Sensitively built to blend into the surrounding plains of Alentejo, Octant Evora is a characterful luxury hotel with sustainability at its core
Location
While it may feel wonderfully remote and removed from any hint of hustle or bustle, the hotel is only a 20-minute drive from Alentejo’s capital, Evora. If you can bear to drag yourself away from the hotel, the Unesco World Heritage Site of Évora makes for a fantastic day trip. Grab a coffee and a slice of sericaia (a delicious Portuguese sponge cake served with stewed plums) from Pastelaria Conventual Pao de Rala or a decadent lunch at Fialho before a wander around the Chapel of Bones – which is as creepy and intriguing as it sounds.
The vibe
Being less than two hours away from Lisbon by car makes Octant Evora the ideal long weekend getaway for city-weary Lisbonites craving an Alentejan fresh air fix. You’ll find moon-eyed couples walking hand-in-hand through the tranquil reserve, and fashionable young families splashing in the shallows of the family pool with their toddlers. The public areas are breezy and flooded with natural light, with artistic punctuation provided by hand-painted local pottery, black and white photography and statement walls popping against muted tones. As a tone-setting nod to the hotel’s commitment to sustainability, there’s a tree growing in the middle of the central atrium for you to admire on arrival with a cold drink and a colder flannel.
Read more: An insider’s guide to the perfect spring break in Lisbon (and how it stole Paris’s crown)
The service
The reception team are marvellous, full of enthusiasm for the hotel, passion for the region and ready to advise at any time of the day or night. Schedules and facilities are explained fully, and any questions or bookings just a WhatsApp away – very efficient and friendly. The only negative service-wise is in the main restaurant, where you were often stuck waiting to flag down one of the servers for a little too long. Once they were with you, though, they were perfectly lovely and couldn’t do enough to ensure the meal is a memorable one.
Bed and bath
The bedroom was large, airy and…
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