Staying in a castle is cool. Staying in a castle with such great service and such amazing facilities is pretty much amazing. This place is gorgeous-- the bar area and common areas are very nicely decorated, the restaurant is beautiful (with great food), and the room was really nice. The service couldn't have been better. This was really the highlight of our trip, and I would recommend it and would go back again.

We just completed a tour of Portugal during which we stayed in four different pousadas. I highly recommend pousadas (historic buildings and natural lodges which have been restored for use as hotels) for a great affordable experience in Portugal. This one in Estremoz was absolutely terrific.
Where else can you stay in a 13th Century palace for a little over $100 a night?. Great food (except mediocre breakfast), large clean rooms, beautiful pool, beautiful centuries old furniture. The lunch and dinner we ate here were top-notch.
Be sure to climb to the top of the tower - something you can do, but that they don't tell you about.
Try checking the Pousadas of Portugal web site for deals. In our case, we kept costs down by staying at least five nights in pousadas. If you are over 55, the discount is even greater. Breakfast is included in most packages. Estremoz does have an add-on fee that is not put on most pousada bills, but this experience is worth a little extra cost.
Downsides were few, but our checkout was very slow due to one clerk being on duty and a customer with a bad credit card being in front of us. The drive from town up to the pousada on the hill is short, but a bit tricky - narrow road with some hairpin turns. There isn't much to do in the town other than walk around, but if you come here, the pousada will keep you fascinated.
This place is in the book, 1,000 Places to Go Before You Die. I am glad I got to check it off the list, and hope to go back sometime.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this pousada. The two rooms we had were large and filled with antique furnishings. We stayed for three nights and had a very good rate (120 euros per orom per night). The staff is very friendly and helpful and not pretentious like they are at the Pousada dos Loios in Evora. The restaurant is very big and the atmosphere is a bit cold. I suggest you try the Restaurante Sao Rosas located on the left when facing the pousada. We had our best meal in Portugal there. The food, white wine (Monte Selvas) and service were excellent. The pousada could make a few improvements..the red carpet at the entrance and on the stairs in worn and should be replaced. The cushions on the chairs in the courtyard are faded and should be replaced. Our barthroom’s toilet seat was partly broken and rusty in areas and the bidet leaked. The pool is nice (but not very big). It would be a good idea to have attendant spend more time there to remove used wet towels and hand out new ones to arriving guests. We had to call from a pool phone to have someone bring us towels. When the attendant came, we ordered drinks, which took a good 10 minutes to arrive (the hotel seemed a bit understaffed). Our safe’s battery went dead in the evening and I could not open it. I was told the maintenance man had gone home at 5pm and that it would take a while for him to return to the hotel. Luckily, it was not an emergency so I said it could wait until the following morning. The following morning the problem was quickly resolved. Other than that, everything was perfect. We would definitely go back.

We stayed at this hotel ,a castle, to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary. We were VERY dissapointed. Although the building itself is marvelous, it is sadly let down by everything else.

Although we made it known that we were celebrating a very special time absolutely nothing was done to acknowledge it.
We ate in the restaurant on the actual day of our anniversary and even had to provide our own table flowers.
We can both honestly say that the meal the worst meal that we have ever had in any restaurant. My husband had the fish & spinach gratin. Or should I say a bowl of spinach.19 euros I ordered the roast lamb which was served in it's own fat with 3 small potatoes and oddly enough a very small green salad. 21 euros The wine also was very overpriced and although it was white wine it was not even served in an ice bucket. We did not have a starter or desert ,just 1 bottle of wine and a bottle of water and the price was 66.70.

Breakfast also left a lot to be desired although the food was acceptable, it was not replenished quickly enough, and although one could ask for fried or boiled eggs the person in charge made you feel that you really should not be bothering her. She was rude to me and even more rude to a portuguese couple looking for a place to sit.The breakfast venue is rather grand .Very Austere. The atmosphere was not comfortable or relaxing. In fact they played church music every morning ,making one feel that we should whisper rather than enjoy our normal morning chat. I am nearly 50 and my husband is 66, so it is not that we would prefer radio 1.Just a more comfortable ambiance.

The pool was filthy We have a pool at home and I would be ashamed to ask people to swim if it was in that condition.
The Games room was locked at 5 in the afternoon and they only have a pool table. It was unlocked so that we could play.

The first room we were offered was very dark and small. To be fair we were then offered a larger lighter room on the second floor, But it had twin beds. Overall not a good experience. we were very pleased to leave.