Grande Hotel De Luso

I hope I’m spelling her name correctly, but Lusitana at the front reception desk is THE BEST!! I’m walking the Portuguese Camino and the fires were complicating things. The company who set up my solo trek told me it was too dangerous with the smoke to walk to Agueda the next day from the hotel and to take a cab or train instead. When I told Lusitana, she was deeply concerned because it was too near the fires. She insisted on calling the hotel in Agueda to make sure it was safe for me before arranging the cab service. As a local, she explained the seriousness of the situation. She speaks perfect English and she was funny and kind throughout. Being on my own in a foreign country with something like this happening can be a little unsettling, but Lusitana put me at ease and made me laugh. Her colleague Teresa is also super sweet. I took up a lot of their time and they never made me feel like I was annoying them. It’s a gorgeous hotel too, btw. The rooms are great and the soaking tub was perfect. I highly recommend this hotel in the adorable Luso!!!

There is nothing 4 star about the hotel, except for the Olympic pool. The same-boring breakfast everyday. Suicidal 😃 Rooms are old style. Not necessarily comfortable beds or pillows. Staff is very helpful though.

We chose the hotel mainly because of its swimming pool (outdoor, 50m), but it was in maintenance. No notice about it in the hotel website or booking site, and when mentioned to the staff, I was only given nonsense excuses (it’s too early in the year to swim, not “swim season”) and they never tried to find me a solution. Other than that it’s an old but well maintained hotel, room is good, breakfast is pretty basic but ok and good location for biking and moving around the region.