just back from short break at la parra . Had a fantastic time. Room great, food great, service great. would recommend it to anyone who wants to go somewhere off beaten track and away from tourist trail. If you do visit check out the walking routes between the local villages: we went on a 4.6 km walk to the next village Feria through fields of olive trees and sheep and pigs. There are several other routes in the area - look out for the maps in the village. Great for "lolling and reading" as one website described it. Note: don't expect much in the way of toiletries or irons etc in the rooms.

As mentioned in the previous review, the Covento de la Parra is unique in its setting. Since the rooms are the old convento cells, they vary in size. We had booked a standard double and the first room we were given, which was on the ground/basement floor had a small window that looked out to their parking area. Since It had a very 'damp and musty' smell to it, we asked if there were any others available.

After some hassle, we were given another option on the upper floor that overlooked the cloister. While the rooms basic, no TV, radio etc. They are comfortable and the setting around the cloister, which has beds to relax on, does provide a nice place to unwind.

Breakfast is a good selection of fruit, breaks, local ham and cheeses. But I have to say, not the 'better' meats that we had at other places we had stayed at in the area. The restaurant and bar area are very nice. But a bit on the 'trendy side'

I would not recommend dinner at the restaurant. Much of the food seems to be 'pre or partially prepared' in advance. I ordered the fish, it arrived semi-warm on top, but still cold on the bottom. When I mentioned this, it was taken away. But the same serving was returned, after having been put into a micro-wave. The result was soggy red cabbage and mushy salmon. When I mentioned this I was told that was all that could be done.

Much better options are the excellent tapas bars in Zafra.

Parking can also be a problem, since the Convento is in the middle of the small vllage, and despite the fact that parking was not permitted during our stay, due to the Holy Week processions, the staff did not offer the use of what looked like its off-street parking area.

This hotel is really different, everything is built to keep the authenticity of the place. It is built in an old monastery, very well taken care, and with the minimum of modern things. So, it has great historical value, the building is beautiful - it looks great in pictures as you can see in the site, BUT it lacks the kind of confort I'm used and enjoy.
I rented the suite, that is just beautiful: a big bedroom, with a very good bed and pillows, and a real fireplace. In the living room, too sofas with a blanket (really cozy), another bigger fireplace, and a big bathroom (no fireplace, so it was much colder, even if you let the small heater always on). The fireplaces were already heated, but we have to maintain them by yourself, feeding logs that were already in the room. All the woods (doors and the ceillings) looked original and very well taken care of, and also the walls showed the original stones, keeping the original atmosphere of the place. BUT no more of modern commodities: no TV, no minibar, no A/C. I would expect from a Arteh hotels at least to include a bathrobe, slippers, laundry bag, more WC items (only provided shower gel)...
It's very difficult to criticie, because I understand the value of it all, and it really looks perfect in pictures, BUT I would feel more confortable wih some more modern comodities - it is design for autheticity and to provide rest (and it is really peacefull).
The hotel has a small pool,a reading room, a very good restaurant (no BUT in the restaurant, nice atmosphere, nice food). The breakfast were served until 12, and the food was very genuine and very good (look at the milk pots, really antiques...) BUT I would expect ham, cheese and eggs to be included at no extra cost.
The location is really quite, BUT nothing to see around, the nearest big enough towns are more than 50KMs away.

I like very much cars, so I'll use the image; this hotel is like a Classic Car, rebuilt respecting all the original parts, with only small alterations to make it drivable in modern roads - it is beautifull , has a lot of value, but I prefer to drive a modern one, with all the luxury and modern comodities I could afford for the money I paid (185€ per night).

I can recommend two other places in Portugal, cheaper and more confortable (not as close to the original, but in my opinion, with a better ratio confort/charm) that you can also take a look: Monte do Carmo in AZARUJA (I already reviewed it in tripadvisor - has the advantage of being close to Evora) and Hotel Forte S. Joao (http://forte.com.pt/ - this one is 13KMs from Porto).

My son and daughter in law stages this as the venue for their wedding. It was superb and I cannot thank all those who contributed enough!....... this is a perfect blend of traditional Spanish culture complimenting sophisiticated and comfortable surroundings. While the originality of the convent is retained, it takes vision to balance those sometimes conflicting demands of new and old yet it has been captured perfectly in this venue.

I recommend this to anyone wishing such finesse!


Ian