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Stayed 1 night as part of a 3 week holiday across Portugal. This was Vila Gale hotel number 3/4 we would stay. We booked a suite as a family of 4. The room was great, spacious, clean, very nice and modern. The balcony view was amazing looking out over the River and vineyards. Breakfast was nice with plenty of options from the buffet for the kids. We stayed half board and ate in the restaurant in the evening. It is buffet style and is ok but not amazing. Pool was very good with amazing views and the pool bar very convenient. Location is remote and you need a car. We traveled after staying in Porto and took a scenic drive of about 2hrs (but can be quicker on motorways). But the drive is well worth the location. It is in a stunning area and the panoramic views from all parts of the hotel are amazing. This hotel should be 5* and could be with some minor tweaks. The buffet restaurant is more 4* resort and with the change to A la carte menu restaurant would suit its style more. Also the addition of further bar areas other than the restaurant would add the extra. Apart from that it was a great stay and the staff where all pleasant, helpful and kind. Also felt comfortable with kids but would maybe come back as a couple one day to enjoy ;-).

Great hotel, located along the river and easy to reach. The room is with river view, really scenographic. The hotel has no interior restaurant but offers a selection of suggested restaurants at 10-15km distance.

This was a luxury one-night stay during our two-week Interrailing holiday. It’s pretty expensive - a great bedroom with an awesome view, but for some reason you have to take your nespresso pods to a communal machine to make coffee (which wasn’t explained to us at check in). Outdoor Tim’s Terrace bar was a fab place to sit and read and the oddly-shaped swimming pool was nice. The winery tour was underwhelming, easily bettered by one we recently did near Stroud (Woodchester) because there really isn’t that much to see. Our guide, Patricia, was enthusiastic and knowledgable with excellent English. Food at dinner was exceptionally good, and the many inexperienced staff coped ok. On another guest’s recommendation we opted for the accompanying mid-range wine flight - and were surprised to have four tiny glasses poured before the meal had even arrived. Our request for a small top up of white to accompany our starter was met with incredulity. At €26 each, given the wine only came from next door, this felt super costly. Breakfast was every bit as delicious as we’d hoped for. For some reason the hotel is reluctant to assist guests with station pick up, and I don’t know why. Arriving by train into Pinhao must be routine, but emails beforehand suggested we don’t bother and just drive. To be fair, reception did willingly book a return taxi. I suspect the local taxis are run as a cartel - we saw Mr Big in action “pirata, pirata” - and Quinta de la Rossa is not in his good books. So look, we had a great time overall, it was a bit of luxury and we don’t regret going. But it was a very, very expensive stay, and at that price I’d hoped for perfection, which we didn’t get.

The location is spectacular, the people are amazing and that is before we even got through the door. Our visit began with Tony the house manager meeting us in the driveway. Tony is professional, caring and all-knowing when it come to things in the Douro Valley. Throughout your stay Tony will ensure every detail of your stay is perfect. After an hour or so you will be convinced that you are the only guest at the resort. The rooms are modern, clean and comfortable. We had a magnificent view of the valley that made us hesitant to leave the room. The living room is a common area on the first floor with great views and comfortable seating. We spent hours in here sampling wine, relaxing and meeting with a few other guests staying in the hotel. During the stay we got a chance to meet the owners Ana and Marco in the restaurant during breakfasts and dinner. Both are so knowledgeable and passionate about the valley, their place and ensuring their guests have a the best experience possible. Meals in the restuarant are some of the best we had anywhere on our trip. There is attention to every detail and the food is spectacular. We ate in the dining room for 2 of our 3 nights and wish we had stayed in the house for all three dinners. Should we return to the Douro Valley in the future this would be the only place we would even consider staying.