My wife and I stayed for three nights at the start of March and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The location is great: easy to find and a 3-minute walk from the main square in the historic centre but nonetheless in a very quiet area. We booked the ‘suite with private terrace and balcony’ which was huge and exactly as pictured on the website, clean and bright with lovely large windows and patio doors. Because the house sits on a hill, the room was at ground level at the front but at first floor level at the rear and it was reassuring that, I assume for security reasons, the windows accessible from the street could not be opened. The room had a large TV with Netflix available. Water pressure in the bathroom was very good and lovely soap, shampoo and conditioner were provided. (The only watch out is the water pressure can easily blow out the shower curtain, so water ends up on the bathroom floor. Still, you only make that mistake once.) The breakfast was buffet style and taken in the kitchen or the room next to it and it does feel like you’re in a family house. The food was lovely, with hot scrambled eggs, beans and sausages, along with coffee, juice, toast and pastries, cereals etc. available. They also make snacks, wine and beer available in the kitchen overnight and operate this on an honesty-book basis. This is really convenient if you’re really tired after a day of sightseeing. The host Karen was really welcoming, friendly and helpful, as was her assistant Bianca (who we saw most of as she seemed to be receptionist, housekeeper, chef, waitress etc, all rolled into one!) This is a guest house rather than a hotel so bear that in mind for the level of services - there’s no 24 reception for example. However Karen is accessible by WhatsApp and she replied quickly when we had a question about car parking on Saturday evening. We arrived by train (less than an hour from central Lisbon and dirt cheap - about €3) and the walk from the station is easy along pleasant roads and takes about 15 minutes. We got a hire car part way through our stay and used the car parking token (payable) from the guest house for parking in the Old Town. Even though visiting in low season, we were very lucky to find a space so plan carefully if you are intending to drive to the historic centre of Sintra. It’s also worth noting that Sintra has its own microclimate with relatively high humidity which means it can feel quite damp and there is often a lot of cloud and mist, even in summer. (Anyone with a respiratory condition might want to do some research.) Given the time of year we visited, this meant our room felt quite cold whenever we arrived but the air con unit was effective and warmed it up very quickly. Also, even though there is modern double glazing, there can still be some condensation on the windows in the morning so don’t leave things on the windowsill overnight as they could get damp. All in all, we had a lovely stay in the town of Sintra and in Sintra 1012, a
Very Good
121 Reviews