out places in the town which looked a bit basic... to be told that chef had Covid and the restaurant was closed. Possibly because of that they did not charge us for the last night when we checked out in the morning. Husband was told the printer was u/s so they couldn't print off the receipt. You couldn't make it up...

Lovely hotel on the Douro River. Views are beautiful and peaceful. From our balcony, you could watch the boats going by and the sun on the vineyards. We had booked the romantic package, which included drinks, champagne, breakfast, as well as a picnic and tour at the Quinta do Roeda winery. Everything went off without a hitch. Our room was lovely. Breakfasts were excellent. And service was welcoming and friendly.

lovely views except that my room was directly across from elevator, had a view of a huge electricity tower just outside the window, had a loudly beeping non working phone and reception staff who didn't care and had zero interest in fixing or replacing it. then a couple with a baby and loudly yapping dog were placed next to my room. the dog started to yap at 6 40 am, the couple apparently continued to sleep, and i had to leave my room and find a quiet place in a very small space. would NOT book here again. the good things are the small pool, which is kept clean, the views so long as you are not in Rooms 9 or 10, and the restaurant, which serves adequate if limited dinner meals. And Daniella is a wonderful staffer and deserves to be part of a more professional and more helpful team.

Uma experiência inesquecível nas terras do Douro. Ideal para quem procura descansar e relaxar. O hotel é recente e tem uma ótima infraestrutura. O SPA, com vista para a magnífica paisagem exterior, é ideal para relaxar no fim da tarde, após um dia de passeios na zona. A localização é idílica, com vistas panorâmicas para os socalcos centenários dos vinhedos da rota do Douro. O ambiente é familiar e o staff é de uma enorme simpatia e disponibilidade. Pessoalmente, eu tenho algumas restrições alimentares que foram sempre prontamente atendidas. Na altura os carregadores para carros elétricos estavam a ser substituídos. Aconselha-se a confirmar se já estão em funcionamento, caso necessário.

The location, the view is beautiful. The rooms are attractive and comfortable. I wish the service and hospitality matched. Not welcoming, not relaxed- almost seemed protective of their property to the point as though they wished they didn't have to share their family operation. Here a few examples: We had two groups traveling, staying in 3 separate rooms. We had restaurant reservations booked 6 months in advance. I received an email before our trip which questioned our restaurant reservation for 6 and didn't I know that it was only 2 to a room. I found that odd and a bit annoying-- I did reply and gave all the information they needed as to the other party and told them we were related and that I was well aware that there were only accommodations for 2 to a room. I didn't realize that this wasn't a one time experience in how they handle communication. There was a luggage room open and an young girl standing by the door. I asked if they stored luggage, her response was ”Sometimes.” ( what does that mean?) The other party we were with described the check in experience as 'fussy' ( our experience as well) and the restaurant evening was some of the worst service he has experienced. The long awaited dinner meal was a mixed experience. We had made reservations 6 months in advance requesting a view. When it was clear we were going to be seated in the back one of the people in our party motioned to the areas a little closer to the windows. The manager in a very abrupt manner said No! there is nothing available. Maybe so but there are so many other ways to say that. How about first off ”Welcome to our restaurant...” The food was very good. However, the back of the house does not match the front of the house. Orders were mixed up, The service was slow, not attentive and at one point they forgot to even come back and take our dessert order. By the time they did, there was only one person that was interested anymore. They didn't split the checks as promised and when the we talked to the mgr. he seemed annoyed and didn't want to correct it so we didn't pursue it any further. The breakfast experience was odd as well. Instead of a welcome, it was where are you staying? I happened to notice he was holding an egg. That was my only tip off that there were eggs. I ordered scrambled eggs. On view there was a nice assortment of breads, fruit and cheeses. The rest of the party were finishing their food and would have liked to have ordered eggs if they had been offered or informed . Lack of communication, lack of hospitality.

Ottimo hotel, posizionato lungo il fiume e facile da raggiungere. La camera è con vista fiume, davvero scenografica. L'hotel non ha ristorante interno ma propone una selezione di ristoranti suggeriti a 10-15km di distanza.