We spent two nights here on a short break, and chose the town as an alternative to Porto, where we'd already been. The hotel is right near the centre of Vila do Conde, and about 10 minutes walk from the beach. The town was pretty quiet as it was out of season but very pleasant to wander around, with quite a few good value restaurants.
At the hotel, the room was spacious and very clean, with everything in good working order. The staff were very courteous and helpful, and the breakfast was perfectly adequate. We didn't use the restaurant or bar.
The hotel has an old fashioned charm about it, both in decor and attitude. It's a ten minute walk from the Santa Clara metro station and 15 minutes from Vila do Conde station (where the express metros stop).

My wife , daughter ,husband and baby stayed in this hotel for a week in June. We found the rooms to be adequate in size, extremely clean and the beds were very comfortable. The bathrooms were clean and well equipped,the courtesy kit was specially good, containing sewing kit and toothbrush.The breakfast menu was varied and of good quality.
The Estalagems main asset is its excellant staff, All three receptionists,Paulo,Anna and Manuel were courteous helpful and very friendly. They made us feel very welcome and we were sorry when we had to leave.The hotel is well placed to explore the Minho and Porto and i would certainly go backagain and indeed reccomend it to my friends

We stayed here for the Euro 2004 football tournament. We could not get accomodation in Porto and were concerned at being 20 miles away. But what a find! A superb hotel in a magnificent town! The hotel was clean, the service was immaculate the staff were so friendly - it really was a home from home. Vila do Conde is a large town with a village atmosphere. They actually play music through loudspeakers in the main street all day long. It is very scenic, set beside the river with the huge Santa Clara monastry dominating the area. It has a superb beach and promenade stretching a couple of miles to the next town and lots of small bars to quench your thirst on a hot day. It was really warm during our stay but there is always a sea breeze to keep you cool. At the weekends the locals swarm to the beach but during the week it is almost untouched by the trappings of tourism.