Luna Chalets da Montanha - Serra da Estrela

Had to stop in the mountains during our Portuguese road trip and couldn’t find a more ideal and apropos location. Serra da Estrela is the highest mountain range in Continental Portugal and this delightful cabin sits atop of the mountain overlooking the quaint city of Covilha. The views are sweeping and stunning, right from the armchair in your living room. This place sleeps 8 or more, but we enjoyed it as a romantic retreat for just the two of us. It’s kitted out beautifully with a pellet burning stove as the heat source, much sought after laundry facilities and all the comforts one could ask for, with stylish panache. The location is fantastic, with great restaurants and bars within steps of your front door. We hadn’t heard of Portuguese ski country until we planned this epic trip and would encourage anyone to add it to their list of stopovers whist in this fine country. It was especially fun to visit in January to see how Portugal’s local population enjoys winter within their own borders. It was a great location to visit the historical Piódão as a daytrip and the driving the area offers countless gob-smacking vistas, as well. It’s a wonderful chance to see another side of this fine country and sample the local sheep’s cheese, rustic food specialties and cozy attire that’s exclusive to this unique area. The beds were cozy and comfortable, and the views from every aspect of the cabin, unparalleled. Both bathrooms and the kitchen were immaculate, offered all amenities, and were tastefully presented. In fact, there were many aspects we didn’t have an opportunity to enjoy, like the stone BBQ in the backyard, or the sprawling lounge areas – but we could imagine many large groups enjoying all it had to offer. The only area for improvement would be the arms-length connection with the host. For example, we were directed to pick up our key at reception at the unaffiliated hotel across the street. They claimed no knowledge leaving us with only the sporadic Airbnb chat mechanism to connect with the owner. As my husband and I experienced severe heart palpitations, we re-grouped to weigh our options, having no place to stay in the area, despite having paid upfront. Only then did the woman call us back giggling that she had the key after all, having misplaced it. Glad it worked out but - yikes! We tried to make reservations at the local restaurants in advance, but that proved impossible, so we asked the host to book on our behalf. He informed us that no reservations were required. That simply wasn’t true, leaving us scrambling for our meals in this tiny location. We had Portuguese only instructions for the pellet stove, but muddled through and managed to get our one heating source operating in -5 degrees, never-the-less. All of this worked out in the end, but made it a bit harder to relax, which was the point of our stay. All in all, we really were delighted our stay, despite some noteworthy hiccups. We suspect it’s the bastion of mainly domestic tou

Casa 24 a necessitar urgentemente de obras. Sofás velhos e rotos . Colchões sem conforto. Janelas e portas a entrar frio. Salamandra a não funcionar correctamente. Apesar de reclamar algumas vezes . E ainda queriam que pagasse mais pellets. Poucos utensílios de cozinha .

Passamos o Natal neste hotel, o chalé é bem equipado e gostoso, demos azar de não haver neve na região naqueles dias, mas estava um clima frio e adequado ao Natal, o ponto negativo foi que fizemos a reserva para a consoada no restaurante Medieval e acabaram nos colocando para a ceia em um salão enorme devido ao hotel ter várias adesões para o dia.

Fizemos uma reserva antecipada e ficámos agradavelmente surpreendidos com o chalet. Três quartos grandes e com mobiliário onde guardar a roupa, a cozinha equipada com o que necessitavamos. Aquecimento óptimo, com o recuperador de calor a funcionar e o ar condicionado também.

As cabanas estão num estado deplorável e a precisar de obras urgentes, no interior encontramos cadeiras e sofás com nódoas e sujos, as almofadas decorativas rasgadas, as cortinas sujas e velhas com rasgões, não há móveis para guardar a roupa, desde o dia que se chega ao que se sai às roupas ficam nas malas, não temos direito ao uso da piscina do hotel estamos sujeitos a vaga e no caso de haver uma o preço a pagar é isurbitante, a alternativa que há também não tem condições e o valor embora mais baixo não compensa ! Enfim foi uma desilusão, valeu a vista magnífica e a tranquilidade do local.

Reservamos o chalet mais caro vista panoramica que de vista tinha zero( deixo fotos). Da rececao apenas dizem que são os que têm melhores vistas. Se quiserem tomar pequeno almoco têm de se dirigir a rececao pedir take away(???). Usar a piscina pagam 15€ cada pessoa (??). Mas os chalets sao do luna hotel ou estamos hospedados noutra cadeia de hoteis? Chalets a precisar de renovaçao.